Maravi

Govt is tired of politicking – Kunda

Govt is tired of politicking – Kunda
By Christopher Miti, Chibaula Silwamba and Allan Mulenga
Wed 03 Mar. 2010, 04:40 CAT

VICE-President George Kunda last Sunday said the government is sick and tired of politicking in the country. And Vice-President Kunda on Friday told Milanzi residents that Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata is a thug who stands for thuggery and violence. Presenting a check of K50 million to Chipata Central Women Development Association (CCWDA) at Luangwa House, Vice-President Kunda said theirs was a working government.

“This is a working government, we don’t believe in politicking. In fact, we are sick and tired of politicking in this country. We want to deliver. Now we have changed the budget cycle, we have been talking about changing the budget cycle from time immemorial but we have responded that let us change and with your President Rupiah Bwezani Banda we changed,” Vice-President Kunda said.

He said now that the budget was in place, the government officials were moving around the country to see how the developmental projects were being implemented.

Vice-President Kunda said he would advocate for more money for women empowerment in the next budget.

“If our people can organise themselves, work for themselves, be self-reliant and if they are organised, we will move in to empower them and we have to be pragmatic in this. We don’t want our citizens always expecting handouts. We can empower them, we have created an enabling environment for empowerment. We have our laws for empowerment,” Vice-President Kunda said.

Vice-President Kunda said people should not just talk of poverty reduction but they should organise themselves and the government would respond in fighting poverty.

Community development minister Michael Kaingu said K5 billion was allocated to community development for women empowerment in the country.

“I will be failing in my duty if I don’t make an appeal to you men and women gathered here that a good thing...how do you thank a person who has done a good thing to you? You slap him? What do you do? And all we want for ourselves nika vote kenu your vote for my President, my Vice-President, for your member of parliament and this government,” Kaingu said. “Am I asking for too much honestly? I give you money and all I want nika vote.”

And during a meeting with a handful businessmen, Vice-President Kunda said the cost of fuel would be standardised by June this year.

“We are looking into this and Zambia we also acknowledge our fuel prices are too high here. But these are issues we are looking at. Zambia we don’t produce our own oil here. Of course we are doing oil exploration but we don’t produce our own oil so the prices here are determined by prices on the international market,” Vice-President Kunda said.

He said the government was continuously investing in power generation, which he described as a costly investment.

“We are opening up power generation plants, we are taking pragmatic steps but this takes time. You see as government ourselves, we will not under MMD government promise to give you electricity in 90 days, that all the power cuts will disappear in 90 days. But what we can say is that we have long term plans and people right now they are working, they are expanding power generation capacities, the Chinese government is helping us to invest in this,” Vice-President Kunda said.

He noted the issues raised by the business community such as the chaotic maize and tobacco marketing exercises.

Vice-President Kunda said there was need to handle crop marketing in a much more organised manner. A representative from the business community, Lucky Matongo said the road network leading to Chipata was very chaotic and affected business.

“If your Honour you move in this road going to Lusaka, if you move from Petauke to Nyimba, there is no pothole but there are bumps as you move that shows the quality of work done on the road. We therefore ask that let those people with the acumen to do the work bid for the work so that at least the government saves money of not repeating the same job every now and then,” Matongo said.

He also complained over the cost of fuel and appealed that the price be standardised.
Matongo also raised concerns over the constant power blackouts as well as the cumbersome procedure of getting business licenses.

And addressing a rally at Chimbundire Basic School, mostly attended by school children who were paraded to welcome him after keeping people waiting for the rally for about five hours, Vice-President Kunda warned the people of Milanzi against supporting Sata, Hakainde Hichilema and the PF-UPND Pact.
He said Sata was a well-known thug.

Vice-President Kunda said the PF-UPND pact had an agenda to have Sata as its presidential candidate. He said Hichilema, whom he repeatedly called prince cobra, could not stop the momentum going on in Southern Province to oust him as party leader.

