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Mansa residents oppose Chiluba’s visit

Mansa residents oppose Chiluba’s visit
By Chibaula Silwamba in Mansa
Sat 15 May 2010, 04:00 CAT

SEVERAL listeners to Mansa's Radio Yangeni on Thursday opposed Frederick Chiluba’s visit to the area this weekend, arguing that he did nothing for Luapula Province during his 10-year reign.

During a special programme on the ‘development’ meeting of chiefs and parliamentarians from Luapula Province to be addressed by former president Chiluba today, the listeners sent text messages denouncing the discussants - Copperbelt minister Mwansa Mbulakulima, Kawambwa PF member of parliament Elizabeth Chitika-Mulobeka and Mansa Central MMD parliamentarian Chrispin Musosha.

Chitika-Mulobeka was the hardest hit with people accusing her of being dishonest.

“Mulobeka, you used Sata to get Kawambwa in 2006 and now you want to use Chiluba in 2011,” presenter Mumbi Mumbi read some text messages.

“We are not supporting Mulobeka because she is a crook, she is chameleon. That lady is irritating. Madam Mulobeka you must be honest. Don’t you think that Chiluba supported the PF because he was afraid of Mwanawasa? …To realise that Chiluba is in the MMD because he needs protection from the MMD? Chiluba must stay away from active politics. Madam, you have not been consistent in your relationship with Chiluba.”

The listeners accused Chiluba of spoiling the MMD.
“Hon Chitika, what value can Chiluba add to the people of Luapula when he failed to do this when he was president? I feel by inviting him to your meeting, it is a minus on the MMD because the big man has already proved himself a failure to the people of Luapula. The chiefs you are parading will not force us to vote for Rupiah Banda,” another text message read. “You know Dr Chiluba could be a factor but your timing of your tailored meeting is misplaced. Your meeting will yield zero, just like the last national indaba.”

Another listener Jimmy Kapanda stated that Chiluba should stay away from active politics although he was born and bred from Luapula Province.

Patrick Mwewa stated, “Gordon Brown resigned because he understands seasons, Chiluba is not a season of today.”

“Let Chiluba be a preacher, he ruled this country, it’s over,” another text message read. “For as long as the London High Court judgment stands, Chiluba remains convicted. Thanks to Honourable George Kunda for prosecuting successfully.”

Another listener wrote, “Be careful with FTJ; he formed PUDD, joined PF then rejoined MMD. Can you trust him? Be careful Honourable Musosha, FTJ is slippery. He may contest Mansa Central. Lucky you he is not Ushi, he may fail on one qualification you set.”

Another text message read, “count what he did in Luapula during his 10 years rule, not Shoprite. You did not pay retrenchment packages to Sparks’ employees, can they buy things from Shoprite? Be ashamed! Imwe kuyabebele in 2011.”

Another message stated, “Why come to the province at this time? It’s a very big threat to the peace of the province. We stayed alone without any development since 1991. We are fine and we are not complaining. Please leave us, we know when our development will begin, we will welcome you after 2011; these are the kicks of a dying horse. Please leave.”

But Mbulakulima remarked: “I am aware that these text messages are stage managed, so we are not worried.”

Mbulakulima, the co-organiser of the meeting, said Chiluba and President Rupiah Banda would soon be heroes for their contribution to the country’s development despite the scorn being poured on them.

“I believe, I tell you, we can bet, Dr Chiluba will be a hero a few years from now. He contributed to the free economy, free market, the media, democracy, everything; all these he did play a role. He does not need to build a house in his own village to be a hero,” said Mbulakulima, who is also Chembe MMD member of parliament.

“Dr Mwanawasa, starting on a shaky note if you want, and people called him all sorts of names and then they realised he is a steel metal. Rule of law was bright, this was a man focused on the economy and the economy started growing tremendously. Equally today, they are calling our President Mr Rupiah Banda all sorts of names but I can tell you when he leaves office he will be a hero. So in short, you cannot rise to the position of president and come out zero.”
He said former president Dr Kenneth Kaunda was denounced but he was now a hero.

“In 1991, if we were not careful we would have killed Dr Kaunda. We all hated Dr Kaunda. After cooling down we realised Dr Kaunda was a great man. Lucky enough we did not eliminate him. But we called him all sorts of names in 1990/1991. But today, Dr Kaunda is a hero,” Mbulakulima said.

When Mumbi asked whether people were against the development meeting or Chiluba’s presence at the meeting, Mbulakulima said he was at pains to answer the question.

He said people should not think the discussants were contradicting each other in their explanation about the meeting.

“You are at pains to ask that question; equally we are also at pains to answer that question because definitely the same question that you are asking is the one that is on the ground. People are asking, ‘this has raised a lot of issues and concerns’. One wonders, ‘why?’ hence the reasons for you to ask that question,” Mbulakulima said.

“But definitely I will tell you and if you want and people want to be malicious, they can say: ‘Mbulakulima, Musosha, Mulobeka contradict each other on the reason why they haven’t invited more people’. But I am going to say, adding on what my two colleagues have said, honourable Mulobeka has said, supposed we had to engage the chiefs on any other issues, what would they say?”

