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Leaders should be exemplary in their conduct – Sata

COMMENT - GBM could easily lose 120 lbs.

Leaders should be exemplary in their conduct – Sata
By Patson Chilemba in Lusaka and Bivan Saluseki and Chiwoyu Sin
Sat 11 Sep. 2010, 04:00 CAT

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata yesterday said political leaders should be exemplary in their conduct. And senior chief Mwamba of the Bemba speaking people of Kasama yesterday said PF leader Michael Sata has shown that he is able to discipline members of his party.

Meanwhile, Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba (GBM’s) decision to resign as Kasama area member of parliament has left most people here shocked. Commenting on the resignation of Mwamba, popularly known as GBM, as Kasama PF member of parliament, Sata said leaders should be exemplary to the people.

“The MMD have not suspended MMD Serenje member of parliament Dr Solomon Musonda, with us we have suspended GBM. The whole point is if people want to be leaders they must show a good example which people must emulate,” he said.

Sata said he still did not know if GBM had resigned because he only heard about the matter in the press.

“If he wants to resign as MP, the place to resign is Parliament, not us. The Speaker doesn’t act on copies. He decided on his own to come, and he decides on his own to go. Nobody can stand in his way,” Sata said.

“The Constitution as it is now, you can’t rule out by-elections. It’s either we have to put in the Constitution some pledge by those who are aspiring to be MP because the point is you can’t avoid a by-election.”

Sata said people like Dr Musonda were very lucky because they could have faced disciplinary action had they been in PF. He said leaders should be well mannered.

“It doesn’t matter how much money you have. It doesn’t matter how nourished you are. But we go to every election to go and plead to the poor people to vote for us. We must respect them. We don’t have any monopoly of inflicting pain on others,” Sata said.

“The whole point is if there is a by-election, which I very much doubt, we have no choice. This is the second person we are losing and this helps send a message that our central committee should be very, very careful when scrutinizing would be candidates.”

Sata said the majority of rebels in PF were people who were accepted from other political parties.

He said the party did not have problems with original members like Roan PF member of parliament Chishimba Kambwili.

“It is new comers where we have problems. For example Bhahati, Chimbaka came from MMD, Wusakile, Barnabas Chellah came from MMD, Kawambwa, the woman Elizabeth Chitika came from FDD. The list is endless,” Sata said.

“And this is making it very difficult. We trust people, we trust Zambians as PF. That is why we don’t have cards because if we had cards there will be a strain of saying ‘you must be so many years holding that particular card’.”

Sata said he did not condone violence.

“Whether it is from Dr Musonda, MMD Lusaka Province chairperson William Banda with screw drivers, whether it is from GBM, violence is violence,” said Sata.

GBM on Thursday resigned as member of parliament a few hours after receiving a letter of suspension from his party leader, Sata.
Mwamba allegedly assaulted his wife Chama on Sunday after a domestic dispute.

In a letter to Sata dated September 9, 2010, which was also copied to Speaker of the National Assembly Amusaa Mwanamwambwa, GBM stated that he had resigned in order to concentrate on his business.

Earlier in the day, Sata temporarily relieved GBM of his duties as party chairman for elections following his domestic problems.
In a letter to GBM dated September 9, 2010, Sata stated that he had taken the decision in the interest of the party and the public at large.

And chief Mwamba, who is related to GBM, said Sata was right to put his members, and PF as a house, in order because every party needed discipline.

“Society needs guidance. Leadership is self discipline and we should give good examples,” he said.

“According to what I heard, Sata suspended GBM and I think that’s what led to his resignation. As leaders we need to be patient and respect the decision of the leaders of our parties. Whereas I don’t ascribe to whatever happened to GBM and his wife, I think he should reconsider and finish his term. It’s costly for the government and the political party itself. The PF will lose a lot of money which can be used for other purposes.”

Chief Mwamba said generally, the Kasama central populace was sad at the rate of the resignations.

He said Kasama was reeling from the resignation of Saviour Chishimba, and beginning to carry on, only to have another resignation.

“It’s frustrating to the people to be voting and especially to me who is close to GBM as a family member,” he said.

