Kunda is contradicting Rupiah over NCC extension – Sata

Kunda is contradicting Rupiah over NCC extension – Sata
Written by Mwala Kalaluka
Sunday, September 13, 2009 8:24:15 AM

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) leader Michael Sata has said Vice-President George Kunda is making a fool of himself by asserting that the extension of the NCC took effect in April this year when the Statutory Instrument was only produced in August.

During the on-going sittings of the National Constitutional Conference (NCC), Vice-President Kunda was quoted as having told the delegates who wanted to know why their chairman Chifumu Banda said the extension was for 10 months while President Banda said it was four months that part of the extension approved in April had already been covered.

But Sata said in an interview yesterday that Vice-President Kunda was a dangerous man who had a history of misleading presidents over the issue of NCC. He said Vice-President Kunda was clearly contradicting President Banda following his explanation that the 10-month extension for NCC sittings was effected in April this year.

“Then it shows that he is useless and he does not know what he is doing,” he said. “When he says it is starting from April they should have concluded [NCC sittings] in July; that is where he is contradicting his President. George Kunda is a dangerous man. He is the one who misled the late president [Levy] Mwanawasa on this nonsense of NCC and he is the one who continues to mislead President Banda.”

Sata wondered how Vice-President Kunda, who is also Minister of Justice, could take four months to produce a Statutory Instrument on the extension of the NCC sittings.

“It does not matter what date it is because the NCC comes under his office,” he said.

Sata also advised Vice-President Kunda not to pre-empty President Banda’s response to the letter that he (Sata) wrote to the President advising him to revoke the Statutory Instrument that he signed on August 13, 2009 to extend the duration of the NCC sittings by 10 months.

According to Statutory Instrument number 52 of 2009 signed by President Banda and published in the government gazette, the duration had been extended by 10 months.

“That is not for him to answer. I wrote to the President to revoke the Statutory Instrument number 52. I wrote to the President and George Kunda should not pre-empty…the President’s word is final,” said Sata.

President Banda on Monday last week said the NCC had remained with four months to conclude its work on the new constitution contrary to the NCC’s announcement that he had approved the extension of their duration by 10 months.

Contrary to Chifumu Banda's announcement on September 1, 2009 that the head of state had approved the extension of the life of the NCC by 10 months, President Banda said that was not true and he expected the NCC to conclude its deliberation in the next four months.