Maravi

Division is clear over convention in MMD – Magande

Division is clear over convention in MMD – Magande
Written by Patson Chilemba and Mwala Kalaluka
Friday, October 16, 2009 2:29:03 AM

FORMER finance minister Ng'andu Magande has said division is clearly showing in the MMD over attempts by President Rupiah Banda and his colleagues to forego the convention. And former foreign affairs minister Mundia Sikatana has asked President Banda to resign from the MMD for trying hard to break the rules and regulations of the party.

In an interview, Magande - who is also Chilanga MMD member of parliament - said President Banda's statement that those who were agitating for the convention should resign meant that all those who were following the party constitution should resign.

“So the people who are going to be left in the party are those who are not following the constitution. I will go to my ward to tell them not to hold elections because doing so would be going against the constitution,” Magande said.

“Our acting president for MMD must just come out in the open to tell members that according to the constitution, we must have a convention every after five-years. Let him just come out and read the article in the constitution that the convention is part of the structures of the party.”

Magande said at first the excuse for not wanting to hold the convention was that President Banda had already been endorsed as a sole candidate, but after pressure from party members, the President's camp came up with another argument that there were no funds for the undertaking.

He said President Banda and other party leaders should sit down and find money to hold the convention. Magande said he had failed to understand why the Western Province executive committee was dissolved.

“They should have taken a list of all those for the convention and dismissed them. Why being selective? How do you run an organisation like that?” Magande asked. “This whole issue of convention or no convention is going to divide the party, and that's what it is showing.”

President Banda on Tuesday asked MMD members who were agitating for the holding of the national convention to resign from the party and join political parties they think will hold conventions soon.

Magande also said the disclosure by President Banda that he would have been miserable if former president Frederick Chiluba was found guilty and sent to prison on corruption charges would set a bad precedent for the country.

“It's a bad precedence for the future because in future this is what will apply when a former head of state commits a offence; that after all, that person was not convicted,” said Magande.

And Sikatana said President Banda was totally wrong to ask people to resign from the MMD for agitating to hold the convention.

“He should resign himself. He found us, having founded the MMD. We welcomed him. He cannot show us the way out. In fact, he is being misled by people that may be cheating him that they are supporting him. There is no support there. What are they supporting?” Sikatana said.

“I would advise him that there is no provision in the party constitution where he can deny us our constitutional rights to hold a convention. I am a founder member of the MMD.”

Sikatana said he did not understand where President Banda was taking the MMD.

“He can't take it anywhere. In fact, I would like to see him. I would advise him to pick a copy of the MMD constitution, read it thoroughly and seek advice from people like Aka; the originals. I am an original. There is no provision bwana for cancelling a convention,” he said.

On the dissolution of the MMD Western Province executive committee, Sikatana warned that the people of Western Province had been excluded from political leadership long enough, saying enough was enough.

“The type of inclusion is not to be nominated, no. Let's compete for leadership and that competition should be free and fair,” he said.

On President Banda's description of Patriotic Front (PF) members of parliament as mad people after they drove on Kasama-Mporokoso road near the venue where he was addressing a campaign rally on Monday, Sikatana said President Banda's language was unbecoming of a 'democrat'.

“The first page [of The Post's edition of October, 14, 2009], vioneni vimasilu! Onani! Onani!, Banda derides PF MPs in Kasama. Whoever advises Rupiah Banda should be sacked. I would advise the President to sack whoever is advising him on such issues,” Sikatana said. “We can't succeed as a nation on having a top leadership that calls each other names.”

Sikatana asked President Banda to start afresh by avoiding squabbles. He said President Banda should avoid vulgar language and work towards uniting people in the nation.

And Mongu MMD vice-secretary Eric Mukubesa yesterday said they were ready to resign from the ruling party due to President Banda's dictatorial manouvres to forego the convention.

In an interview from Mongu, Mukebesa that President Banda was behaving like a camel and that the people of Mongu were no longer interested in dictatorship.

Mukubesa was reacting to President Banda's statement in Kasama that those agitating for the holding of the MMD convention should resign and join other political parties.

“If he says that and he wants to continue to behave like a camel…it is not good for us, we can resign,” Mukubesa said. “If that is what he says that he wants to continue, that is not what we told the people when we were campaigning for him last year.”

Mukubesa said President Banda was scared of the convention because he had not performed.

“He has not performed especially in Western Province,” he said. “Our development in Western Province is static.”

Mukubesa said it was sad that President Banda, who shook as the 2008 presidential elections results were being announced, does not now consider the people of Western Province.

“We can't work with somebody who is not considering us. He even said he did not solicit for our support. It is a disgrace and an insult for him to say he did not solicit for our vote,” Mukubesa said. “If that is the kind of development we will get from such a person, how can we continue? Like for me, I will no longer support him. It's better we support somebody else who can help us to development.”

Mukubesa said any attempts at eroding the ruling party's democratic credentials through the postponement of the convention would not be accepted.

“MMD in the Western Province is divided. There is one that is for dictatorship and the other one where we are. I am resigning from MMD of UNIP, which does not want democracy,” he said.

Mukubesa commended chairperson for the dissolved MMD provincial executive committee, Simasiku Namakando, from rising from his 'slumber'.

“Let us have more brave people like Namakando. We have been cheated and enough is enough,” said Mukubesa.

And the UPND has questioned Western Province minister Adonis Mufalali's decision to prematurely relocate road equipment from Shangombo to his constituency in Sesheke.

Shangombo UPND coordinator Poniso Njeulu has questioned the reasoning behind Mufalali's decision to relocate a front-loader, two graders and tipper to Sesheke when the road rehabilitation works on the Shangombo road are still outstanding.

Njeulu said Shangombo residents were worried because the road leading to the Boma would become impassable during the rainy season if it was not worked on now.

Labels: CAMPAIGNING, MAGANDE, MMD

posted by MrK @ 1:29 AM