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Kabimba justifies reduced donor budget support

Kabimba justifies reduced donor budget support
By Chibaula Silwamba and Patson Chilemba
Wed 13 Oct. 2010, 04:40 CAT

DONORS cannot continue to support President Rupiah Banda who exhibits high levels of ingratitude, Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general Wynter Kabimba said yesterday. And Kabimba said the popularity of the MMD in Mpulungu is nose-diving whereas the PF’s popularity was growing.

Commenting on cooperating partners’ reduction of grants support to Zambia’s 2011 national budget by almost half, Kabimba said the relationship between the MMD government and donors was waning.

“Obviously, I do appreciate the donors’ position. Even assuming that one was in their position, you cannot continue rendering support to a person who exhibits such high levels of ingratitude. Not only that, but also you cannot continue as a donor spending your taxpayers’ money on a government whose internal control measures are very weak,” Kabimba said.

“But also you cannot continue as a donor to spend your taxpayers’ money for the government which takes no steps at all on the recommendations of the Auditor General’s report year in year out and unauthorised expenditure in government ministries and departments, abuse of public finances year in year out.”

Kabimba said donors were accountable to their taxpayers.

“What this reduction of grants means obviously is that there is lack of confidence or the confidence is waning between the current MMD government and the donor community,” Kabimba said.

“The only way the people of Zambia can have this confidence renewed is certainly by not re-electing the MMD in 2011 but by electing a different group of people that is going to cultivate a new relationship with the donors, that is going to cultivate confidence between the government and the donors in the interest of the people of Zambia.”

And commenting on the October 30 Mpulungu parliamentary by-election, Kabimba said election results from the 2006 to date showed that the PF’s popularity was going up.

“It doesn’t matter who analyses the results. So clearly, the MMD is losing popularity and at a very fast pace. They may not want to recognise it but this is the truth of the matter. There is no miracle, the formula to buy people has now backfired against them,” said Kabimba.

“The MMD has not been winning elections because of popularity but by abusing resources, thinking that they will just go to the people and buy them but people are clearly saying, ‘you can’t buy my vote any more, if I am poor, I will take your money but I will not give you my vote’.”

But MMD acting national secretary Chembe Nyangu said the party was receiving a lot of support.

“The MMD structures are so firm that only a crane can uproot them,” said Nyangu.

Labels: WYNTER KABIMBA

posted by MrK @ 3:51 PM