Maravi

Kavindele goes for Rupiah

Kavindele goes for Rupiah
Written by Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 4:23:18 AM

FORMER Republican vice-president Enoch Kavindele yesterday said President Rupiah Banda has put the country on the path to destruction and warned that Zambians will certainly stop the current regime if the MMD party fails to do so. And Kavindele said the growing discontent among Zambians on the performance of the judiciary is justified as the country has never witnessed the current levels of executive interference in the judicial process.

In an interview, Kavindele urged President Banda to make his position known on the calls by some MMD members for the party to forego the convention before the 2011 general elections.

Commenting on the status quo in the country, Kavindele said he could no longer keep quiet and watch while the MMD and the country were being driven into destruction by people who only found themselves in the ruling party by being in the right place at the right time.

Kavindele said the formation of the MMD was a rejection of the one party state dictatorial tendency, which President Banda was peddling with the help of the few top cliques in the party.

“I had desired to quietly fade away from politics, but realising the way things are developing in the country and our party MMD, I think I should summon my experience in politics and take an active role. Things are certainly getting out of hand,” Kavindele said.

“Rupiah is not in MMD because of his contribution to the party but it was a question of being in the right place at the right time so much so that apart from those few who are benefiting from his rule, the rest of the members in the country would not allow the change of the rules that have governed our party since inception.”

Kavindele advised President Banda to seek legitimacy from the MMD members. He said being acting party president, President Banda could not make decisions in the party as he did not have the mandate of the ordinary members.

“In North Western Province, we say nakwate ku makunga, translated as to mean 'just holding on to the spears for the owners but not use them',” Kavindele said. “So, President Banda should not use the spears that he is keeping for other…he should not use his acting position to disadvantage the party by taking the hands of time backwards. We abandoned UNIP because we didn't like the one man syndrome and therefore, it will be sad that many years later, we should be going to the system we discarded. In terms of the rules of the MMD, Rupiah is an acting president meaning he is just the care and maintenance of our party. President Banda should not be misled by those that are ill-advising him because the formation of the MMD was the rejection by the Zambian people of this so-called sole candidacy syndrome. So, they will not accept UNIPIST tendencies. And if the MMD does not stop him, the Zambian people will certainly do it in 2011.”

Kavindele likened the ongoing endorsement of non-convention calls for MMD before 2011 general elections from some provincial executives to the infamous third term debate peddled by former president Frederick Chiluba prior to the 2001 elections. He warned that the MMD was not going to survive beyond 2011 if it abandoned the multiparty practices on which it was founded.

He advised President Banda to state clearly his position on people calling for the postponement of the MMD convention, adding that while a few elite members of the party were calling for the deferment, the majority opposed the move as it was undemocratic.

“It will be an error of judgment on his part to think he can change the status quo in the party…and if he does succeed, then the MMD can't survive the next elections,” Kavindele said. “Our members are not coming out for fear of being harassed but deep down their hearts, they will be towing the democratic values we have always cherished as a party. We have a situation where the majority of the party members are not able to speak out openly on the issue as they get nearer to the elections, they will come out and state their position in the party which will be detrimental to the interest of the party. If Rupiah is not careful, azaitaya. It does not help his calling to remain mute about the question of convention. This tactic of keeping quiet was applied by Dr Chiluba where he said 'let the people debate.' By the time the decision was made, the party and country was in total disarray. And had Dr Chiluba stood in that election, he would have been defeated because he left the decision to the last minute. And equally for President Banda, by the time he makes the decision, it will be too late.”

Kavindele hailed the MMD provincial leadership in Western Province for opposing President Banda's quest to contest the 2011 elections without being subjected to national convention. He recalled that the downfall of Chiluba's third term bid was triggered after Lusaka and Southern province leaderships rejected the unconstitutional maneuvres by the former head of state.

Kavindele said the MMD convention is a must. He proposed that each MMD member of parliament should contribute K10 million from their gratuities towards the successful holding of the meeting.

“I see a parallel party in the MMD…those willing to respect the party rules and regulations through our constitution and those breaking the party’s own constitution,” Kavindele said. “We have to adhere to our values by respecting our constitution. The developments in Western Province are not an isolated incident but that is the thinking of a lot of our members. But unfortunately, due to threats they are not able to come out in the open. Rupiah should subject himself to elections. In fact, he also has the incumbency…he should make it clear where the country and the party is going to proceed and not for others. He is not a default President who leaves the running of the country to senior party officials who in this case are misleading him and by the time he accepts that a convention be held, those advocating for it now would have become more popular than those advocating the non-holding of the convention.”

And Kavindele warned that the growing eroding citizenry confidence in the judiciary was recipe for anarchy.

“The last 10 months has caused discontent in operations of the judiciary because the executive interference has eroded its independence in making just decision,” Kavindele said. “…this situation will certainly lead to slippery sloping destruction of the country's justice delivery system because the judiciary as we have known it to be…so it is about everyone respecting court orders because democracies depend on the rule of law but if interference of the operations of the judiciary continues, there will be anarchy in the country.”

Labels: ENOCH KAVINDELE, MMD, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 3:23 AM