Maravi

Miyanda unhappy with indaba invitations

Miyanda unhappy with indaba invitations
Written by Speedwell Mupuchi
Saturday, April 04, 2009 3:55:14 PM

HERITAGE Party president Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda yesterday described as nonsensical government's policy to only invite to the national Indaba, parties with their representatives in Parliament.

And Brig Gen Miyanda said the government's warning to delegates to the indaba not to discuss politics confirms that the idea is political

In a statement on Thursday, Brig Gen Miyanda stated that he took issue with the criteria for participation in the indaba, and politics.

"The policy of inviting only political parties, and their representatives in Parliament is not only naive but is nonsensical. It seems the government has now entrenched this idea as part of government policy," he stated.

"We reject the idea of exclusion of political players on the grounds that they have no members of parliament. Does it mean that parties with representatives in Parliament have the monopoly of ideas or wisdom? Does it mean that these are the ones who feel the pinch of the economic mismanagement of our country?"

Brig Gen Miyanda stated that the Heritage Party had participated in all the major elections since 2001 and that he saw a contradiction where at the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) there were parties which did not even know what a campaign rally was because they had never troubled to engage politically in campaign battle fields.

"We say it would be totally wrong for the government to handpick delegates and to impose and entrench as a national policy the criteria that is clearly flawed," he stated.

And Brig Gen Miyanda stated that he considered it a fallacy the warning by the government that those attending the indaba must not come to discuss politics but only talk about the economy.

He noted that the interpretation of economics revealed a narrow understanding of what politics and economics were.

"On the contrary it is this view that confirms that the indaba is political and whoever dares to deviate even slightly will be told to shut up because they are talking politics," he stated. "I have previously said that there is a thin line between politics and economics. In fact I say that politics make and unmakes economies and conversely economics makes and unmakes politics. Politics and economics are like inseparable Siamese twins. That is why for instance there is always a difference between a regime that believes in capitalism and one that professes socialism or communism. The political ideology determines what type of economic system, structure and programme to effect and carry out, so we condemn these prior warnings to intimidate delegates so that they are not free to express their views on whatever the agenda will be."

Brig Gen Miyanda stated that it was his view that in calling for the indaba, the government had a short-term and cheap motive to legitimise what they had already agreed with their partners abroad who were already in possession of the programme and agenda which Zambians did not have and to justify the continued plundering of public resources.

He said the government should have invited all parties and leave it to them to decide whether or not to attend.

Brig Gen Miyanda said his party had not been invited to the indaba.

Asked to confirm reports that he had been invited to the indaba, Brig Gen Miyanda responded: "I am surprised to learn through radio and television that I have been invited, this statement is not true; I have not been invited and nobody from the Heritage Party has been invited."

However, Brig Gen Miyanda reluctantly said he had received a letter from President Rupiah Banda late Thursday inviting him as an individual to attend the opening ceremony of the indaba.

He said he had responded to President Banda's letter.

He said he had declined the invitation to just go and watch people dance and thereafter leave.

"The letter from the President is merely asking me to attend the opening ceremony; that's not being invited [to the indaba] because it means that after he [President Banda] speaks, then I leave," Brig Gen Miyanda said. "I don't want to be paraded and the record to show that Miyanda and Heritage attended when we are not."

Brig Gen Miyanda commended United Party for National Development (UPND) and Patriotic Front (PF) leaders Hakainde Hichilema and Michael Sata respectively for boycotting the indaba.

"... Though I do not know the full reasons; but I am commending them because clearly the way the programme was set up it's like it is predetermined. People will bring the papers they have arranged and the rest of the 500 [delegates] will be behaving exactly the way they are behaving at the NCC," he said.

Brig Gen Miyanda promised to make an elaborate statement on the Indaba later.

The national indaba opens today and various stakeholders have been invited to discuss proposals and submissions aimed at resolving the economic impact of the global financial meltdown.

Labels: GODFREY MIYANDA, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 2:55 PM