On GBM’s businesses suffering as a result of politics, chief Mwamba said there was also a tendency in African politics to fix political opponents.

“There’s a wrong tendency of cat and mouse where you squeeze each other. Businesses are affected but this is a sad state of affairs. It will mean that those in government, when they go out, they will also be squeezed. Politics should be politics. Business should be business,” said chief Mwamba.

And some Kasama residents have expressed shock at the resignation of GBM.

Kenneth Mutale said GBM should have known that his actions beating the wife were wrong for a leader.

Martin Mulenga said: “It also shows that as leaders we should learn to control our emotions. To me both decisions by GBM were emotional. He beat the wife out of emotion and he has resigned out of emotions.”

Meanwhile Northern Province PF chairman Frederick Chisanga has declared that even though the people were shocked with GBM’s decision to resign, the party was ready for any by-election.

Chisanga said most Kasama residents had refused to accept GBM’s resignation.

“People came to my home and said his decision to resign as MP was not in good faith. I also told him (GBM) that he should have stepped down as chair for elections and not as MP. Now we are going to have two by-elections here,” he said.

Chisanga said the by-elections would be costly for the party and government.

“But psychologically, we are ready…It’s only that the by-election is in the same place. We are looking at the period of time, it’s too short for elections. But generally we are always ready in case RB President Rupiah Banda dissolves parliament,” said Chisanga.

“But to tell you, in Kasama, we are shocked. It has come as a surprise. He GBM promised that he is coming to Kasama tomorrow today to explain.”

When news of GBM’s resignation began to filter through, in this rural town in the morning, scores of people milled around newspaper vending points to find out what exactly had befallen Kasama.

Some tried to confirm and reconfirmed from friends with others saying they would wait for Sata to tell them.

GBM’s resignation has somewhat changed the ceremonial mood leading to Ukusefya pangwena, to that of politics in Kasama.

Some of the people who supported GBM, poured scorn for both his decisions while some PF constituency officials rushed to the local radio station to calm down people.

Meanwhile, MMD acting national secretary Chembe Nyangu has said the ruling party is going to win the Kasama Central seat following the resignation of area Member of Parliament Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba.

In an interview after Zain Zambia and some journalists called on provincial minister John Chinyanta at the provincial administration in Kasama yesterday, Nyangu said the MMD had already started campaigning in the area following the resignation of Mwamba.

Nyangu said the ruling party has been vindicated over its opposition
to the election of Mwamba last year.

“When we were saying MMD is ruling party and the people should vote for MMD…but the people went ahead and voted for opposition Member of Parliament,” Nyangu said. “The MMD is the ruling party and what we told the people a few months ago has happened. It hasn’t taken long and we have been vindicated that the MMD should have been voted into power.

“Within one term of parliamentary term, two Members of Parliament have resigned. But the question is why? It means there is something wrong within PF. We are saying this time it is our time seat and we are getting it. That is why I have come here. He Mwamba resigned yesterday and I am here, meaning what? It’s to prepare for
the forthcoming bye-election.”

He regretted that Mwamba’s businesses had suffered due to the MP’s
involvement in politics.

“The loss of business due to joining politics is personal. I don’t know how much he was spending on PF activities but if PF means him financing PF, then it is most unfortunate that his business has suffered,” said Nyangu.

And MMD Northern Province vice chairman Gaston Sichilima has charged that the PF is broke and that is why it is calling for early elections.

Sichilima said PF's popularity was waning fast in Northern province and that MMD was on the mission to recover its fortunes in the area.

“PF is not just slowly…but it’s melted completely,” Sichilima said.

“Even the presence of PF in Northern Province is going to actually
go.”

Sichilima charged that the PF was broke and that was why it was calling for early polls.

“These are indications of failures,” said Sichilima. “…There is no money so they are calling for their masters to fund them. As we are talking, they are stepping in their banks. Where they are getting the money we know, and when their master funds them, they will beef up their economies on individual basis.”

Labels: CORRUPTION, GASTON SICHILEMA, GBM, GEOFFREY MWAMBA, PF

posted by MrK @ 3:06 AM