“I also came to caution you, my brothers and sisters, about Mr Sata and what we know about Mr Sata and Mr Hakainde Hichilema. This evil pact they have made, I have come to caution you what they stand for. Mr Sata stands for evil, he stands for thuggery, he is a thug Mr Sata for those who don’t know him,” Vice-President Kunda said.

"The way he hacked people in Chawama, he led a group hacking people with pangas that is Mr Sata, that is his personal agenda. Of course, when we talk about these things he says ‘arrest me…. arrest me’. But the pictures are there, the records are there, he stands for violence. He exported violence to Solwezi together with prince cobra his brother. He is called King Cobra. King Cobra that is his name, his middle name His brother HH, Hakainde Hichilema is Prince Cobra."

He urged Milanzi constituents to chant: “prince cobra, prince cobra” when Hichilema comes here to campaign.

“He Hichilema appeared on radio in Lusaka. He likes going to radio stations and callers called him ‘ahhh mulibwanji a prince cobra’? Then he goes saying ‘no, me, I am not prince cobra.’ But this name is a household name for Hakainde Hichilema. He is prince cobra,” Vice-President Kunda said.

“When he comes here to Milanzi you should be shouting prince cobra! Prince cobra! So, wherever, he goes now he represents the cobra. He is a mask. Now when he goes to the radio he is just a mask but behind that mask is a small cobra but behind it there is bigger cobra. He represents the bigger cobra, the king cobra. The king cobra is the one who is going to stand for election in 2011 that’s the agenda which they have.”

He said Hichilema sold the UPND to the king cobra.

“Even the personal arrangement doesn’t exist on the ground. It is a family arrangement whereby prince cobra is serving the interests of king cobra. This snake," Vice-President Kunda said.

"Now they have similar characteristics of insulting traditional leaders, insulting chiefs, they insult chiefs openly like the prince cobra when he goes on radio he says ‘no, chief Mwanachingwala is a noise maker. He is an MMD cadre’.”

He said Sata also relentlessly insulted chiefs.

“Sata also has the same agenda insulting chiefs whenever he goes. He is insulting this chief, even chiefs from his own tribe he insults them. So this kind of character is not according to Zambian culture,”

he said. “With us, with our President, we want to respect our traditional leaders we want to respect elders we want to respect Zambians because we are servants of the people.”

He maintained that Hichilema would be ousted.

"Now, why should an educated young man like HH go and enter into a pact with this kind of erratic leader? Today, Mr Sata says 'I am chasing away Chinese, the last day he says no I want the Chinese here, they will bring investment'," he said.

"That is why in Southern Province with HH, prince cobra, he is going to be ousted. He is going to be removed as leader of UPND before 2011. He will be kicked out of UPND because there is a power struggle in UPND, so he is going to be kicked out.”

He accused HH of insulting chiefs in Southern Province.

"The momentum which is building up against HH, prince cobra, in Southern Province is unstoppable, he can’t stand the courage.

He has insulted chiefs. He has insulted the tradition of Southern Province and he has gone into a pact with a wrong person altogether," Vice-President Kunda said.

"About this other young man, Garry Nkombo, I will talk about him next week. Next week I will talk more about Garry Nkombo who is to take over from the prince cobra, I will talk about him next week. Muchibemba Tulanda ati filya ifyo nalandile ku Livingstone ni kadyonko fye. In Bemba we say what I said in livingstone is just a snippet. I will shower more praises on him Nkombo next week.”

He accused Sata of being a tribalist who insulted people of North Western and other provinces.

"If you were to elect such a person into office you would not be sleeping. You will be sleeping in insults. He will be insulting all of us with impunity. With prince cobra behind him we are finished,” he said.

Vice-President Kunda asked the people of Milanzi to elect the MMD parliamentary candidate in the Milanzi Cnstituency by-election.

Milanzi is due to hold parliamentary by-elections following the death of parliamentarian Reuben Chisanga-Banda last month.

Labels: CCWDA, GEORGE KUNDA, HYPOCRISY, POLITICS, SATA

posted by MrK @ 7:17 PM