Maravi

Kopulande accuses W/Province MMD of practising regionalism

Kopulande accuses W/Province MMD of practising regionalism
Written by Patson Chilemba
Monday, June 29, 2009 2:44:48 PM

SEBASTIAN Kopulande has charged that the MMD Western Province executive committee is setting a bad precedence of division and regionalism in the party over the vice-presidency.

Commenting on the position taken by the MMD Western Province executive committee to field a vice-president who hails from that region at the party convention, Kopulande, who is MMD chairman for commerce and industry, said people would be elected based on their capacity to deliver and not which regions they hailed from.

"I'm afraid that's [the position taken by the MMD committee] a very dangerous precedence. That will be very divisive, we do not encourage regionalism in the MMD," Kopulande said.

"No other organ in the party has the power to elect a person to any position except the convention. So the issue of vice-president shall be resolved at the convention. On what basis are they telling us that a vice-president should come from Western Province?"

Kopulande said the MMD did not share leadership positions before the convention as candidates stood on their own without backing from their regions.

MMD Western Province chairperson Simasiku Namakando last Friday maintained that the province would field a vice-president from that area, saying they would not be turned into hunting dogs.

Namakando was reacting to MMD chairperson for elections Mike Mulongoti who accused the Western Province executive committee of encouraging polarisation in the party over their planned move to field a vice-president who hailed from the province at the convention.

He said there was no turning back on the position taken by the province.

Namakando said the vice-presidency was a stepping-stone to attain even higher positions.

But MMD spokesperson Benny Tetamashimba yesterday said the Western Province would lose if they fielded a plunderer who had been convicted by the courts to be vice-president.

He said records existed of some Lozi politicians who were convicted by the courts for stealing.

"I don't see any problem with Western Province coming up with a position to field a vice-president at the convention. They have credible people, not thieves, who can be vice-president," said Tetamashimba.

"Every province, those who feel they can field, they can field a candidate. They are entitled. All the other provinces including Eastern, although it will not be politically correct for Eastern Province because they already have a President."

President Banda recently said he was disappointed with Namakando for saying that the party in the province would only support the President in return for the vice-presidency.

But Namakando maintained that the party in the province had already taken a position to field a vice-president at the MMD convention.

And Kopulande said he backed President Banda's statement that those who were concentrating on his presidential candidature for 2011 were enemies of the party.

Asked if he would challenge President Banda for the presidency at the convention like he did in 2008, Kopulande refused to comment on the matter, saying he did not want to be an enemy of the party.

He said the MMD could not concentrate on discussing the presidency for 2011, when there were so many issues which confronted the party.

"The Zambian people need leadership that is concentrating on issues. That is why I cannot comment," said Kopulande.

"President Banda made it clear that all those concentrating on his candidature for 2011 are enemies of the party, that they are diverting the attention of government and his own attention from delivering."

Reminded that President Banda only issued that statement after the MMD national executive committee (NEC) endorsed him as the sole candidate for 2011, Kopulande said he would go with the President's official statement made at the press conference at State House.

Labels: REGIONALISM, SEBASTIAN KOPULANDE, WESTERN PROVINCE

posted by MrK @ 1:45 PM