Maravi

It seems Kaande is more powerful than Rupiah, says Namakando

It seems Kaande is more powerful than Rupiah, says Namakando
By Patson Chilemba
Sat 26 Dec. 2009, 04:01 CAT

SIMASIKU Namakando has challenged President Rupiah Banda to state whether or not he is behind Jeff Kaande’s disparaging remarks on the dissolved Western Province MMD executive.

Reacting to MMD deputy national secretary Kaande’s statement that the chairperson for the dissolved committee Simasiku Namakando and his executive were no longer MMD members because they took the party to court, Namakando wondered why President Banda had kept quiet over the matter. He said it seemed that Kaande was more powerful than President Banda.

“The President is allowing this person to continue undermining his authority.

If the President came and told the people of Western Province that he has reconciled with his provincial chairman, who is Jeff Kaande to overrule the President? Now the question is the President is keeping quiet. What is his official authority position? Are we members of the MMD or not, like what Kaande has said?” Namakando asked.

“We thought when we reconciled with the President, the President knew that yes, we went to the courts of law, but he called me and my friends to meet him and I even went with him to Liuwa as his provincial chairman. Now who is Jeff Kaande to overrule the President? This is the problem that we are having in the MMD.”

Namakando said Kaande recently told the people of Western Province, during his recent trip to the area that he did not recognise President Banda’s reconciliation with the Namakando-led executive.

“So for Kaande to continue talking the way he is talking, we don’t know whether it is the official position coming from His Excellency or it is his Kaande’s way of running the party. I think only the President knows what the official position is, so he has to come out and tell us,” he said.

Namakando said only President Banda could show the way forward over the reconciliation.

He said he was surprised over the manner things were being run because the national secretary had no power to overrule the President.

Namakando said his committee thought that the reconciliation with President Banda was the official position of the party.

“Let me give you an example; when the late president Mwanawasa suspended the national chairman, Honourable Michael Mabenga, it was himself again who reconciled with him, and the national secretary never challenged him anywhere. But in this case, Jeff Kaande is challenging the authority of the President,” said Namakando.

“In the Western Province he said he doesn’t recognize what President Banda did because he was not part and parcel of that meeting. So we don’t know why things have changed now, we don’t know whether what Kaande is saying is the official position from the President or he is undermining him. Only the President can tell us.”

Namakando said he expected President Banda to state his position over the matter and to tell Kaande that he was undermining his authority in the party.

Recently, Kaande said Namakando and his committee were no longer MMD members because they took the party to court.

Kaande said they should reapply to rejoin the party.

Labels: JEFF KAANDE, RUPIAH BANDA, SIMASIKU NAMAKANDO

posted by MrK @ 6:49 AM