Maravi

Mazabuka councillors explain why they shunned Rupiah’s visit

Mazabuka councillors explain why they shunned Rupiah’s visit
By Justine Kawisha in Mazabuka
Wed 24 Feb. 2010, 03:10 CAT

COUNCILLORS in Mazabuka have said it would have been madness for them to attend President Rupiah Banda’s visit at chief Mwanachingwala’s palace because it was purely political.

And the councillors have refuted media reports that there was a directive from the UPND party secretariat to bar them from attending the presidential meeting at the palace.

Speaking after a joint meeting at the civic centre yesterday, the councilors who included deputy mayor Richard Malambo of Mwanachingwala ward, Davis Katowa of Upper Kaleya ward, Savior Kaile of Konkola ward, Enock Hachiwa of Munjile ward, Voice Malambo of Itebe and the mayor Shadrick Mwiinga of Nakambala ward said they shunned the meeting because it was political and not developmental.

The councillors said no one stopped them to attend the meeting but that they decided to shun it on their own because the agenda was not availed.

They said chief Mwanachingwala was issuing damaging sentiments to the pact few days before the presidential visit and that it would have been abnormal for them to attend the political gathering and listen to the pact’s condemnation by the MMD cadres.

“We never wanted to attend that meeting because we would have fired back at the negative sentiments about the pact by the MMD cadres. The president visited Zambia Sugar two months ago and we all went to support the visit because it was developmental but the recent one was totally political and we couldn’t attend,” they said in a statement.

The councillors also refuted earlier media reports that they had complained against a directive from the party secretariat to bar them from attending the presidential meeting.

The civic leaders who described the media reports as an insult said there was no directive from the party leadership to stop them from attending the presidential visit at chief Mwanachingwala’s palace.
“We never received any circular from our secretariat to stop us from attending the meeting and we never complained to anyone and we don’t regret our move, probably it was the MMD councillor who complained but not us, those are lies,” they explained.

And the councillors have described chief Mwanachingwala as a lightweight political cadre who had no following in his area.

They challenged chief Mwanachingwala to resign from the thrown and contest either as a councillor or a member of parliament if he was a heavyweight politician.

The councilors were reacting to some media reports from some government media that reported that councillors in Mazabuka were complaining against their party leadership for stopping them to attend the presidential visit at chief Mwanachingwala’s palace a fortnight ago.

Labels: CHIEF MWANACHINGWALA, MAZABUKA DISTRICT, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 4:49 AM