Letters - Leadership

COMMENT - Demand stiff taxation of the mines, and a lot will change.

MMD, Rupiah must go
Written by Kombe Ngolwe
June 14, 2009 4:21:19 PM

Let’s face it people, Rupiah Banda and his administration have failed to lead this nation. It is time for MMD government to go. Public services are not functioning.

Rupiah went AWOL to South Africa but will find hundreds of party cadres dancing at the airport when he returns. Health workers and teachers are on strike.
Roads are now deathtraps for motorists. All these are due MMD policies, lack of effective political leaders and governance insight.

Do not get me wrong, President Banda is a good family man and diplomat. He loves this country; but I do not think he is the kind of leader to take this nation into the future.

He guides a party whose policies are not working for Zambians. If this government cannot resolve the issue of allowances for nurses, how can Zambians trust it to deal with the complicated national economic, health and social challenges we face?

The strike has exposed the government inaction; evidence is the deadly silence by ruling party. Zambians and the Constitution require them to respond and resolve all challenges of public safety and order.

The strikes are compromising our national security, economic growth and public health of Zambians. Theft of public funds in some government offices is worth billions of Kwacha and the source of MMD political funding is still shrouded in mystery.

MMD has done its share of governance since 1991. Zambia cannot continue in the same wrong direction. We can do better. Enough with our families dying in empty hospitals. And when it comes to gratuities for MPs, this government is very quick to sign the cheques. MMD has run out of ideas to govern this nation.


Govt response to strikes
Written by Concerned citizen, Ngosana
Sunday, June 14, 2009 4:22:57 PM

Any level-headed citizen must be very saddened at what is happening in our beloved country. With all these politicians we have around like Mulongoti, Tetamashimba, Mpombo, Shikapwasha who are full of inconsistencies surely we have no more hope that we shall ever get anywhere in this country in terms of development. It makes me sick to hear a minister utter the words that Mulongoti made.

It is now clear to all those doubting the government position on strikes that this Rupiah regime does not care at all about what the majority poor are going through be it at the hospitals, schools, markets, mines, so on and so forth.

Otherwise Mulongoti would not have had the audacity to speak the way he did. Nothing affects any of them at all because they can afford almost anything, apart from buying life.

Whether Zambians die en-masse, they will not be moved at all, hence clearly explaining why even Rupiah himself is not concerned about anything thereby playing 'deaf and dumb' and he can even afford to use taxpayers money to go watch football.

No wonder he expeditiously bought us hearses to ferry us in numbers to the graveyard, a good 'prophet' indeed.

However, Rupiah's insensitiveness will not be without a cost. There is a limit to the level you can take people for granted.

If the MMD politicians think they will 'rape' this nation with their in-humane style of leadership and hope to live in peace thereafter, let them think again.

You are fanning flames of resentment towards yourselves and your accomplices.You better take the people’s advice and start governing this country on a serious note like you are dealing with fellow humans who are also your countrymen, otherwise your careless, picnic style of leadership will not take you and this country anywhere.


Union leaders’ betrayal
Written by Concerned citizen

Judas Iscariot is known for having betrayed Jesus Christ for the love of money. Unionists representing civil servants have also betrayed their members and are a threat to the motivation of workers.

For the past few years, the government has been dictating the increment for salaries. It has become meaningless to belong to unions.

It's about time civil servants withdrew their monthly union contributions. Who did the unionists consult to sign the 15 per cent increament when workers countrywide made it clear that they wanted above 25 per cent increment?

It's time to get rid of the bad eggs in unions or else continue complaining of meaningless collective agreements.

The private media like The Post needs to be thanked and congratulated on its full coverage of strike events. Without the private media, most Zambians were not going to know the realities of problems facing the civil service.



Rupiah’s ‘honeymoon’
Written by Patrick Nkhosi Nakonde

One does not need to be a rocket scientist to see that Rupiah Banda has no idea on how to run this country whatsoever. Today we have striking teachers and nurses and this government seems not to be concerned at all.

People are dying in hospitals due to lack to nurses to attend to them and pupils are not in class because of the absence of teachers yet the government is just idle.

Is it because that when Rupiah and his henchmen get sick, they are hastly flown to South Africa and their children go to private schools hence they don’t care about the ongoing industrial unrest?

The strike by teachers and nurses is justified and the government must not make us believe that there isn’t any money for better conditions of service when MPs are just waiting to get their mid-term gratuity for nothing but sitting and dosing in parliament.

Zambians are watching. Every move Rupiah makes doesn’t seem to yield fruitful results. Just a few months ago, we experienced high fertiliser prices, mealie- meal shortages, the GMO maize scandal, the ‘smart’ Dora saga and the US$53million mobile hospital deal.

All these irregularities have happened right under Rupiah’s nose and the money has not seen anything wrong in this country.

It’s high time Rupiah called off his ‘Honeymoon’ and attended to serious matters arising in this country because even from a layman’s point of view, Rupiah has failed to run this country



Misplaced priorities
Written by Daniel, Mukushi

Allow me to air my views on the ongoing strikes by civil servants. It's very sad that all these things are happening in our country.

My appeal to Rupiah Banda is that instead of giving out hearses to the people of Zambia, it would be better to claim back the money from the Chinese government and use it to pay the striking civil servants.

Just imagine, a teacher is getting K200,000 as housing allowance, honestly where can you find decent accommodation in Zambia worth that amount?

The manda-mandas have no use at all. I can give an example of a country like the Democratic Republic of Congo where a lot of lives have been lost to civil unrest. Never did we hear that government bought hearses to carry the dead to the graveyards.

Mr President, who is going to maintain these manda-mandas and who is going to buy fuel for them when your government has failed to maintain ambulances at our hospitals countrywide?

I'am very disappointed with President Rupiah Banda's leadership. How can one explain his trips to Zimbabwe and South Africa while people are dying at UTH due to the strike by medical workers?


Miti’s letter to Rupiah
Written by AG Simunyola Kitwe

Allow me to comment on a story that appeared in The Post on June 8, 2009 detailing the contents of Dr Simon Miti's letter to Rupiah Banda. I wonder why Dr Miti had to mitigate so soon. Has anyone found him guilty of any offence in the K10 billion Ministry of Health scam?

Is he guilty of anything for him to start pleading with Rupiah; that he has recently lost his mother and that he is looking after orphans?

Surely, no one interested in his personal problems and responsibilities when it comes to matters of national interest.

I appeal to Dr Miti to hold his fire before he is charged with any offence which I believe may not be long from now, according to the letter he wrote to Rupiah.

Dr Miti has let out a bit of vital information which may be of good use to the investigation agencies.

Fisanga abaume mudala kukasa chabe