Maravi

I’m stubborn – Rupiah

I’m stubborn – Rupiah
Written by Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone
Saturday, October 17, 2009 12:52:41 AM

PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has said he is not a dictator but he is just stubborn. And President Banda has praised the Zambia Air Force (ZAF) for carrying out important duties such as distributing electoral materials in times of elections among other things.

Speaking on arrival in Livingstone on Thursday where he had gone to officiate at the ZAF pass-out parade, President Banda said he did not need to be told what he should do for the MMD. President Banda said every political party had its own problems.

“We don't have to be told what we need to do, a ruling party. That is why they call me a dictator. That is not true. I'm not a dictator, I'm just stubborn,” he said. “I will not allow any outsider to run this party from outside, to pretend that they are true members of this party when they are not. This party has come from a long way and no one will cause confusion in this party.”

President Banda said he would not allow anybody to interfere in the operations of the MMD especially not people like former vice-president Enoch Kavindele.

“As a President I won't allow anybody to interfere in the functions of the party from the outside. Just the other day he was at State House telling the problems he was going through. Maybe he thought that I did not listen to his problems. My brother says that the democracy in this party is threatened. It is not true, it is not true because he remembers very clearly when he was in UNIP and he tried to stand against Dr Kaunda. If he is honest, let him come out and in the paper tomorrow, I went to his room and said 'you are entitled to whatever you want to do, you are entitled to challenge whoever you want to challenge'. I'm not afraid of standing against anybody as president I m not afraid,” he said.

President Banda said the MMD had a lot to do for the people and their performance would determine their way forward in 2011.

He advised the MMD cadres not to be worried of the UPND-PF pact and mockingly said the country needed to change the Constitution to accommodate co-presidents. “We should not worry about the pact because we should possibly change our Constitution so that they can be co-Presidents,” he said

He also attacked the suspected UPND and PF cadres who disrupted Namwala UPND member of parliament Major Robbie Chizyuka's press briefing last Tuesday.

“The pact, for them to go with spears and knobkerries on innocent Zambian citizens such as Major Chizyuka will not be allowed and if you did that I would condemn you here and right now,” President Banda said.

On the dissolution of the Western Province party executive committee, President Banda said the former chairman Simasiku Namakando was now free to use the hostile newspapers to speak freely.

He wondered how Namakando could both be the provincial party chairperson and attack his brothers in the MMD through a hostile newspaper at the same time.

President Banda said he was the only president of the MMD.

He said the MMD should not be pushed on the issue of the convention.

“We are a democratic party but to say when we shall go and the day we should go is not being fair for any member of the party. When you have not been given a chance to work after being elected, we want to do certain things before we go to a convention. Let us continue, let us remain united and focus on the problems of the people and development of the party,” President Banda said.

Earlier, Southern Province MMD chairman Solomon Muzyamba said the province was politically stable.

“The pact is the decision of two leaders and members of the UPND and PF are not part of the pact. …The recent political sentiments against Major Chizyuka are a clear indication that the pact is headed for a downfall. It is a wait and see situation,” Muzyamba said.

Southern Province minister Daniel Munkombwe described President Banda as a distinguished manager, ambassador and cream of Zambian politics.

“I want to amplify that the chairman's statements that the pact is between two leaders. HH is now reducing himself to becoming a ward leader. He is in Kasiya and I found him in Kasiya. He can't go to Chitambo because he would stray, he is rejected. You cannot see MS [Michael Sata] here, you only see HH. He is adamant, they cannot exist without UPND and PF cannot exist without UPND. HH is here with our ward leaders rubbing shoulders with them. He should join MMD, he has a future and would be described as a cream of Zambian politics. But right now he is pouring mud on himself, he is tormenting himself,” Munkombwe said.

And officiating at the pass-out parade at Livingstone International Airport yesterday, President Banda urged ZAF officers to strive to be open-minded, non-partisan and serve Zambians with loyalty, honour, commitment and dignity.

President Banda said he was aware that military training was always a difficult undertaking because of the high physical endurance and the heavy demands on the trainee.

“The defence should employ effective methods and strategies to protect the lives and property of our people against all sorts of activities. I also wish to commend our men and women in uniform for carrying out important duties such as food production, road works and repairs, rehabilitation of street children, distribution of relief food as well as distribution of electoral materials in times of elections,” he said.

President Banda urged the officers not to take time to relax or take peace for granted.

“Be alert and remain vigilant at all times. Always approach your duties with professionalism and civility. Peace is a catalyst to economic development and therefore, it must be protected jealously. Be rational and judicious in the use of scarce resources in performing your duties. I would like you to work to inspire others and be always what is acceptable and expected of you,” he said.

President Banda, who received praises that he looked smart in the ZAF uniform he wore during the parade, also advised the officers to implement good ideas and rise above all challenges.

He said it was part of government's policy for women to have equal opportunities as their male counterparts.

“I m equally happy to learn that among the graduating officers today are young women who have trained alongside their male counterparts and qualified as pilots. I wish to commend these young women for their tenacity and resilience,” President Banda said.

He said he was also aware that the ZAF academy and the flying training school had been producing quality trained officers for over forty years.

He said the defence forces had a highly critical responsibility of preserving, protecting and defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Zambia so as to safeguard citizens from both internal and external aggression.

“For this reason, the defence force should optimise the use of available scarce resources in order to carry out this constitutional mandate effectively,” he said.

He said the government was aware of the numerous challenges the defence personnel faced in carrying out their duties.

“Despite this, I do not expect you to lose sight of your primary calling of defending and protecting this nation. As defenders of our peace and security, I expect you to remain focused and disciplined. Your government is mindful of the limitations of resources and we are addressing most of the challenges that confront the wellbeing of the personnel,” he said.

He warned the officers of the dangers of HIV AIDS, which had ravaged Zambia.

“This scourge poses a serious threat to the effectiveness of our defence force because it affects physical and mental fitness of its victim. I therefore wish to advise you, our young men and women graduating today, to treat HIV/AIDS as your number one enemy,” President Banda said.

ZAF commander Lieutenant General Samuel Mapala acknowledged government's resolve to tackle the economic hardships of Zambia in light of the global economic crisis.

“It is because of your government's resolve that we are now seeing development. I wish to thank government for the efforts to make available more resources to ZAF. Furthermore, I wish to thank you for facilitating the joint military exercise in South Africa involving soldiers in the SADC region. This is important because it fosters corporation between these countries and also offers us an opportunity to prepare ourselves for many calamities,” he said.

Lt Gen Mapala said of the 18 ZAF officers that had graduated, eight were engineers while nine were pilots including three women.

Labels: RUPIAH BANDA, ZAF

posted by MrK @ 11:52 PM