Sata won’t force me to dislike Chiluba, says Rupiah

Sata won’t force me to dislike Chiluba, says Rupiah
By Chibaula Silwamba in Mansa and George Chellah in Lusaka
Thu 11 Feb. 2010, 04:01 CAT

President Rupiah Banda yesterday said PF leader Michael Sata will not force him to dislike Frederick Chiluba. And President Banda said the UPND-PF Pact and other opposition political parties are afraid of him. Meanwhile, President Banda said his mouth never insults back at his critics.

Speaking on arrival at Mansa Airport for a three-day visit to Luapula Province, President Banda said he would always invite former president Chiluba to state functions.

“President Chiluba was a very close friend of Mr Sata. Everybody knows that but today Mr Sata doesn't see any good in president Chiluba. So he wants me also to be like him, to dislike president Chiluba like himself. I shall not do that,” President Banda said.

“President Chiluba was a former president and I respect him for that. I will invite him to every function at State House. I invite president Kenneth Kaunda to every function at State House. I also invite Mr Sata himself, I invite Hakainde but they never come. So they shouldn't blame me for it. Invite them every time.”

President Banda said he would continue to respect all leaders, including former leaders whether they were councillors, ministers or vice-presidents.

“It's my duty to keep everybody together, not every day to be looking for something bad to attack them. I want this country to come together. I want all the tribes of Zambia to come together, all the religions of Zambia to work together,” he said. “Those that want to separate them that is their business. It's up to the Zambian people to accept that separatism or to reject it.”

President Banda advised the people of Luapula not to be worried about him.

“Don't worry when you read in papers or insults on radios directed at me. That means I am the leader. Why aren't they insulting anybody else but me? I promise you, you won't hear from this mouth of mine insults back at those people. As a leader, I can't stoop so low as to insult the people who I am supposed to respect and the people that I am supposed to work for,” President Banda said. “Every time we say something they criticise. Of course it's their duty. They are an opposition party, they are supposed to oppose, but it's the people themselves that see the benefits of the criticisms that they are raising.”

President Banda said people elected him President because they wanted development.

“They wanted to see a leadership that provides more schools. I didn't say all the schools because it's impossible to provide all the schools that we need. We shall always need more and more schools but there must be signs for the people to see that indeed this leadership promised us that they shall build schools and indeed they are building schools, they promised us that they shall build health centres and indeed you can see some health centres,” President Banda said. “They leadership promised us to fix the roads and indeed we can see some roads being fixed.”

President Banda said leaders should encourage peace not division.
“If you divide people you are not suitable to be a leader.

I can't be afraid of them. In fact, they are afraid of me and they are surprised that I don't do anything against them because as I said I am a leader,” President Banda said. “A leader is supposed to respect the people that he leads and I am very proud that the Zambian people, wherever I go, in every province, in every district, I have started this year with Luapula Province.

“I am here for the next three days, I will try my best to go as deep inside as possible in this province so that the people have a chance to see me and hear me and to see my colleagues, the ministers who are working very hard to provide the necessary services to them.”

President Banda said he believed that his administration was on the right track.

“I believe that by next year you will see more and more development in our country. Let me inform the people of Luapula Province that my administration, my colleagues and I don't discriminate against anybody regardless of what political party they belong to,” he said. “I am very proud here to see ladies and gentlemen from the PF coming to join us; I would like more and more people from other political parties to feel free to join the MMD so that we can unite our country.”

President Banda dismissed the UPND-PF Pact.

“When the PF and the UPND decided to get together for only one purpose, to defeat the MMD and to remove Rupiah Banda from the Presidency… I don't need to go into partnership with UPND or any political party. What I need are the people of Zambia to join me and my party in order that when we go to the election, we are strong undefeatable party. So they can have their Pact, my pact is with the people of Zambia,” President Banda said. He said the MMD had the highest number of members of parliament in the National Assembly and since they were elected they had been staunch MMD members.

“I wish I could say the same about the UPND; I wish I could say that the UPND are united and that all of them are still UPND. Their number has shrunk because many of them find that their leadership is not that one that wants to unite the country. So they have diminished in numbers,” he said. “As for PF, which you know very well about here, many members of parliament were elected by you to go on PF ticket to parliament. As we speak today almost 50 per cent of those members find it difficult to remain and work together with their colleagues of PF. Why? Because of bad leadership.”

He said PF rebel parliamentarians were very intelligent people.

“People of integrity, people who analyse and understand the problems of this country. But their leadership will not permit them to have an input in what the party should be doing in order to go forward,” he said. “I want to say this; I was very happy myself when I had to listen to their contributions and many of these people I find them to be extremely wise and that is why you find that I am happy to receive whatever advise they give me.”

After a member of the audience shouted that Sata had a degree, President Banda responded: “I am not a member of parliament so I wasn't there when they were passing the degree clause.”

He said he was in Luapula Province to see developmental projects.

“Myself together with my colleagues the ministers, we have come to see whether the projects that we financed have actually started and how far they have gone,” said President Banda. “We will continue to do this at every stage in every province of our country from now onwards until the end of the year.”

President Banda was accompanied aboard a ZAF plane, by PF rebel members of parliament Peter Machungwa (Luapula Constituency) and Jacob Chongo (Mwense Constituency).

Among those who welcomed them were PF rebel parliamentarians Elizabeth Chitika Molobeka (Kawambwa Constituency), Dr Bernard Chishya (Pambashe), Besa Chimbaka (Bahati), Joseph Kasongo (Bangweule), Ernest Mwansa (Chifunabuli), NDF president and Nchelenge parliamentarian Benjamin Mwila, Mansa trainee nurses and ZANAMA members.

Welcoming President Banda, MMD Luapula provincial chairperson Chrispin Musosha assured him of the province's 100 per cent vote at the party convention as the party's presidential candidate.

And President Banda said Vice-President George Kunda's recommendation to pay about K5 billion to ministers and other Lusaka-based parliamentarians attending the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) has not yet been discussed by Cabinet. He was responding to questions from journalists at Lusaka City Airport before departure for Luapula Province.

"Ya! The Vice-President is right here," remarked President Banda who was standing next to Vice-President Kunda. "And so this matter hasn't come to Cabinet yet. We are going to discuss it and then you will hear what Cabinet will decide."

Asked about his personal view on the matter before Cabinet decides, President Banda responded: "No, no! But why should I pre-empt my Cabinet? They have a right also to hear these things and to decide. I am just a leader of the Cabinet."

The opposition, civil society and other stakeholders have rejected Vice-President Kunda's recommendation. But the Vice-President recently justified his recommendation to Cabinet maintaining that the government was following financial regulations as they pay delegates to the NCC.

The money will be paid to Vice-President Kunda, ministers and their deputies whose total number is 55, Deputy Speaker Mutale Nalumango, NCC chairperson Chifumu Banda and his deputy Faustina Sinyangwe, Chawama parliamentarian Violet Sampa-Bredt and Benjamin Mwila.