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Luapula chiefs, except Mwata ‘endorse’ re-election of PF rebel MPs

Luapula chiefs, except Mwata ‘endorse’ re-election of PF rebel MPs
By Chibaula Silwamba in Mansa
Tue 18 May 2010, 04:00 CAT

CHIEFS in Luapula Province have resolved to de-campaign some politicians in next year’s elections. But Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata said Frederick Chiluba’s campaign for President Rupiah Banda did not weaken his party’s popularity in the province because Chiluba and Besa Chimbaka are “not the people of Luapula Province”.

And Vice-President George Kunda on Sunday lied that he read a story in The Post stating that people were throwing stones at former president Chiluba in Mansa.

Reading out the resolutions of the meeting on behalf of the chiefs, parliamentarians and Chiluba on Sunday, senior chief Mushota said they resolved to sensitise people to vote for a candidate who would bring development to the province.

“We resolved that as regards 2011 presidential elections, all people of Luapula Province must be sensitized to vote for the president who will bring development to Luapula Province and not the one who insults the chiefs and people of Luapula Province. On the political situation in the country as we have seen, when we speak about the political issues, we don’t mean we are turning into politicians. No! All the politicians are our sons, they are free to come and visit the palaces,” chief Mushota said. “But all that we refuse is to drag us into a trap which we know can betray us.

Betraying our authority. No! But we can speak. If there is violence, we have the mandate to speak because our children are fighting. We are able to speak, to ask the assistance from the police to come and control that situation. Here, we are saying that Luapula Province leadership will mark and de-campaign each and every individual leader who, whether in government or opposition, is disparaging people of Luapula, insulting using abusive language against the people of Luapula. Awe kwena, we agreed that we will not vote for him, isn’t it. We are not going to do that.”

He said the chiefs of Luapula Province demand that traditional leaders be respected.
“Politicians who insult traditional authorities will not receive the support of Luapula Province. This regard, we ask politicians who have insulted paramount chief Chitimukulu to go back and apologise to him and make peace with him before he can be received at any of the chiefs’ palaces in Luapula Province. So, here the Vice-President, mutuka mfumu tatuka imo, nishi atukashonse whoever insults one chief insults all. So a person cannot say I insulted in Bembaland not here, no he has even insulted ku Chishinga, kuwa Ushi and all chiefs,” chief Mushota said.

“If one chief welcomes that politician, that chief is making a mistake because later that same chief will be insulted by that person. Therefore, we agreed that, if the person insulted the chief publicly, they must apologise publicly. Whether it was written in the newspaper, they must write in newspaper and then we can be able to receive them. Otherwise, no, if they don’t.”

He said the presence of Chiluba, a son of Luapula land, was very beneficial.
“He Chiluba is requested to continue to attend future consultative meetings. And that any attack on him by anyone is an affront to the people of Luapula Province,” chief Mushota said. “In this regard, like our friends have written in The Post, they ‘insulted’ him, stoned him, it was not Dr Chiluba alone they were ‘insulting.’

They are insulting we people of Luapula, saying that we rose against Chiluba. How possible is it that we can rise against our own son? That was not the truth Mr Vice-President. That was a lie so that their newspaper sells very quickly that, that was what happened. But that was not what happened.”

Chief Mushota said the meeting resolved that parliamentarians from Luapula Province irrespective of their party affiliation, must speak with one voice in the interest of development and wellbeing of the area.

They demanded that the government funds road construction, bridges, electricity supply, construction of chiefs’ palaces and other infrastructure.

“The government is urged to share the national resources equitably and that Luapula Province must get its fair share,” he said.
They called on the government to find mining and tourism investors into Luapula Province.

“We resolved that the government must as a matter of extreme priority for Luapula Province undertake the following very urgently in the province. (i) We urge the government to complete the construction of the district hospitals and rehabilitate and upgrade some rural health centres in the province, improve staffing levels in health facilities. (ii) We need a university and technical colleges in Luapula Province. If we don’t have then our children will not go anywhere.

Very few will step into universities and colleges of advanced education,” the resolutions read. “(iii) We need the construction of high basic schools and teachers’ houses. We can’t have high schools without teachers’ houses. (iv) We request government to solicit for major investors in the mining sector of the province.

We have various minerals in Luapula Province but unless the government involves itself so that we can have mines in fact the government will create more jobs for our children. (v) Agriculture, which is the backbone of our province. We request the government to find big investors in agriculture that will encourage out grower schemes in the province.

“The good example is the development of Luena sugar plantation, which has been lying idle but we appreciate the concern of the government. What we need is to see that Luena farm block is functional. The government must undertake programmes ensure food security in the province especially in the hunger stricken areas such as swamps and islands like our friends in Samfya, Lake Bangweulu.

We demand at this stage that the improvement of cassava production in the province and request that the price of cassava be reduced to encourage more farming of cassava.”

And closing the two-day consultative ‘development’ meeting, which Chiluba opened on Saturday and participated in its deliberations, at Mansa Hotel, Vice-President Kunda blatantly lied about The Post.

