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Sata isn’t normal, has no morals – Rupiah

Sata isn’t normal, has no morals – Rupiah
Written by Mwala Kalaluka and Nyambe Muyumbana in Mongu
Monday, April 13, 2009 4:10:37 AM

SOME people attending this year's Kuomboka ceremony were not amused when President Rupiah Banda described Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata as a person who is not normal and is insufficiently educated to rule Zambia. And the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) has asked President Banda to explain what returns the people of Western Province should expect from his government after they put him into office last year.

Officiating at Kuomboka ceremony at the Litunga's Limulunga Palace in Mongu on Saturday, President Banda singled out Sata, whom he said had no morals and was just good at insulting old people.

President Banda's sentiments against Sata were received with mixed feelings among the crowd that had converged at the palace grounds. While some government officials, the BRE leadership and other ordinary people applauded him, others in the crowd were heard murmuring.

Most of those who were heard murmuring were seated close to UPND president Hakainde Hichilema.

Some people were seen dispersing from the palace grounds as soon as President Banda launched his political attacks on Sata. By the time he was concluding his speech, the crowd had thinned out.

President Banda started his attack on Sata by reiterating his campaign story of how a certain traditional leader felt when Sata was leading in the election tally during the 2006 election. But President Banda changed his version of the story by saying that he had asked the unnamed senior chief how he felt when Sata was leading in last year's presidential election.

“To a very large extent, your unity of purpose, your working together in supporting the government is the result of my winning the last election. I am not ashamed to say that,” President Banda said. “You smashed the head of the cobra, someone who is not normal, someone who has no morals and someone who is not sufficiently educated to lead this country.”

President Banda said he hoped the people of Western Province would bar Sata again in the next election.

“When I was appointed Vice-President by the late president Levy Mwanawasa, he told me that he gave special attention to the people of this province for a special reason,” he said. “I witnessed this myself in 2008 in October when we had the elections. I saw it myself and witnessed this love and generosity.”

President Banda said on that last Saturday when votes were being counted and people were of the view that Sata's PF was going to win the election, they had forgotten about the votes from Western Province, which had not yet been counted.

President Banda said any government that did not pay special attention to the needs of the people of rural provinces such as Western Province would be doomed to lose elections.

“We will try and give the best to the people who brought us into power,” President Banda said. “From the first month Sata and those who support him said 'they have failed'. How can we fail when we just started?”

President Banda also said he felt horrible when he viewed himself in the mirror in his private bedroom at State House after he adorned the Lozi traditional attire of the kilt, the waist-coat and the red beret.

“When I arrived at the port to await your arrival, your Royal Highness, the people who were there when they saw me they clapped and congratulated me for looking properly,” President Banda said. “I thank the prime minister for what he has said about our government and its support to this traditional ceremony.”

President Banda said he had accepted an invitation to next year's Kuomboka ceremony in advance because he did not have an opportunity to ride on the Litunga's royal barge for a short while because he was delayed.

President Banda said he was happy to learn from the BRE's acting Ngambela Imasiku Lyamunga that his government enjoyed a lot of support from the Lozi people.

And Ngambela Lyamunga told President Banda that had it not been for the support he got from the province, the story of his bid for the presidency would have been different.

“This type of unity should continue. Lozis and even you listening to me speak,” Ngambela Lyamunga said. “It is obvious that today we have the President and you have all seen him. He is here. The people of Western Province love you and that is why you find yourself there. Had it not been for this, maybe today, the story would be different.”

Ngambela Lyamunga directed gratitude to the people that did the job on behalf of the BRE to ensure that President Banda was elected into office.

“But scratch our back because we have scratched yours. What is our return for the support that we gave you during last year's election?” Ngambela Lyamunga asked President Banda. “When someone puts in an investment they expect a return.”

Ngambela Lyamunga said there were serious issues such as the rampant plunder of the province's forests, as some of the areas that President Banda should flex his muscles on to bring to an end through collaborative efforts with the BRE and the forestry department.

Ngambela Lyamunga said the current forestry laws were not effective enough to address the extravagant cutting of trees in the province for exportation to countries like South Africa .

“We do not want this province to be turned into a desert,” Ngambela Lyamunga said.

He further thanked the government for making this year's Kuomboka successful, especially through the construction of the new Nalikwanda and other supplementary assistance.

In response to Ngambela Lyamunga's question on the returns, President Banda said he was working with a lot of people from the province within the government, who have been well brought up by their parents.

Litunga Lubosi Imwiko II arrived at Limulunga from Lealui aboard his new Nalikwanda at around 17:00 hours before proceeding to the palace from Nayuma Harbour, amidst tight security, with President Banda.

Labels: RUPIAH BANDA, SATA

posted by MrK @ 3:11 AM