Maravi

Levy’s son goes for chiluba

Levy’s son goes for chiluba
By Chibaula Silwamba
Mon 26 Oct. 2009, 04:00 CAT [

Late president Levy Mwanawasa’s eldest son Patrick (above) has charged that former president Frederick Chiluba is a spent force in active politics and his contribution to the MMD is destructive rather than constructive.

And Patrick has demanded the holding of the MMD convention to elect the new national executive committee (NEC) members since the party has already adopted president Rupiah Banda as its sole candidate for 2011, saying the current committee has departed from the principles upon which the ruling party was founded. Meanwhile, Patrick has expressed displeasure at Vice-President George Kunda’s insolence for Mwanawasa’s legacy.

In an interview in Lusaka on Saturday, Patrick said it was ironic how the powers that be were downplaying the numerous development projects initiated by Mwanawasa and instead they were formulating a campaign strategy around Chiluba for the 2011 elections.

“With due respect to Dr Chiluba, I feel he is a spent force in active politics. His contribution to our party is destructive rather than constructive, and instead should be encouraged to take up projects that will make a difference to humanity,” Patrick said.

“He is now a free man so let him be free like his fellow colleagues, the Obasanjos former president of Nigeria Olusegni Obasanjo, Mois former president of Kenya Daniel arap Moi and Muluzis former president of Malawi Bakili Muluzi of this world. His contribution to Democracy has been acknowledged and when the scribes narrate his chronicles they will show enough gratitude as he showed to the Zambian people.” Patrick observed that the opposition political parties were using Mwanawasa’s achievements to gain political support.

“You can discern from the way opposition political parties are going about their business that they are using positive aspects of our late president’s tenure and positive tactics which enabled MMD to carry the day in 2006,” Patrick said. “But with us, we want to parade this man Chiluba, praise him in all nine provinces, especially after admitting that we tampered with the legal process of facilitating his acquittal,” Patrick lamented.

“This is the kind of ignorance the people of Zambia do not appreciate. Yes Mwanawasa is not MMD and he is not Zambia. But do you mean to tell me that you will be unpopular if you state that you oversaw the rehabilitation of the road network in Kasama? Do you mean to tell me you will be unpopular by saying you were ‘building on the promise’ by overseeing the completion of Mansa airport than calling a person non grata a damn good president?” Patrick observed that Vice-President Kunda was disrespectful to his late boss, Mwanawasa.

“Whilst I concur with the current leadership that Levy Mwanawasa is a very tough act to follow, it is also true that it was the people of Zambia who raised his level of performance thus taking this country where he left it and as such it is very difficult to govern Zambia if we depart from all the good things Levy Mwanawasa did,” Patrick said. “To add insult to injury, Honourable George Kunda even makes a mockery of Dr. Mwanawasa by stating that government is committed to upholding Levy’s legacy only three weeks after the Hansard recorded him as saying there is no legacy to follow or talk about. Can you imagine the insolence?”

Patrick also condemned some veteran politicians for issuing statements against diplomats concerning some governance issues in the country.

He said there was a need for Zambia to have dynamic politics, politics of innovation and not intimidation, politics of inspiration and not oppression. Patrick said it was time to fundamentally change the way Zambians practiced politics.

“To help build a new foundation for the future, we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative,” Patrick said.

“There is a need for our country to have dynamic politics, politics that will demand new thinking and a new sense of responsibility to every citizen… As a party, we have resolved to endorse Rupiah Banda as our presidential candidate for 2011 and I can relate to the reasons for floating RB as our candidate. However, I feel the National Executive Committee needs a fresh mandate because the current one leaves much to be desired as they have departed from the principles upon which our party was founded.”
Patrick said the MMD must go to the convention.

“We have been led to believe that President Banda is very popular in our party and rightly so, because the party at all levels in eight of our nine provinces has endorsed him as MMD presidential candidate for the 2011 elections. But what party members want is the MMD to go for a convention and the party has elections at all levels foregoing the presidency but at least have a contest for the vice-presidency filtering down to the trustees.

This is a logical solution really, leading up to the days of our last convention, president Mwanawasa adopted a similar stance,” Patrick said. “I recall there was a heavy battle pertaining to the number two position vice-presidency but because he realised the party would fall apart, he postponed elections.”

