Rupiah angers C/belt PF mayors

Rupiah angers C/belt PF mayors
Written by Mutuna Chanda and Zumani Katasefa in Ndola
Monday, July 06, 2009 11:55:28 AM

ALMOST all Copperbelt PF mayors on Saturday boycotted the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the ultra modern stadium in Ndola following President Rupiah Banda’s attacks on PF leader Michael Sata on his arrival at the Ndola International Airport. And President Banda has urged MMD cadres to make sure that the opposition never rules Zambia.

Meanwhile, Copperbelt MMD chairman Joseph Chilambwe ordered civil servants to lift the MMD symbol when singing the national anthem at the airport after President Banda addressed cadres upon arrival.

In an interview yesterday, Chingola mayor Simon Chanda, in the company of other PF mayors, said the civic leaders could not stand President Banda’s encouragement of insults against Sata. Chanda said this in reference to President Banda’s reaction to a song which MMD women were singing at the airport that Sata would never rule Zambia.

While the women sang, President Banda mumbled along.

“Chipongwe chi Sata iyaya tawatekepo icalo twakana iyaya (Talkative Sata, you’ll never rule the country; we have refused),” the women sang as President Banda remarked: “Ah! That’s my song.”

Chanda said the PF mayors were upset that President Banda encouraged insults against their leader.

“We were very disappointed yesterday when we came to the airport to welcome the President that he was encouraging insults against our president,” Chanda said.

“…In our coming to welcome him, we are just following the law but if he continues insulting our president, we’ll be boycotting.”

He said the PF mayors almost boycotted welcoming Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete but changed their minds.

“And for the President to say that ‘I like that song’, we were upset and decided not to even go to the groundbreaking ceremony,” said Chanda.

And Chililabombwe mayor Ben Mpande said President Banda should differentiate between state functions and those of the party.

“If it’s an MMD function, they can say whatever they like,” said Mpande.

And addressing MMD cadres on arrival, President Banda, in reference to PF and UPND pact, said the opposition would never rule the country whether individually or collectively.

“Make sure they never rule the country,” President Banda said. “Our party, as long as we are there, they will never rule … because we are together. That’s why they are looking for little cracks that ‘they are fighting in MMD’, we never talk about them.”

President Banda also said he had heard that some opposition leaders were demanding the truth over what he was suffering from when he underwent knee surgery in South Africa.

“I am going to tell the truth; I am not suffering from what they are suffering from,” President Banda said.

And after President Banda addressed the cadres, Chilambwe asked them to lift the MMD symbol when singing the national anthem including civil servants whom he said were appointed by President Banda.

And President Banda said the MMD would continue to be in power until 2011.

During the ground-breaking ceremony to mark the commencement of the construction of the ultra modern stadium in Ndola on Saturday, President Banda said MMD’s political opponents were hoping that the party would crumble, but that would not happen.

“…We are determined, it is us who are running this country. We are going to rule until 2011…We will fight for our independence,” he said.

President Banda said the MMD was a democratic party, adding that some opposition political parties had mistaken this to confusion.

President Banda said he was a true party cadre who knew what he was doing in politics.

“That is true, I am a cadre. I became a cadre at 17, I see young politicians they think they can play politics. I may be quiet but at the end of the day, I know what to do,” he said after MMD cadres praised him through a song that he was a real party cadre.

He also said health workers who went on strike would not be paid for the days that they downed tools so as to discourage more strikes in the country.

President Banda said the government would not dismiss the workers who went on strike but would allow them to go back for work.

He said health workers who would fail to go back to work should consider themselves dismissed.