Tilyenji looks to God for UNIP’s comeback

COMMENT - UNIP is renamed the United National Integration Party from the United National Independence Party.

Tilyenji looks to God for UNIP’s comeback
By Patson Chilemba
Tue 18 May 2010, 03:40 CAT

ONE of the discussants during last Sunday’s Press Freedom Committee (PFC) of The Post discussion forum told UNIP president Tilyenji Kaunda that it would be a miracle for the former ruling party to bounce back to power. But Tilyenji said he believed in miracles because UNIP already had a history of liberating the country from colonialism.

During the newsmakers forum organised by the PFC at Lusaka Playhouse, University of Zambia (UNZA) student, a Mr Kalekwe, asked Tilyenji to explain what gave him the confidence that UNIP would one day bounce back to power.

“What gives you confidence that you will bounce back in 2011? It will really be a miracle because I don’t see it,” he remarked.

Kalekwe asked Tilyenji to explain if UNIP had taken stock of why it suffered massive defeat in 1991. He asked Tilyenji why UNIP could not join the PF-UPND Pact since UNIP policies were similar to those of UPND.

In response, Tilyenji said it was important to believe in oneself. He said UNIP had a history of having taken on the British empire to secure independence for the country.

“That is why you see I am soldiering on…we still want power in the hands of black Zambians because that is where it was taken from. We want power so that it can be in the right hands…not telling us the value of the kwacha from the US, we want the true value of the kwacha to be determined here,” Tilyenji said.

“I believe in miracles because I think some of the things that happened to us …I think you will know that there is a God. We are not dreaming. So it can be done.”

He said most people in the nation were genuinely suffering and those who did not see this reality were truly blind and mocking Zambians.

He was responding to a question on the recent statement by Southern Province minister Daniel Munkombwe who said he had never seen any suffering Zambia.

Tilyenji said those in leadership should follow what the Bible said since the nation had been declared Christian.

He said each child must be given free access to education because it was more expensive for the nation to fail to educate its citizenry.

Tilyenji said it was unfair for top leaders in the nation to continue going to South Africa for specialist medical treatment when their own people were dying in local hospitals due to lack of drugs. He said the recent fuel increment was unjustified.

“We praise the MMD government for announcing the floor price of K65,000 to our farmers…but the problem is they give farmers this and on the other hand they increase the fuel prices,” Tilyenji said.

He also said it was sad that successive MMD presidents had a leaning towards giving jobs to their friends and relatives.

Tilyenji said the country had never had free and fair elections because the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) was not independent.

He said in 2001, late UPND leader Anderson Mazoka was leading in the presidential race only to be overtaken at a later stage.

Tilyenji said the same happened in 2006 when Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata took an early lead and later lost.

“Sata is not my best friend, but public opinion said he was winning… you try and complain but ECZ will not listen to you, they rush into inaugurating you,” Tilyenji said. “We can’t depend on the ECZ anymore…when you are dealing with a regime that steals, it’s your job to protect your vote.”

Tilyenji said it was clear that the MMD had failed to govern the nation no matter the pretences.

On the factions in UNIP, Tilyenji said what was happening reflected the revelations by a named former intelligence chief that at some point he paid a UNIP secretary general K270 million to destabilise the party.

He said looking at all the political parties, it was only UNIP which could tackle the issue of corruption.

He said others were not free of corruption because they had skeletons in their cupboards.

Tilyenji announced that UNIP was now United National Integration Party because it had a new mission of integrating the nation, although it would still remain UNIP.

Previously, UNIP stood for United National Independence Party. Tilyenji dismissed assertions that the party wanted to form a pact with the ruling MMD.