Maravi

People will suffer more if PF-UPND pact fails – Nalubamba

People will suffer more if PF-UPND pact fails – Nalubamba
By Patson Chilemba
Fri 04 Dec. 2009, 04:01 CAT

SENIOR chief Bright Nalubamba of the Ila people of Namwala district yesterday asked Michael Sata and Hakainde Hichilema to ensure that the PF-UPND pact works because the people will suffer more should it fail.

And chief Nalubamba asked Sata and Hichilema to authorise him and other chiefs to talk to some MMD members of parliament who include George Mpombo, Gabriel Namulambe, Ng'andu Magande and Sylvia Masebo for them to join the pact.

During a meeting, which chief Nalub-amba, chief Chim-buka and chief Hanjalika of Maza-buka district convened at Lusaka's Blue Nile Lodge yesterday, chief Nalubamba said there should be concerted efforts to fight the common enemy, the ruling MMD.

“We pray that this pact of yours, or should I say ours, should be strong enough to its last day. You must be strong enough because if again honourable members of the pact, if again before 2011, this pact is disorganised, you are the people who are going to make us suffer more than we have suffered,” chief Nalubamba said. “And do not allow even small parties, you must bring them together.

Don't consider them as enemies. There are no permanent enemies in politics in my view. These guys who are very outspoken people like Mpombo, people like Masebo, people like Magande, people like Namulambe, you talk to them, see how best you can bring them together so that we fight the common enemy. I am sure they will be ready to do just that. They will be ready to join you. So we feel that let us find a common ground where these people might be tapped, where we can tap their power. We must talk to them. If you people can't talk to them, we pray that you give us authority to talk to them as chiefs because we are concerned. We don't want them to form small parties towards an election time.”

Chief Nalubamba said people should join the pact with a good purpose of wanting to contribute to the organisation, and not to seek political appointments.
He said people like former finance minister Magande could help the pact in terms of image building because of his good reputation, locally and internationally, when he served as minister.
“Mpombo who has been issuing statements every day can make a difference,” chief Nalubamba said.
Chief Nalubamba said he did not understand the type of democracy Zambia was practicing because those in authority perceived chiefs who dialogued with the opposition to be anti-government.

“I think we the three chiefs needed to meet the leadership of the pact simply because we wanted to know from you the leadership what kind of democracy you intend for this country when your time comes because what we have seen is the democracy we have had, I don't know whether it's based on the United States, British or African mentality because we have a democracy where it is almost criminal to talk to an opposition when in actual fact we know that the opposition is an alternative government,” chief Nalubamba said.

“They those in government become hopeless and uncomfortable when they see an opposition talking to chiefs as you are talking to us now. That is why perhaps it may not be good news for them to hear that from the court you came here with your entourage and met us. They will be uncomfortable. But how do we get to know you in order for us to give you a vote you need from us? Is it proper really for Zambians to give a blind vote to people they don't know?”
Chief Nalubamba hoped the PF-UPND pact had learnt lessons from the manner those in MMD behaved so that they could do things different once they came into office in 2011. He said the PF-UPND pact could nominate some chiefs to leadership positions once they assumed office because the chiefs lived with the people.

And Patriotic Front (PF) president Sata wondered why chiefs had been marginalised because the Rhodesian government survived on the chiefs. He said he served in former president Frederick Chiluba's Cabinet, saying the former president introduced a clause in the Constitution to bar chiefs from politics because he was scared on chief Inyambo Yeta.

Sata said chief Nalubamba had started the process of organising other chiefs on matters related to the pact.
UPND president Hichilema said the pact had come together because a minority government had been in power since 2001.

He said the challenge the pact faced was for its members to stop competing amongst themselves, saying there was no more competition. Hichilema said the perception that the pact was for the Bembas and Tongas should be broken because the total sum of 62 per cent the pact got in the 2008 elections did not come from Bembas and Tongas alone.

“Currently we need to deal with electoral reforms otherwise we have to build our own armies to protect our vote,” said Hichilema.

Labels: BRIGHT NALUBAMBA, CHIEFS, PF-UPND

posted by MrK @ 4:43 AM