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Zambians won’t stop talking - Fr Mpasa

Zambians won’t stop talking - Fr Mpasa
Written by Ernest Chanda
Thursday, April 16, 2009 3:08:57 PM

ZAMBIANS will not stop talking for as long as things are not going right in the country, Mansa Catholic Diocese Vicar-General Fr Mambwe Mpasa said yesterday.
In an interview from Mansa, Fr Mpasa said the government should not expect people to keep quiet even when things were not well.

“This government is wasting time fighting every opposing view, but people cannot simply be told to shut up. When things are not going on well we have a right as Zambians to speak out. And this does not mean that whoever criticises government is a member of the opposition parties, no,” Fr Mpasa said.

“Zambia is a free country and people should be allowed to express their views freely. As Zambians we are stakeholders who are interested in the welfare of this country. Government should just be tolerant enough to accommodate every view.”

He also called on the Rupiah Banda administration to spell out its vision for the country.

“I know that this administration has claimed a lot of successes, but there is nothing to point at so far. The worst is that they can’t even show us their programme for this country apart from fighting the opposition,” Fr Mpasa said.

“They have used time as an excuse but the point is this country has not started today. There was a president before President Banda, so we assume that he found a starting point. So why is this administration using the five months they have been in office as an excuse for assessing their successes, if any?”

Fr Mpasa also condemned Copperbelt Province MMD cadres who were calling for the blood of former Radio Icengelo station manager Fr Frank Bwalya last week.

“There is no one who has the right to shed another person’s blood. The best this government should have done is to let Fr Bwalya hold his press conference and then take him to court if he was found wanting. Fr Bwalya even though he is a priest has a right to free expression of his views. The Constitution does not say priests should not speak out when things are wrong, but allows everyone to speak out freely,” said Fr Mpasa.

Labels: MAMBWE MPASA

posted by MrK @ 2:10 PM