Maravi

Rupiah has no brains to give Zim maize – Sata

Rupiah has no brains to give Zim maize – Sata
Written by Patson Chilemba in Samfya
Monday, May 11, 2009 11:53:11 PM

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata has charged that President Rupiah Banda has no brains to give maize to Zimbabwe when the country does not have enough reserves. And Luapula Province Royal Establishment chairperson chief Mwansakombe on Saturday disclosed that he is a member of the PF.

Featuring on Radio Yangeni before he met the chiefs, Sata said President Banda could be said not to have brains because he was giving maize to Zimbabwe when a lot of Zambians could not even afford one meal a day as the prices of mealie-meal were exorbitantly high.

During his recent state visit to Zimbabwe, President Banda announced that Zambia would give 9,000 metric tonnes of maize to the neighbouring country as humanitarian assistance.

Sata further said President Banda had found it fit to benefit from the procurement of mobile hospitals instead of improving the structures that were already in place.

He said President Banda would want to make quick money so that he could settle in Zimbabwe after his “shambolic” service in State House.

Sata asked people of voting age to urgently get their national registration cards and turn up in numbers to register as voters in order to save themselves from President Banda and the MMD.

Meanwhile, Sata asked for forgiveness from the people of Luapula Province for having allowed former president Frederick Chiluba to impose rebel parliamentarians such as Ernest Mwansa [Chifunabuli], Peter Machungwa [Luapula], Joseph Kasongo [Bangweulu] and Elizabeth Mulobeka-Chitika [Kawambwa] to stand on the PF ticket in 2006.

And earlier during a meeting with chief Mwansakombe and others at late chief Mwewa’s funeral house in Samfya district in Luapula Province, Sata said the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) wanted to disadvantage millions of non-degree holders by introducing a clause in the Constitution that a President should be a degree holder.

He said he was the target behind the NCC’s agenda to include the clause.

Sata said the MMD government first attempted to stop him from contesting the presidency when they tried to include the age limit clause for one to be president.

“That failed because God in his own wisdom stopped them. Mwanawasa died and they went and brought Rupiah Banda who is even more older than me. Now they want to include the degree holder clause. It is not me they will punish, it is you the Zambian people,” Sata said. “If we accept that a President should be a degree holder, then we can as well agree that that those who vote should be degree holders. They are speaking as if all the 600 delegates, including my councillor from Mwense are degree holders. The University of Zambia [UNZA] was built by illiterates and semi-illiterates. Ernest Mwansa and Peter Machungwa are graduates. Can they tell us what they have in Luapula? Their struggle is for their pockets.”

Meanwhile, Sata said he had learnt a lesson for having failed to listen to the people over the adoption of rebel members of parliament Mwansa, Machungwa, Chitika, Kasongo and others. He said he would next time allow party committees at constituency, district and provincial level to have the final say on who to adopt as candidates for the 2011 general elections.

“Besa Chimbaka [Bahati ‘rebel’ member of parliament] was rejected by MMD, the local chiefs whom I won’t mention prevailed on me. The local leadership rejected him but I prevailed on them. When you come to Machungwa, Ernest Mwansa, Kasongo and Chitika, those people Frederick Chiluba prevailed on me that ‘you have seen the problems I have, Mwanawasa is mistreating me. I need those people so that when they go to the house they can speak for me,’” Sata said. “I understood that the man needed a shoulder. I offended the people in Luapula. Today, I apologise.”

Sata said all the rebels were scared of criticising President Banda’s glaring scandals since he took over office five months ago because they feared that he would press the button by telling the Speaker of the National Assembly to quickly declare their seats vacant if they did so.

On the PF general conference, Sata asked the Luapula Province committee to prepare for the elections at ward, constituency, district and provincial levels. He said the national general conference would be held after elections at all levels were finalised.

Sata said if the general conference felt that he was old and could not continue being party president, he would willingly step down.

And commenting on Sata’s statement that the NCC wanted to introduce a clause in the Constitution for the Republican president to be a degree holder, chief Mwansakombe said Sata would one day rule the country if God intended him to.

He said there was no person on earth who could stop another human being from achieving that which God had intended for them.

“There is no person on this earth who can hinder another person from what God had intended for them because here in Luapula, three quarters we are PF,” said Mwansakombe.

Labels: MAIZE, RADIO YANGENI, RUPIAH BANDA, SATA, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 10:55 PM