Chiluba is back in State House

Chiluba is back in State House
By The Post
Sun 16 May 2010, 04:00 CAT

It is clear that Rupiah Banda and his minions are very desperate to continue in power next year. And for this, they are prepared to do anything. They are ready even to swallow their vomit, including other people’s vomit.

How can a reasonable person explain George Kunda’s statement yesterday in Mansa that MMD under Rupiah has engaged Frederick Chiluba as their political consultant? George said Chiluba is MMD’s consultant on politics and development because he possesses a lot of wisdom.

A consultant is an expert in a particular field who works as an advisor either to a company or an individual. In this case, and according to George, Chiluba is an expert in politics and development who is working as an advisor to Rupiah’s MMD government.

If this is the case, then it is not difficult to understand why the MMD is so messed up today. What is Chiluba’s record or history in the politics of Zambia? And what is Chiluba’s history in as far as Zambia’s development is concerned?

We all know that for one to qualify as a consultant, such a one has to have massive qualifications coupled with experience.

Zambians have never known Chiluba to be wise in political and developmental matters. They know him as a little crook, a political engineer, a dribbler! In fact, Chiluba brags that he is a political engineer, a dribbler!

This is the political expertise people know of Chiluba. Out of his unbridled lust for power, Chiluba attempted to mutilate the national Constitution in order to extend his stay in State House by another five years. He failed to engineer or dribble Zambians. They stopped him and he left State House unceremoniously.

When he was in power, Chiluba plundered the resources of this country together with his minions. No wonder today, he can’t walk with his head high because he is a thief. The world knows Chiluba as a thief who abused his people fiduciary trust.

He stole millions of dollars and the High Court in London found him guilty. Ironically, Chiluba was successfully prosecuted by George Kunda on behalf of Zambians. George Kunda organised all the evidence against Chiluba. This evidence is still in George Kunda’s office.

But today, this same George is saying Chiluba is a wise man. How can a known thief, plunderer, be a wise man? Is there such a thing as a wise thief?

George Kunda has just scored in his own goal. A consultant can only advise on matters that he knows best, areas of his expertise or competence. And if one consults a thief, a thief will only give advice based on his area of expertise; theft!

So Chiluba can only advise Rupiah and the MMD on how to steal, to plunder national resources. Chiluba only knows political dribbling, which didn’t even help him in his hour of need. That is why he is saying he will show Rupiah which button to press in order to win next year’s election. Chiluba is a political dribbler who dribbled in his own goal.

That is why he failed to get a third term. What development can Chiluba talk about when he failed to develop the country during his time? Today, Chiluba should be advising the MMD on how to develop Luapula Province when he is the one that drove the province into oblivion. What nonsense is this?

The MMD disputed reports that Chiluba was going to Luapula to launch a campaign for Rupiah. They said he was going to discuss developmental issues. But Chiluba didn’t discuss any development idea with the traditional leaders in Mansa. Instead, he held a small rally in support of Rupiah. He was only talking about how Rupiah should be supported in next year’s elections and how he is going to show him where to press for victory.

The truth of the matter is that Chiluba is in Luapula Province not to discuss the developmental agenda but to pay a debt of gratitude to Rupiah by campaigning for him. It must now be very clear for all those who doubted that Rupiah ordered Chiluba’s acquittal. That is why Rupiah stopped the appeal against Chiluba’s conviction because he knows that the man is a thief and might not survive the High Court or the Supreme Court.

Today, this government, Rupiah’s government is in possession of a judgment from the London High Court against Chiluba which is just awaiting registration before it can be effected. And for all we know, George Kunda is still justice minister. Now, if George Kunda is the one to declare Chiluba wise, can Zambians expect that this government will fight for the registration of the London High Court judgment against Chiluba?

Clearly, Rupiah has shown that he is not interested in fighting corruption. That is why he is busy undoing everything that Levy Mwanawasa did to advance the fight against corruption. For him, Chiluba is not a thief. He is a damn good former president! No wonder the two are now buddies. They are exchanging ideas on how best to plunder, to rob the nation of its resources. It is a case of birds of the same feather.

No wonder Rupiah’s government is not short of corruption scandals. Rupiah is presiding over a corrupt regime. His ministers and senior government officials know him as a leader who embraces corruption. He has exhibited this in a big way by publicly embracing Chiluba’s grand corruption.

Most of Rupiah’s ministers are today involved in this or that deal because they know their boss does not fire people for being corrupt. Any minister or government official that will be fired by Rupiah for corruption should count himself or herself cursed. Only those who detest corruption will meet with Rupiah’s wrath.

With Chiluba on his side, Rupiah can only sink this country deep into abject poverty. His pre-occupation, learning from his consultant’s history, will be to line his pockets and those of his cronies. Zambia is headed for doom if our people do not stop Rupiah from this plunder.

You have heard for yourselves from Rupiah’s representative – George Kunda – that the MMD is using Chiluba as a consultant on politics and development. In short, Chiluba is running the show. And he will be too happy to play this consultancy role because he now has the opportunity he missed from Levy Mwanawasa – to rule from the background after his failed third term.

That is why he had to open the so-called developmental meeting in Mansa yesterday because he had to set the tone for George Kunda who is officially closing the meeting today. A few months ago, Chiluba went ahead of Rupiah to prepare tenants in Ndola’s Itawa flats as well as Chinese complex in Masala. He told them he was very close to Rupiah and he would ask him to sell them the houses in exchange for a vote next year.

Last month, Rupiah travelled to the Copperbelt to wrap up a programme that was initiated by his consultant Chiluba and announced his decision to sell the said houses. Wake up Zambians. Chiluba is back in State House. He is Rupiah’s puppeteer disguised as his political/developmental consultant.