“These stories, which I read about throwing stones and things like that, my experience is these are imaginary. We have been able to enjoy our stay here in peace,” Vice-President Kunda said. “I was listening very carefully about the comments made regarding the visit of Dr Chiluba to this province. My personal experience is that wherever we went to address multitudes of people who came to listen to our rallies in Milenge, Samfya and at the airport, my personal experience is that just the mere mention of Dr Chiluba ignite excitement and ululation about just mentioning the name of Dr Chiluba in this province.”

He said Chiluba provided the peace and tranquility Zambians were still enjoying.
“Whether you like it or not, he is our second president and you cannot erase that from the history of this country and he is received in the same way in almost all the provinces of Zambia because he provided governance for us, he provided peace and tranquility,” Vice-President Kunda said.

And chief Chisunka said the people of Luapula Province could not reject Chiluba because he was their son.

“According to the statement some of these press, the way they are trying to say negative things; the way they are trying to say negative words to us as Luapula Province, particular Mansa that ‘no the former was not being received well’, otherwise Mr minister your honour, we are very disappointed on behalf of the chiefs because there is a paper, yesterday’s Saturday Post newspaper where they said the former president Chiluba was not, Mansa residents didn’t welcome the former president,” said chief Chisunka as he waved the edition of the Saturday Post in which the story in question was reported.

“That is The Post story your honour Vice-President. That is why I said we are not very, very happy. We are not happy according to this statement which was being written by this reporter Silwamba Chibaula that Mansa people were throwing stones to former president.

“You know, former president Chiluba is our son, we all welcome him to Luapula where he is coming from, you know, but now according to this statement your honour otherwise we are not happy. Let me say so.”
He said the article was false.

“Your honour, if you were there yesterday Friday when they were welcoming former Chiluba, it was like, I don’t know what I can even say. It was very, very colourful. Now just to say former president was not being received, that is a very false story of which we don’t even want to hear this story in Mansa or in our communities,” chief Chisunka said.

“Otherwise, your honour former president Chiluba is our son, let me repeat he is our son. It’s those people who are thinking that former party president, former president is not capable here, not capable here in Luapula Province. Former president is capable and he is very, very welcome in his province. He is not just come from Lundas, he is our son. Otherwise, in fact we are very, very happy to receive… At this point other chiefs guided chief Chisunka to speak in Ushi ”

The article in question did not mention anything about Chiluba being stoned but contained text messages, which listeners sent to a special programme on Mansa’s Radio Yangeni where organisers of the ‘development’ meeting, Elizabeth Chitika-Molobeka, Chrispin Musosha and Mwansa Mbulakulima were guests.

The listeners denounced the trio and opposed Chiluba’s visit to Mansa, arguing that he did nothing for the province during his 10-year reign. But Mbulakulima said the text messages were stage-managed.

Chief Chisunka also said opposition leaders were welcome at chiefs’ palaces in Luapula Province but later retracted his statement.

“Opposition parties also have time, if they want, they can come and meet us because they are also our children,” said chief Chisunka but after some time, he U-turned: “As chiefs we work with the government in power, we don’t work with the opposition. That was just a slip of the tongue.”

In their introductions, all chiefs, except Mwata Kazembe, endorsed the re-election of their respective PF ‘rebel’ parliamentarians, including those from MMD and NDF’s lone-parliamentarian Ben Mwila.

Receiving the resolutions, Vice-President Kunda said the recommendations would be included in the Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP), currently being formulated.

“I have received these resolutions and I shall deliver them to the President Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda and share them with Cabinet ministers so that Cabinet, the President can consider their implementation,” Vice-President Kunda said. “I wish to commend their royal highnesses for deciding to work together in furthering the development of this province.

I must commend the members of parliament and their royal highnesses for this initiative because these resolutions are coming at a time when we are developing the Sixth National Development Plan and they can also be considered in our annual budget and from the money that is readily in the budget.”

He said this was a historic conference and urged parliamentarians and chiefs from other provinces to emulate their counterparts in Luapula Province.

Vice-President Kunda assured that the government would tar the Pedicle Road.

And in a vote of thanks, Bahati PF ‘rebel’ parliamentarian Besa Chimbaka said, “people of Luapula Province and their leaders have resolved that we shall only rally our votes with the government of Rupiah Banda and the party MMD which has the agenda for the people of Luapula Province”.

But Sata said now that Chimbaka had come out in the open that he was MMD, the PF would n
ow officially start searching for a candidate for Bahati in next year’s elections.
He said Chimbaka is a one-term parliamentarian because he would lose the Bahati seat to a PF candidate.

Sata said Chimbaka and Chiluba were not the people of Luapula Province to make decisions for everyone.

Chiluba was heavily guarded by Zambia Police officers throughout his stay in Luapula. Several police officers were placed around Mansa town area especially at Mansa Hotel where Chiluba and Vice-President Kunda were lodging.

Labels: CHIEFS, PF

posted by MrK @ 3:08 PM