Banda risks losing at convention – Namakando

Banda risks losing at convention – Namakando
By Patson Chilemba
Mon 14 Dec. 2009, 04:01 CAT

PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda will lose at the MMD national convention if he continues surrounding himself with people like Jeff Kaande, chairperson of the dissolved Western Province executive committee Simasiku Namakando observed yesterday.

In an interview, Namakando said President Banda was working with people who were not dependable and were undermining him. He said former South African president Thabo Mbeki lost to President Jacob Zuma at the ANC convention because he worked with people that were undermining him.

Namakando said his executive committee was supposed to be reinstated following the recent reconciliation with President Banda but acting party national secretary Kaande decided otherwise and even organised elections for the interim committee in the province.

“So if President Banda is not very, very careful, if he is not reorganizing his secretariat, these people will cause damage to his presidency,” he said.

Asked if these people’s activities could cost President Banda an election at the convention, Namakando responded: “Yes, he should be very, very careful with these people. You see, you know when late president Levy Mwanawasa went there MMD convention, two-thirds of the NEC officials never voted for him, only the provincial chairmen voted for him. We know the activities, which were going on at the secretariat.

“Now if the President is depending on people who are undermining him, it will be a terrible thing which will happen there, some people pretend to work with the President and yet when they remain alone they undermine him. Such people are not good. They must tell the President the truth. When he is wrong, let them tell him he is wrong.”

Namakando insisted that some decisions were not being implemented in the party because people at the secretariat were undermining the President.

Asked to mention those who were undermining the President, Namakando responded: “You know the person running the secretariat now is MMD deputy national secretary Jeff Kaande. The President said, you know, a reconciliation means going back to the status quo isn’t it? We were supposed to be reinstated. When he came here, Jeff Kaande made some elections in Kalabo where he only allowed one constituency to elect a district chairman.”

Asked if those at the secretariat including Kaande were undermining the President, Namakando responded: “Obviously, obviously, the person who is running the secretariat is Jeff Kaande. He is undermining the President himself because the President should be in control.”

Namakando said the MMD was under threat because some people were undermining President Banda. Namakando doubted whether or not such people could organise a well meaning party convention.