Maravi

Days are numbered for young politicians calling Rupiah names, warns Chiluba

Days are numbered for young politicians calling Rupiah names, warns Chiluba
Written by Mutuna Chanda and Bonaventure Mubanga in Kitwe
Tuesday, August 04, 2009 2:14:29 AM

FORMER president Frederick Chiluba has said days are numbered for young politicians who call President Rupiah Banda names. And Chiluba has said Zambia needs to strengthen its ties with Israel for it to prosper.

Addressing church leaders during an interdenominational service at Living Water Global Ministries on Sunday afternoon in Kitwe, Chiluba said young people needed to respect their parents, including those who were not their biological mothers or fathers.

He said the days were numbered for young politicians who called President Banda names because he was an old man.

He said the young people who 'insulted' elders were cursed.

And Chiluba asked for God's forgiveness for having been part of a Zambian delegation to the United Nations in 1973, which voted for the isolation of Israel and that from then on Zambia began experiencing problems to the extent of having food shortages.

He said Zambia started to prosper after restoring ties with Israel when he assumed office in 1991.

"Don't play with things that God has declared and decreed," Chiluba said in reference to Israel. "We have a duty to preach this within our borders in Zambia and we have a duty to preach this in Africa. Africa needs to be liberated... we need to develop strong relations with our brothers in Israel. Sugar and mealie-meal were in abundance because we went back to the blessings of Abraham after restoring relations with Israel."

Chiluba said Zambia and Israel must always be one.

"... This is why when I became President, I restored Zambia's relationship with Israel. Israel is a blessed nation and this is why we should be closer to it so that the blessings that God pours out on Israel will be spilling to us. Israel and Zambia must be one and support each other. Israel may be a small country, but the God in Israel is bigger and when He fights for them, it is not child's play," he said. "It was sad that our first Republican president Dr Kenneth Kaunda in his temper decided to cut ties with Israel, but when I became president, I restored the relationship with Israel because I knew that Israel was a blessed nation. Just after restoring the relationship with Israel, the shortages of essential commodities like sugar, mealie-meal and others came to an end."

He said all nations that aligned themselves with Israel were prosperous.

He cited an example of the United States of America, which he said despite having done crazy things had been spared by God because of its closeness to Israel.

He said America came to the defense of Israel when many countries in the world were against it.

He said Zambia could benefit a lot in areas such as education from strong relations with Israel.

He said Israel, despite being a desert, had successful agriculture.

Chiluba said God used him to restore Zambia's relations with Israel.

Chiluba further said the suffering of Zambians would have been worse if he did not sell them houses.

He said he could not imagine what life would have been for retirees and retrenches had he listened to those who were against his idea of selling houses to sitting tenants.

Chiluba, who spoke mostly in Bemba, said he saw no reason why he should not have sold houses to sitting tenants when the mines that had produced the money to build the houses were in Zambia.

"The mines were in Zambia and the people who were working in the mines that had produced the money to build the houses were Zambians and so it was just fair that I sold them houses so that they benefit. With the attitude of some of these investors, I really do not know how life could have been for retirees and retrenches if I had not brought the house empowerment programme," Chiluba said.

Chiluba was accompanied by his wife Regina.

From time to time during Chiluba's speech, Regina would stand up to give him water after which he would remark: "I know what I would be without you; I wouldn't manage well; my wife is getting better every day; she is a good mother; chaliwama ukwisa nomukashi wobe uko wafyalilwe [it's good to come with your wife to your birthplace]."

And Copperbelt Pastors' Fellowship chairperson Steven Mwakibinga said Chiluba had brought a lot of good things in Zambia that had improved people's lives.

Pastor Mwakibinga said the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation and the house empowerment programme was one of the good things that Chiluba brought that benefited many people.

"It is a blessing to be here today. Our former Republican president Dr Chiluba, it is an honour to gather like this today. Our gathering here has a greater meaning. The Lord gave us a blessing in our second Republican president and for that I stand here to let him know. When you became president, you brought a lot of good things," said pastor Mwakibinga.

Labels: CHILUBA, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 1:14 AM