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Rupiah is displaying hypocrisy – Syakalima

Rupiah is displaying hypocrisy – Syakalima
By Ernest Chanda
Fri 14 May 2010, 04:02 CAT

SIAVONGA UPND parliamentarian Douglas Syakalima has charged that President Rupiah Banda is displaying hypocrisy of the worst kind by saying that discussing a person's health in public is unZambian.

Commenting on President Banda's statement at Lusaka International Airport on Wednesday that it was unZambian for anyone to talk about another person's health, Syakalima yesterday said President Banda had no moral right to issue such a statement.

"First of all Mr Rupiah Banda cannot be taken seriously on any issue. He is one person who can say one thing now and yet he means another. You and I are alive to the fact that it is his ministers who have been attacking Michael Sata over his health. His own Vice-President George Kunda has attacked people on health grounds and the President has never bothered to talk about these comments. It is discomforting to hear the President talk like that when his own ministers are busy talking about other people's health,” Syakalima said.

“In my view this is hypocrisy of the worst kind because the President doesn't mean what he says. We really have to question his morality on this one. He must understand that he is under the public eye every second of a minute and whatever he says should be accompanied by action. It's like in Mufumbwe where he condemned violence, and the following day his own cadres were attacking people. And he did not even condemn them for that violence. Surely can you take such a person serious? He is one person who is always contradicting himself on many issues."

Syakalima said it was unethical to disclose somebody's health status without their consent.

"Under the medical practitioner's Act, it is illegal to disclose somebody's health status. The confidentiality between the doctor and the patient should be maintained at all times. Some of us who deal with counseling it is unethical to disclose my client's health details. I'm a professional psychologist and I'm only allowed to disclose the health status of my client if the client is so concerned or if they want to disclose on their own," he explained.

"But even then I have to explain to my client the ramifications of such a disclosure. This has to be done because sometimes the disclosed information could become an ingredient that could worsen their sickness. So, I think we should separate health from politics.”

He reminded politicians that besides politics there were families to be considered when making certain statements.

“Let's remember that beyond politics there are families. The person talking might be thinking that they are just hurting an individual, but this person has got a family as well that could be affected by such talk. I have personally been attacked before by George Kunda. And I remember complaining that my family was affected by the attacks and that I was living under fear. But a few days ago I saw the same George Kunda complaining that some people were talking about his health and that his family was hurt. I'm glad that he has realised that besides politics there are families involved," said Syakalima.

Upon arrival from Livingstone on Wednesday, President Banda told the media that he could not support even people talking about Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata's health in public.

"Since when did we Zambians become a public issue? People talking about their illnesses, even his illness Sata's, I don't approve of people talking about that. If somebody is ill as alleged about Mr Sata we should be feeling sorry for him, praying for him and wishing him well. What I am seeing now is that things have been taken over by people who think they can talk about people's health. So they should talk about their own health," said President Banda.

And early this week, works and supply minister Mike Mulongoti threatened to disclose Sata's health status.

Mulongoti was reacting to Vice-President George Kunda's allegations upon arrival from Morningside clinic in South Africa where he had gone for medical treatment that Sata and other people were spreading rumours that he had died.

Mulongoti claimed that the government had known a lot about Sata's health and that they could disclose the details if Sata continued attacking government officials.

And on Tuesday this week the Times of Zambia carried a lead story in which they revealed that Sata was diagonised with four diseases after undergoing 22 medical tests.

These comments from the government leaders came in the wake of concerns by stakeholders over Vice-President Kunda’s real condition.

The stakeholders contended that the nation was earlier informed that Vice-President Kunda had gone for medical review and later told that he had been discharged from hospital and was recovering.

The stakeholders demanded the truth on the Vice-President’s health on grounds that he was using taxpayers money.

Labels: DOUGLAS SYAKALIMA, GEORGE KUNDA, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 4:16 AM