Maravi

Rupiah is a shameless old liar, says Sondashi

Rupiah is a shameless old liar, says Sondashi
Written by Patson Chilemba
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 5:09:30 PM

RUPIAH Banda is a shameless old liar, former works and supply minister Ludwig Sondashi has charged. Reacting to President Banda who on Saturday said Sondashi had no business talking about corruption because he was fired for graft by late president Levy Mwanawasa, Sondashi charged that President Banda was using the presidential immunity to scandalise and smear filth on other citizens.
He said he was not fired by president Mwanawasa on account of corruption.

Sondashi said he disagreed with president Mwanawasa on bringing outsiders to occupy senior government and party positions.

"I am asking him to take me to court so that he can prove that I was corrupt. Rupiah Banda knows that he is enjoying presidential immunity and I can't sue him. I deny what he alleged because if Mwanawasa found me to be corrupt, he could not only have fired me. He could have taken me to court as he did with other ministers. In Chiluba's government, I wasn't fired by Mr Chiluba. I resigned together with Mwanawasa on account of corruption," Sondashi said. "What led me to be removed from Mwanawasa's government was because I was complaining of [Victory Ministries founding pastor] Mr Nevers Mumba as [Republican] vice-president and when he brought [MMD spokesperson Benny] Tetamashimba. I even refused to accompany him to North-Western Province to campaign."

Sondashi urged President Banda to be sobre-minded and not react to issues on impulse.

He charged that President Banda was misleading himself because he was reacting to issues before proving the facts.

Sondashi said President Banda should not start manufacturing evidence and concocting stories.

"There was a time Mwanawasa accused me when he was firing [former Republican vice-president Enock] Kavindele. He wrote a letter to Kavindele, which was published in the press. In that letter he accused me and Kavindele that we bought an aeroplane from ZAF corruptly. Later, I challenged Mwanawasa that I didn't know anything about this," Sondashi narrated. "After that he came back to me apologising that he was misled. So Rupiah Banda should be very careful of what he sees regarding people."

Sondashi said his record in government spoke for itself and that he was not corrupt.

He said President Banda had resorted to desperate attempts of telling lies about him.

"He's a shameless old liar," Sondashi said.

He said he had raised several corruption issues committed in President Banda's government but the President had failed to respond to them.

Sondashi said President Banda should listen to people offering constructive criticism over his governance rather than maligning them with lies.

On Saturday, President Banda challenged Sondashi to tell the nation why he was dismissed by late president Mwanawasa.

"I would like to warn Dr Sondashi, I am President now, I have records for everything in this country. You ask Dr Sondashi why he was dropped as Cabinet minister. Let him tell Zambian people the true reasons. And if what I am saying is not true, if I am scandalising Dr Sondashi, I would like to ask him to go and challenge me in court. I will then produce the real reasons why he was sacked as minister. He knows very well that he has no business talking about corruption. If there is anybody in this country whose corruption is blatant, is obvious, this man Dr Sondashi," President Banda told students from institutions of higher learning in Lusaka that were transported to State House to express their solidarity with him. "It's no good results for our party to have a man like him who has no shame, who committed corruption and was caught red- handed. Let him go to court."

And announcing his resignation from the MMD at a press briefing last week, Sondashi charged that if President Banda had failed to improve on late president Mwanawasa's legacy in the four months he had been in office, he would be a disaster if given a longer term in office.

He said while President Mwanawasa raised the bar on the fight against corruption, President Banda had lowered it to very low levels.

Sondashi cited the importation of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) type maize by a company allegedly closely associated with President Banda's son, James, communications and transport minister Dora Siliya's alleged corruption scams and MMD deputy national secretary Jeff Kaande's corruption allegations, which he said had not been handled properly.

Labels: LUDWIG SONDASHI, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 5:08 PM