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Sata demands sincerity in PF-UPND pact

Sata demands sincerity in PF-UPND pact
By Patson Chilemba
Fri 23 July 2010, 04:00 CAT

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata yesterday demanded sincerity in the PF-UPND pact.

Reacting to assertions by the UPND on the Copperbelt that the PF seemed to have little respect for UPND president Hakainde Hichilema and treated UPND like a junior party, Sata said the PF was not bulldozing the UPND, but that numerically PF was bigger than UPND.

“If we wanted to bulldoze, either UPND or ourselves would have stood in Luena. We are far much stronger in Luena and we prevailed on our candidate in Luena not to stand as an independent candidate. That is one,” Sata, who featured on a HOT FM radio programme, said.

“(2) I have not toured the country denouncing HH. But he has done so. I have not gone to the press, coming from America and say ‘I’m the best because I’m young’. I wasn’t born old.”

Sata said all the ministers in the current government were young but impotent when it came to delivering for the country. He said what mattered most in the Pact was sincerity.

“Senegalese President Professor Wade, they were saying 'he is an old man', but have you seen how he has transformed Senegal? Look at late former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere,” Sata said.

“The whole point is there is no need of bulldozing comrade HH. What we need is to be sincere to each other. We are very sincere to each other. And the point is when you are looking at numerical strength, even when you remove the 16 (PF) rebel MPs, we still have more numbers than our colleagues.”

Sata said numerically, PF was the second-largest political party in Zambia, while UPND was the third-largest.

“That is a fact which nobody, no UPND vice-president Richard Kapita, no another UPND vice-president Francis Simenda, nobody will rub. That’s a fact. We are the second-largest political party.

They are the third-largest,” Sata said. “You see, when they say we are bulldozing, they want Mr Sata to say ‘yes, stop talking. Yes Mr Hakainde you are the aspiring candidate’. PF is not Michael Sata and Michael Sata is not PF.”

Asked to comment on assertions by the UPND on the Copperbelt that they would not support the Pact if Hichilema did not stand, Sata responded: “Now you are saying choose a leader, but your colleagues are giving conditions; ‘if you don’t choose HH, we are not going to support the Pact’.

Let them continue because the more they continue, we learn more. Information is vital in everything you are doing because you have seen recently, ‘yes we welcome their pact with MMD’.”

Sata said MMD knew they were weak and thought they would get an extra province if they got the UPND.

He said leaders in the Pact should remove selfishness.

“If in Lusaka there are 10 or even two vacancies for councillorship or MP-ship, we need as leaders to look at the grassroots. ‘Which organisation is stronger between the two? Which organisation is capable of winning that seat?’ Not just to go blindly because you are a pact, ‘say oh no, it’s going to be PF…UPND’,” Sata said.

“You will end up being wiped out completely. And you see, our brothers in UPND, few of them would like to work with MMD, and we would encourage them to go with MMD because if you go with a murderer, you also become a murderer. If you go and dig roots for the witchdoctor, you are learning to become a witchdoctor.”

And responding to a caller who said he should be the first one to contest the general elections and Hichilema would follow later, Sata responded:

“This one is saying what UPND were talking on the Copperbelt. So on both sides we have radicals.”

Sata said the PF and UPND should listen to what the people were telling them because if they were not united, the MMD would continue to steal the elections.

Copperbelt Province UPND chairperson Elisha Matambo, who is also a national management committee member, was quoted in yesterday’s edition of the state-owned and government-controlled Times of Zambia, accusing the PF of behaving as though it was superior to UPND. Matambo said the PF had blown out of proportion the emergency Kitwe meeting recently chaired by Kapita.

He said the UPND was disappointed with the behaviour of the PF, and urged their pact partners to respect the UPND as it was equally strong on the Copperbelt.

Matambo was quoted as reacting to Nkana PF member of parliament Mwenya Musenge’s condemnation of the meeting held at Kitwe Little Theatre last Friday, where it was alleged that the UPND resolved to back President Rupiah Banda if Hichilema was not picked as the Pact’s presidential candidate.

“The PF should realise the meeting was purely a UPND meeting. PF has been having its own meetings without UPND members attending, and we have not been complaining. We wonder why they should be jittery whenever we hold our meetings,” Matambo said.

“Mr Musenge should not think it is only the PF which is strong on the Copperbelt. He should realise that the UPND is not a dead party on the Copperbelt; we are equally strong, and we demand respect from PF because we need each other in the Pact.”

Labels: ELISHA MATAMBO, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, PF-UPND, SATA

posted by MrK @ 2:25 PM