Maravi

Ngondo to start reading The Post

Ngondo to start reading The Post
By Chibaula Silwamba
Sun 29 Nov. 2009, 04:01 CAT

ALL Peoples' Congress (APC) president Ken Ngondo has said he will start reading The Post because it is exposing corruption going on in the current government.

Featuring on Radio Phoenix’s Let the People Talk programme in Lusaka on Friday, Ngondo, who last year claimed that he had stopped reading The Post because it was attacking President Rupiah Banda, said he would resume reading the newspaper.

"I will start reading The Post and I will start answering questions from The Post reporters who have been phoning me very frequently that I am ready to read The Post newspaper.

The reason is simple; I have learnt that for a politician, good or bad publicity is still good and they have pointed out, from what I hear, certain aspects that have revealed the corruption that has been going on in this government," Ngondo said.

"In our manifesto, which you know very well, we talked of transparency. Let me read it to you: unnecessary secrets in governments lead to arrogance in government and defective policy decisions."
Ngondo explained that he had stopped reading The Post because it was biased against the presidential candidate the APC was backing, MMD's President Banda.

"From day one of the campaigns that we launched to support Rupiah Bwezani Banda, The Post took a very uncompromising angle, discrediting the President before he even took office. In other words they behaved like they were another political party." Ngondo said. "They probably had some preferred candidate. I had also to put my stand very clear."

Ngondo also claimed that he had not been paid any money by the MMD for his support for its candidate.

"When we took this stand to support MMD, my party, All Peoples' Congress Party never received a penny from MMD or the President although we hear some political parties received some money," Ngondo said. "My party never received a penny. Neither did my party go into an arrangement seeking a position in the government of MMD. That is how principled Ken Ngondo is."

Ngondo said the MMD and government never compromised him.

In mid September 2008, Ngondo declared that he had stopped buying and reading The Post because it was constantly attacking then vice-president Banda, his brother.

"Your paper is just attacking Rupiah although he is not answering but you have continued attacking him. That's why I buy all the papers but I don't buy your paper now," Ngondo had said.

And Ngondo promised to favourably revise media laws.

"We will introduce freedom of information Act and leading to more open government and an independent Central Statistical Office. This is what we said in our manifesto of 2006 when we participated in the presidential and general elections," Ngondo said.

"I am happy to see that progress is being made in this aspect where the media are now going to regulate themselves, should they agree, and it will bring transparency to the government of the day.

These are the reasons why I want the listeners and our supporters throughout the country that this is why we supported the presidential candidature of Rupiah Bwezani Banda."

He said his APC party was not MMD despite its support for the ruling party during last year's presidential by-elections.

Labels: KEN NGONDO, RUPIAH BANDA, THE POST

posted by MrK @ 4:49 AM