Teta threatens easterners

Teta threatens easterners
By Chibaula Silwamba in Nyimba
Tuesday October 21, 2008 [04:01]

Benny Tetamashimba yesterday threatened the people of Eastern Province that they will be beaten up if they do not vote for MMD presidential candidate Rupiah Banda. And Vice-President Banda yesterday hinted that he might want to be re-elected in 2011 if he is elected president next week.

Meanwhile, Vice-President Banda directed that all defence force personnel and civil servants who are farmers should access the subsidised fertiliser, which is now costing K50,000. And UNIP president Tilyenji Kaunda said Vice-President Banda is still a child of UNIP.

Drumming up support, in Nyimba, for Vice-President Banda in next week's presidential elections, his election agent Tetamashimba advised easterners to ensure that they elected Vice-President Banda as President because this was the only chance they had to have an easterner to become Republican president.

"As MMD, we are very happy because you people of Eastern Province, you gave us a well mannered and intelligent person. This Rupiah Banda, we chose him in NEC because he is intelligent. There is no other person who can unite people in Zambia. So our candidate in North Western Province, they will be very annoyed with you if they hear that you don't vote for RB. we shall come here and beat you up," Tetamashimba warned. "Ku uLozi, Western Province they said that if we hear that people in Eastern Province, don't want to vote for Rupiah Banda. We will come and beat them up."

He said all chiefs in Southern Province had endorsed Vice-President Banda hence even people in Eastern Province should vote for him.

"Everywhere they want RB; please, we plead for your vote," Tetamashimba said. "You are not going to have another time that you are going to have a presidential candidate here. So you must make sure that your presidential candidate who is already president, he just needs confirmation. Sata has no confirmation. This man is a president, so please! Please! Please! Please give us the votes. Are you going to give us votes?" asked Tetamashimba as the crowd responded: "Yes!"

Tetamashimba assured that where he comes from in North Western Province, Vice-President Banda would get 100 per cent votes.

"We have no problem with RB," said Tetamashimba.

And speaking at the same rally, Vice-President Banda said if he was elected, he would ensure that he continues the developmental projects that late president Levy Mwanawasa and the MMD embarked on.

"For me, it is necessary to continue with the programmes that my party the MMD put in place. It's also necessary for me as an individual as Rupiah Banda, to make sure that within these three years I do a good job for you so that you can either re-elect me or re-elect the MMD," Vice-President Banda said. "It is necessary to look at this as a challenge for the MMD that within the three years, we must prove that indeed we are a good party to rule this country."

But on the contrary, Vice-President Banda, in an interview after officiating at the renaming of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) head office and unveiling of its new logo on September 6, 2007, said he had no aspirations for the MMD presidency.

Asked if he had any intentions of becoming MMD presidential candidate in 2011, Banda said he had no intentions.

"Definitely no! You know my age," Vice-President Banda said laughing before getting into his official vehicle.

And at the same Nyimba rally yesterday, Vice-President Banda said due to the high prices of fertiliser on the international market, he had subsidised the prices from K200,000 to K50,000. He said he had received a report that some people who have salaries were not allowed to access the subsidised fertiliser.

"I am speaking in this case about our defence forces; our soldiers, our policemen, our national service, our civil servants, I hear that they are excluded from benefiting from these subsidized fertilizer and because I am head of state of this country, hear me, from today onwards all soldiers, all policemen, all civil servants, people who have salaries are entitled to this if they can prove that they are bonafide farmers,"
Vice-President Banda said.

"In order to avoid having to import food at exorbitant prices... and we know that among these people who are debarred from using this fertilizer are some of the great farmers."

He said the government was spending a lot of money to support the Fertiliser Support Programme (FSP) because they wanted the country to have enough food.

Vice-President Banda said he was the most experienced person among the presidential candidates.

And UNIP president Tilyenji Kaunda said Vice-President Banda was still a child of UNIP.

"This gentleman you have chosen as your candidate Rupiah Banda is also our child. Have you heard very well?" Tilyenji asked. "You have an opportunity today in a man called Rupiah Banda. We in UNIP, know him very well. We know his credentials, we know his experience."

He said Vice-President Banda would look at the needs of Zambians.
"It is important that on 30th October, all Zambians we must think about our future, you must vote Rupiah Banda," Tilyenji said.

He echoed his father, Dr Kenneth Kaunda's statement on Sata.

"I have respect for Mr Sata but he is not presidential material," said Tilyenji.

Opposition FDD president Edith Nawakwi, who is traveling and campaigning for Vice-President Banda, said UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema could not be Republican president before her.

"Now I come to my young brother Hakainde Hichilema, you know there was UDA United Democratic Alliance, it finished. He is young. He has MPs but now, even in school, some school children are here. Do you get a grade one pupil to become a prefect? No!" Nawakwi said. "I do not think that Hakainde will be president before Edith Nawakwi is president."

Nawakwi said Hichilema needed 15 more years before he could think of becoming Republican president.

"...he does not have the experience, he doesn't know how to even manage a branch," she said. "How can he say that he can be president of this Republic because these are presidential politics? It is not possible for my young brother Hakainde to be a president."
And Nawakwi said Sata was violent.

She said when Sata was MMD national secretary, he caused a lot of confusion and violence in the party.

"I am sure you remember the Chawama episode. He started the fight of using machetes in Chawama, it was Michael Sata," she said.

Nawakwi urged the people to vote for Vice-President Banda to finish the five-year term, which was given to the MMD in 2006.

"We want peace in this country. In this election, I think you should give chance to our friend Mr Rupiah Banda but in 2011, you will see us," said Nawakwi. "Now we want peace because if there is no peace we will start running to other countries."

Several people welcomed Vice-President Banda in Nyimba on arrival.
Vice-President Banda's image builders were not seen yesterday.