Banda has run out of ideas – Nalubamba

Banda has run out of ideas – Nalubamba
Written by George Zulu in Monze
Monday, July 06, 2009 11:57:30 AM

PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has run out of ideas on how to govern the country and has resorted to harassing The Post by using law enforcement agencies and MMD cadres, senior chief Bright Nalubamba of Namwala district has said. And opposition Patriotic Front (PF) in Southern Province has described the warn and caution statement recorded from Post news editor Chansa Kabwela by police in Lusaka as a threat to press freedom and the democratisation of the nation. Nalubamba of Namwala district has said.

And opposition Patriotic Front (PF) in Southern Province has described the warn and caution statement recorded from Post news editor Chansa Kabwela by police in Lusaka as a threat to press freedom and the democratisation of the nation.

In an interview in Monze, chief Nalubamba said President Banda and his government were in a hurry to silence The Post through the abuse of law enforcement agencies at the expense of addressing serious issues affecting the country.

Chief Nalubamba was commenting on the warn and caution statement recorded from Kabwela on Thursday at Lusaka Division police headquarters on allegations that she possessed and distributed obscene materials.

“I am very saddened by the desperate path President Banda and his administration has decided to undertake on various issues of national interest. From the look of things, it is like His Excellency has run out of ideas on how to run the country. We are made to understand that those pictures of a woman in labour were sent to the Head of State in confidence through the office of the Vice-President and other relevant offices with the intention of persuading government to resolve the issues of the strike by health workers. As a traditional leader, I don’t see any wrong doing by The Post and if anything the paper was helping President Banda to see what was on the ground than the reports he was receiving that the strike was not as serious as reported in the media from his political cronies. The questioning of Kabwela by police is not just harassment but also abuse of the powers and the law of the land,” he said.

Chief Nalubamba said the path President Banda had taken of trying to silence The Post by the use of the police and other law enforcement agencies was self-destructive and impacted negatively on the sustainability, development and growth of democracy in the country.

“It is unacceptable that the Head of State will always instruct police to launch investigations against The Post and arrest Post journalists on frivolous issues. The matter of the strike and the deaths that occurred due to the strike by health workers are some of the issues President Banda and his administration should be addressing such that situations of that nature do not repeat,” chief Nalubamba said.

He wondered whether President Banda did take time to listen to the cries of Zambians when he was surrounded by people of low caliber in his administration.

“I wonder if President Banda listens to the advice we give him. People like Benny Tetamashimba have misled him on various issues. Such people with low caliber should not be near a Head of State because they are too destructive,” chief Nalubamba said. “The issue should not be about pictures of a woman, no! The issue is the effects of the strike by nurses and other health workers.”

Chief Nalubamba challenged police to take The Post news editor to court if there was any crime committed and for the truth to come out.

And Southern Province Patriotic Front co-coordinator Opper Hamiyaze said police should exhibit high levels of professionalism.

“The police in Zambia is compromised by the MMD. People have lost the little confidence they had in the police because of partisan attitude they have towards the ruling MMD and its cadres. But they should not forget that regimes come and go so they need to be non partisan and professional in the manner they handle issues,” he said.

Hamiyaze said the warn and caution statement recorded from Kabwela was a clear indication of interference in the operations of the police by the ruling MMD, adding that President Banda was desperate to divert attention from real issues.

Hamiyanze also expressed sadness at the move taken by the NGOCC to betray the confidence of the women they claimed to represent.

“Am actually perturbed to hear that NGOCC condemned the decent action taken by The Post to send the pictures to their office, the church and to the Vice-President for an immediate action over the strikes by health workers…NGOCC should come out in the open and tell the womenfolk they claim to represent what they discussed at State House with the President,” said Hamiyaze.