Kunda is misleading Banda on NCC lifespan – Kabimba

Kunda is misleading Banda on NCC lifespan – Kabimba
Written by George Chellah
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 12:16:25 AM

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) secretary general Wynter Kabimba yesterday said Vice-President George Kunda is incompetent and he is misleading President Rupiah Banda on the extension of the National Constitutional Conference (NCC)'s lifespan. In an interview, Kabimba, who is also a lawyer, said Vice-President Kunda was confusing President Banda over the NCC.

"George Kunda has misled Rupiah Banda in the matter. The Statutory Instrument is very, very clear that the lifespan of the NCC has been extended for 10 months with effect from August 2009," Kabimba said.

"There is nowhere in that Statutory Instrument where that is backdated. That's not how you issue a Statutory Instrument or a piece of legislation in government. You don't backdate it."

Kabimba attributed the inconsistencies surrounding the extension of the NCC's lifespan to inexperienced people who he said were currently running the government.

"The honourable thing to do is where they have made a mistake, they must concede. It’s not politics every time. They have been saying that we should criticise constructively. We constructively decided to write to the President by way of constructive engagement as an opposition," he said. "As an opposition political party we have a duty to Zambians to inform them what is going on. We brought this to the President that ‘you have been misled’ because the law he signed or was made to sign is different from the public pronouncement he made."

Kabimba said the position given was contrary to the Statutory Instrument that was signed in August.

"It makes the period run for 10 months. Let George Kunda show the country the Statutory Instrument signed in April to extend the lifespan of the NCC," he said.

He urged Vice-President Kunda to apologise to President Banda and the people of Zambia.

"The Vice-President is not even legal advisor to the President. It's high time people in government assumed the sense of public shame. Instead of people agitating that you are a bad leader and you have been misleading your boss, resign," said Kabimba. "George Kunda himself must step down because it has been proven on so many occasions that he is incompetent. At the rate he is going, by the time he will leave office he will have no name to himself. You can't afford to be making mistakes everyday. He should step down because he is not serving this nation any good."

During the ongoing sittings of the 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.

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.

Recently, President Banda 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 extensions 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.