Patrick said had Mwanawasa not taken a decisive and selfless step like that, it would have been difficult for him to govern the country, given the circumstances he had found himself in.

“Going by recent events in Western Province and in particular those of the Kasama by-election, there is a need to seriously ask our provincial executive committees (PECs) to rethink their undemocratic decision of backing proposals of postponing the convention, and the first province to show leadership in this matter must be Northern,” Patrick said. “It is time we as MMD endeared ourselves back to the people of Zambia, we need to evoke nostalgic feelings. The masses need to be reminded that we are the guardians of democracy and not the destroyers.”

Patrick said whilst he agreed with the chairman of dissolved Western Province committee Imasiku Namakando on his stance regarding the convention, he did not agree with his statement that MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba was selfish and eyeing State House.

“Rather, he is doing his job as is expected of a national secretary. And it is important to realise that in the absence of a democratically elected party president, our national secretary is the only assurance we have that the principles of democracy are defended within MMD,” Patrick said and acknowledged that the MMD was showing signs of undemocratic tendencies.

“I tend to agree with my party elders pertaining to certain undemocratic tendencies creeping into the party especially those that have been echoed by Honourable George Mpombo and former Republican vice-president Enoch Kavindele,” Patrick said. “However, I think it is unfortunate that a price is being slapped on the Kafulafuta vote when we very well know that the party has no intentions of going for a by election in that constituency. Furthermore, it is sad to think that certain politicians look at the people of Zambia as opportunistic when it comes to by-election.”

Patrick said as the MMD were preparing for 2011, it was important to undertake an analysis of what parameters should be used to win the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. He said an abstract criterion was not decisive in this evaluation.

“But much more decisive is our country’s historical consciousness, the people’s feelings and their impulses. But that also is not determined accidentally but rather by the general conditions society finds itself,” Patrick said. “I don’t want to be regarded as a polemic character to our government but a voice of reason. Let us remind ourselves that there is the 2030 vision, which must be achieved. It was founded on democratic demands whose principles entail respect for the rule of law, transparency in government i.e the separation of powers and the self-determination of the Zambian masses.

Now, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that these are the elements which formed the cornerstone of Levy Mwanawasa’s time in office, and they are the same elements the party is trying to get rid of.” And Patrick said he looked forward to a day when Zambia would have a female president.

“Not too long ago, my mother Maureen Mwanawasa allegedly declared her intention to stand for President in the 2016 elections. Her announcement received mixed reactions and I can understand why people responded as they did,” Patrick said. “Let it be known that Maureen Mwanawasa has my undivided loyalty in whatever she does. But as I comment on national issues, a reasonable approach is warranted. I like to believe that I will live long enough to see a woman lead our country and as such I concede it makes for interesting times ahead. However, I feel the net should be cast wider in terms of choice as regards a female presidency.”

Patrick said he had spoken to several women and they were excited about such a prospect but their feeling was that they wanted the best candidate for Zambia.
“Need I say that names like Chongwe member of parliament Sylvia Masebo, Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission director Mable Mung’omba and finance deputy minister Chileshe Kapwepwe have all been touted,” Patrick said. “From that regard, I tend to think that these women who possess presidential material must be encouraged to debate about national issues so that Zambians can establish which one of them has not just any vision but a unique vision that will take our country forward.”

And Patrick condemned people denouncing his father’s fight against corruption.
“Another disillusioned charlatan, Edwin Sakala, went to Muvi TV and claimed the fight against corruption was fake and nothing came out in the past eight years,” Patrick said. “Here is a man, as old as he is, throwing his toys out of the pram just because he has been an unsuccessful politician. Dear Jesus, in the past eight years Zambia had its debt cancelled and we managed to build up reserves at Bank of Zambia for the first time since colonial days.

These reserves were valued at US $900 million at the time of death of our president. Need I say that Zambia’s stance against corruption and its accession to the APRM (an initiative taken up by Ghana and Uganda, countries which Mr Sakala admired for how they were rapidly developing) earned her this benefit.

And here you are, silver coins in your pocket, with such audacity as a small man in a small party to say nothing came out in the past eight years! If that’s the case, whilst you were out protesting at the British High Commission, demolish that national monument of Levy Mwanawasa’s tomb at Embassy Park.”

Labels: CHILUBA, MMD, NEC, PATRICK MWANAWASA

posted by MrK @ 5:46 AM