Maravi

Rupiah is a habitual liar, says Kapita

Rupiah is a habitual liar, says Kapita
Written by Chibaula Silwamba and Nchima Nchito Jr
Monday, July 20, 2009 7:33:44 AM

UNITED Party for National Development (UPND) vice-president Richard Kapita has charged that President Rupiah Banda is a habitual liar. And Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata charged that President Banda is overwhelmed by the position he is occupying.

Commenting on President Banda's lies to King Mswati III of Swaziland that he got 100 per cent votes in North Western Province and that all members of parliament and councillors in the province belong to the MMD, Kapita said it was unfortunate for Zambia to have a liar as Republican President.

"It's a fabrication, it's a lie and it is unfortunate that a head of state can be telling lies instead of telling the truth. We have seen that President Banda lies on several occasions and it's unfortunate that the head of state continues to tell lies to foreign dignitaries," said Kapita in a telephone interview from Mwinilunga in North Western Province. "It's unfortunate for Zambia to have a President like that. We want him to tell the truth. People have no food, people have no medicine in hospitals, children are not going to school but if he concentrates on building an image, which is not there, but we have a President who tells his friends from another country that all is well, that is not correct. It's very bad for Zambia. I hope Zambians are seeing."

He observed that President Banda got less votes in last year's elections compared to what late president Levy Mwanawasa got in 2006.

"It's a total fabrication; it's unfortunate that the head of state can misled a colleague, King Mswati, all those are lies because President Banda did not get 100 per cent votes in North Western Province. In fact if you compare his vote and to Mwanawasa's vote, Mwanawasa got a better vote in 2006," Kapita said. "I am in Mwinilunga right now and I am sitting next to a member of parliament for Mwinilunga East honourable [Stephen] Katuka right now, he belongs to UPND. We have honourable [Charles] Kakoma Zambezi West he belongs to UPND. If you look at results for 2008 presidential by-election and compare the results in 2006, UPND has got back substantive majority in North Western Province and the results are there to show for themselves. I will give you an example of Mwinilunga East, we still won and in Mwinilunga West President Banda won with just 1,000 votes over [UPND president Hakainde] Hichilema."

He said the UPND and PF pact would beat the MMD in next month's local government elections in the province.

"We will see what will happen now in the by-elections that are coming in Mufumbwe, in Kabompo and Solwezi that we are going to win as UPND, as the pact," Kapita said.

Mwinilunga East UPND member of parliament Stephen Katuka said President Banda was embarrassing Zambia to foreign heads of state and their countries.

Katuka expressed displeasure at President Banda's assertion.

"President Banda did not take the votes worth talking about in Mwinilunga East and we have seven councillors in Mwinilunga who belong to the UPND. So where is the 100 per cent coming from?" Katuka asked. "It's a total fabrication; we are just embarrassing ourselves as a country. I don't belong to the MMD and I wouldn't even want to belong to them, I am very proud of the party which I belong to. I am not one of the MPs that belong to the MMD."

And Sata said President Banda was confused.

"When he went to Central Province, he claimed a 100 per cent victory. When he went to Mongu, he claimed a 100 per cent victory. Even in North Western

Province he is claiming a 100 per cent victory. Next he will be claiming a 100 per cent victory in Lusaka," Sata said. "It's not even a question of mathematics but simple arithmetic that he is failing to calculate. He doesn't know which way he is going."

Sata said King Mswati, whom Rupiah was trying to deceive, was not new to Zambia.

"King Mswati has been here before. He used to come to Zambia during [former presidents Frederick] Chiluba and [Kenneth] Kaunda's days. He took Mswati to North Western Province because he had nothing to show him that he had achieved," Sata said. "The deceit of our President, that [mine] is not his project. He was cheating Mswati because he had nothing to show him."

Sata said even President Banda's Vice-President, George Kunda, was an opportunist who was failing his President in advising him despite being a learned lawyer.

In Solwezi on Saturday, President Banda told King Mswati that: "We in the last election, Your Majesty, can claim to have won a 100 per cent of the support vote in the last election here, my opponent got zero. All the councillors you see in blue, all of them they are from my party. All the members of parliament, who are in parliament, there is no one from this province who is not MMD. They are all ours. I think it is a special province."

However, according to the figures from the 2008 presidential election, President Banda got 60 per cent of the votes cast in Chavuma Constituency, Mufumbwe [70 per cent], Kabompo East [50 per cent], Kabompo West [55 per cent], Kasempa [72 per cent], Mwinilunga East [39 per cent], Mwinilunga West [52 per cent], Solwezi Central [65 per cent], Solwezi East [62 per cent], Solwezi West [61 per cent], Zambezi East [59 per cent] and Zambezi West [44 per cent].

Out of the 12 constituencies in the province, 10 are for the MMD while two - Mwinilunga East and Zambezi West - are represented by UPND parliamentarians, Katuka and Charles Kakoma, respectively.

Last Friday night, during a state banquet hosted for King Mswati and his wife, Inkosikati Make La-Magongo, at Hotel Intercontinental, President Banda said King Mswati was a wise leader who has successfully blended traditional and democratic governance.

"While you allow traditions to guide the Swazi Society, you have alongside ensured that the Swazi people benefit from economic development and actively participate in the election of their representatives in the government of your majesty," President Banda said. "We pay tribute to you personally and your people for the successful conduct of the elections last September, which contributed to the democratic rule not only in your kingdom but also the SADC region as a whole."

Meanwhile, Sata, who was in visibly good health throughout the interview, continually answered calls from people who enquired over his health after circulation of a text message on Saturday night that he had collapsed.

Sata said the circulation of the message was the behaviour of people who were panicking.

"Look at me! Do I look like a collapsed person who has collapsed to you?" Sata asked this reporter. "Those people who are sending these messages are panicking; I don't know what's worrying them. I want you to tell the nation in what health you found me."

Sata said this was just an indication of how panic had spread in certain camps over the impeachment calls

On the death of his father-in-law Lackson Kaseba, Sata said it was government's inertia in the health sector that had caused bereavements in his family.

He said the death of Kaseba, who died last Saturday at Care for Business Hospital, could have been avoided.

"We took my father-in-law to [University Teaching Hospital] UTH but because nothing was happening there we decided to bring him back home. Yesterday when he got worse we took him to Care for Business and that's where he left us around 17:00 hours," Sata said.

He said poor people in Zambia were watching their relatives die helplessly because they had no resources to afford costs at private clinics.

"We need as a country to do something and do it now," said Sata.

Labels: KING MASWATI III, RICHARD KAPITA, RUPIAH BANDA, UPND

posted by MrK @ 6:32 AM