He accused the PF of disliking Chiluba.
“I ask the people out there, what is their reaction, especially the Patriotic Front in regards to Dr Chiluba? We have seen the reaction that they don’t want Dr Chiluba to be part of them. We know that their PF’s approach to Dr Chiluba and our approach are not compatible,” Mbulakulima said.

“What is the relationship between the Patriotic Front and their royal highnesses in Northern, in Luapula and out there? We don’t want to be arbitrators in this regard, we are competitors. It’s a fact. At certain stage, we are not compatible.”

He said people had unnecessarily raised dust on Chiluba’s invitation to the meeting.
“I don’t see a reason why we people of Luapula should be fighting,” said Mbulakulima.

At least 44 chiefs from Luapula and all but two parliamentarians from the province will attend the meeting which Chiluba will open, while Vice-President George Kunda is expected to officially close it on Sunday.

And Chitika-Mulobeka dismissed opposition to the invitation to Chiluba to the meeting.

“Mr Chiluba was president of this country for 10 years and he comes from here, so we don’t really understand the concerns that these people are raising. I believe that they are raising these issues purely on hate. If they are saying Chiluba is not a factor, in the development of this country, why are they so scared about this development meeting, just a one-off arrangement?” she asked.

“So the point is he is an interested party; he comes from this area. Some people were actually saying, ‘what did he do for Luapula?’ I am shocked that a man was president for 10 years; some people did not see what he did for this country and what he did for Luapula. Dr Chiluba was not a provincial president, he was a national president. …the resources that were in the nation had to be shared in the nine provinces.”
She said the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) was an initiative of Chiluba and must be credited for it.

“Right now there are projects in each and every constituency being implemented using the CDF. Where did CDF come from? It was because of Dr Chiluba. He knew that, ‘the only way I am going to help the people of Zambia and people of Luapula is by getting an amount direct into the constituencies’,” Chitika-Mulobeka said. “We invited him as a serious stakeholder, he was president for 10 years, he has a lot of experience, he has a lot of knowledge and that we are meeting our royal highnesses. And since, you know, 2001 he hasn’t been in the province officially like to interact with all of us; so for us this is an occasion that we expected him to come over into Luapula so that we are able interact we him. Dr Chiluba will come and add value to our meeting.”

She said Chiluba built the foundation for Zambia’s development and it would be naïve for anyone to argue that he did nothing for the province and Zambia as a whole.

Chitika-Mulobeka also said there would be nothing wrong with parliamentarians to discuss matters that are not development oriented with the chiefs.

“Just in case Mumbi Mumbi, if we engaged our chiefs on any other thing other than development, is that a problem? I am just asking the people of Luapula, just in case, we are not talking about development, as MPs we decided, ‘okay we needed to engage our royal highnesses on something else’, is that your problem? Would that be a problem?” Chitika-Mulobeka asked. “You know there are people that have come into this province, they have engaged, they were able to hold rallies and do everything that they could think of but no one raised a hand that, ‘this is wrong.’ Just in case we didn’t talk about development, is there anything wrong?”

She said when Chiluba supported PF leader Michael Sata’s presidential candidacy in the 2006 elections, he was a darling of the PF members but it was shocking that they were vilifying him Chiluba now.

“We PF went to all the rallies saying, ‘Dr Chiluba has never stolen! Dr Chiluba will be released once I Sata become president’. But now what has happened? These are the questions that the people of Luapula Province should be able to reflect on. What has changed because it was just the other day that because Dr Chiluba supported a particular political party he was a darling but now that he has decided to go back to his original political party now he is something else and we should be able to encourage the thuggery that has never been known to be part of the people of Luapula Province,” Chitika-Mulobeka said. “We are a very peaceful lot. Now this thuggery that is coming through, when your friends are doing something else you want to disrupt and when you are doing something else you want to be let free. It is not fair.”

She said the parliamentarians only invited the chiefs to the development meeting because of the limitation of funds.

Chitika-Mulobeka said the parliamentarians donated the money to transport, accommodate and feed the traditional rulers during the meeting.
Chitika-Mulobeka said the parliamentarians would organise another meeting for church leaders and other interest groups.

And Musosha called for harmony among politicians in Zambia.
“Can we allow each other to co-exist? It is our Zambia. Remember the motto that we have always lived with the ‘One Zambia, One Nation’ it means we want to be all inclusive irrespective of who is doing what,” said Musosha. “PF, yes it is a party, but can we allow them, can we love them, they are our brothers and sisters after all. We belong to two political parties, to three different political parties but we have only one country Zambia. But today if we want to spoil what our friends have built and you call that development because you will need that same foundation which your friends started to come and build on whatever you may think of tomorrow.”

Labels: CHILUBA, ELIZABETH CHITIKA-MULOBEKA, MANSA DISTRICT, MWANSA MBULAKULIMA, RADIO YANGENI

posted by MrK @ 5:46 AM