Maravi

Tension worries Sata

Tension worries Sata
Written by Lambwe Kachali
Saturday, November 08, 2008 6:30:08 AM

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata yesterday advised President Rupiah Banda to work on reducing the tension in the country because most Zambians are annoyed following the October 30 election results. And Sata has called on all PF members countrywide to desist from engaging in acts of violence. Meanwhile, Sata said he would never concede defeat to President Banda because his victory was not genuine.

Responding to questions from journalists during the press briefing at Pamodzi Hotel, Sata said most Zambians were angry because they knew that President Banda did not win the just-ended presidential election.

He charged that the MMD was surviving on stealing and rigging votes for them to remain in power.

“MMD did not defend any policy. MMD since 2006 survives on stealing and rigging elections. So when they are surviving on stealing, the tension in Zambia is getting higher and higher. The tension in Zambia is very high and any responsible government should work to reduce the tension. If government doesn't work to reduce the tension, they can't provide good leadership to the people because the people from whom they are stealing are human beings,” Sata said.

He said Zambians had further been angered because some people who were caught red-handed attempting to rig elections have gone unpunished. He said such things had worsened tension among Zambians because they felt cheated and manipulated by the MMD government.

“And [General Isaac] Chisuzi, commander of the army and Mr [Ephraim] Mateyo, Inspector General of Police continued to appear on television threatening people. But Mr Mateyo, I understand because he was a policeman, then deputy minister and then back as policeman. So the power he has is of the deputy minister, and so when he speaks, he doesn't speak like a police man; he speaks more of a politician,” Sata said. “But when we come to Mr Chisuzi, we know he is protecting the contracts and 40 others. But you see, they are not going to stay there forever. Mr Chisuzi should not think that he will be there for life. There are so many commanders who have left. And he should not use the army to start intimidating us. When we were in Chisamba, we found fliers written that 'when Mr Sata wins we are going to take over'. But Mr Chisuzi was not there when people created the army. He was just appointed to be commander of the army and he should not intimidate us.”

Sata said President Banda was aware of the tension that has rocked the country, and that was why he had rushed to be inaugurated. He said it was important that as the Head of State, President Banda should show leadership by normalising the political tension which has engulfed country.

“We are very reluctant on violence because where there is violence, the victims are the vulnerable people. This Mateyo and Chisuzi are well protected. They have three meals a day. I know every week Mateyo comes here (Pamodzi Hotel) for free meals with his family. But how many Zambians can come to Pamodzi Hotel for free meals? And Mr Chisuzi, we know how much money he carries in his pockets. So for them, what they are protecting is their comfort. But just as much as they like to protect their comfort, we would like that comfort to be extended to all the people of Zambia,” Sata said. “I know many people are bitter, people are not comfortable. But we must resolve all of us not to give up.”

Sata urged PF members to remain calm because the party would soon seek an order from the Supreme Court to have all the results verified and scrutinised.

Sata said as much as PF members remained calm, they should also be bold enough because the MMD government was concocting numerous allegations to intimidate them. He said it was better for some members to be jailed for the sake of liberating the majority of poor Zambians.

“The situation we are going through is too bad, intimidations are there and will be there. Some of you might even end up in prison and there will be a lot of fabrications. But for you to liberate the people of Zambia, it is good for one of us to go to prison to liberate 12 million Zambians,” Sata said. “In Zambia we can't extend our airports, the people working in Pamodzi Hotel, their salaries is their manager's talk time; not even the general manager but the talk time for the banquette manager. So these are the things, but there is nothing they can do because there is no employment in the country. So all of us must move and work hard. There will be a lot of provocation but don't hit back. And we as a people, we are in a very awkward position. We apprehended riggers and gave them to police but unfortunately, the police is being headed by a very partisan Inspector General. And we are not going to waste time to get to the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions] for a private prosecutor because we know what is going to happen. But that's why we say those who are going to run our institutions must be ready to serve Zambia and not MMD. We have reached a very dangerous climax where you find that people running our institutions as sensitive as the army and police come out in the open to show their true political colours.”

Sata said people calling on him to concede defeat were just wasting their time because he could not accept defeat to a person whose victory was characterised with electoral malpractices.

“That's very dangerous...Mr Rupiah Banda did not win any election because if he won there would be no need of sneaking him to go and take oath at a hidden place behind parliament building,” he said.

Sata further said he was disappointed at the behaviour exhibited by former president Frederick Chiluba and Dr Kenneth Kaunda at the church service for the late freedom fighter Elijah Mudenda on Thursday.

He said with the election of President Banda, it was clear that UNIP had bounced back to power.

“Well, we would like to take advantage of this gathering here for us to say thank you to the people who made it possible for us to put up a fight in the election. The international and local donors for the first time made PF have a very effective campaign...and when we put up a very effective campaign, we were working against a very well organised gang of thieves. When they put their heads together in 2001, rigging, 2006 and now we can see new friendships. They even dance where they are not supposed to dance because I have never seen people dancing at the funeral. People went to mourn a very honest and gallant leader Mr Elijah Mudenda but Chiluba and Kaunda started dancing; dancing for what?” Sata asked. “This is what surprised us. We have seen that MMD did not win the election. MMD is just as a loser as PF. They surrendered power to UNIP without working for it; UNIP had gained power without working for it. And those who were with us yesterday [Thursday] at Cathedral [of the Holy Cross], they saw that the behaviour of Kenneth Kaunda and Frederick Chiluba was very disappointing. There was no remorse in their faces. What they were jubilant about nobody knows. They were even singing 'Tiyende Pa Modzi' song. No thief is clever but don't play in thieves' hands.”

Sata alleged that the government had paid K30 billion to a relative of either President Banda or agriculture minister Sara Sayifwanda to supply fertilisers.

He alleged that it was the same fertiliser that President Banda used as a campaign tool.

“I want madam Sayifwanda and Rupiah to challenge me because they gave one of their relatives K30 billion to bring fertiliser, the fertiliser which Rupiah was promising people for K50, 000. I am giving them 48 hours to name this fertiliser conman because this fertiliser conman is a relative of one of these people. He has already received K30 billion when people have not even seen a bag of fertiliser,” said Sata.

Sata also denied having assaulted an MMD cadre during the verification exercise at Nakatindi Hall on Thursday in Lusaka.

Labels: SATA

posted by MrK @ 6:32 AM