Miyanda urges dialogue

Miyanda urges dialogue
By George Chellah
Thu 30 Dec. 2010, 04:01 CAT

DIALOGUE is always better than wielding machetes, warns Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda. And Brig Gen Miyanda has maintained that President Rupiah Banda’s appointment of Bahati PF member of parliament Besa Chimbaka as Luapula provincial minister was a provocative act and a precursor of violence.

Reacting to chief government spokesperson Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha’s remarks that his statement on Chimbaka’s appointment was misplaced, Brig Gen Miyanda, who is also Her-itage Party president, stated that Lt Gen Shikapwasha trivialised his comments on the need for the government in general and the President in particular, to lead in creating a conducive political atmosphere devoid of rancour.

“The government spokesman claimed on ZNBC television that my statement regarding the appointment of a PF Member of Parliament (The Post No 5180 of 25th December 2010) was misplaced,” Brig Gen Miyanda stated.

“That retort indicates that the government is not serious about its pronouncements in support of dialogue. Government responses to national issues must graduate from mere propaganda and defensive verbal gymnastics to substance and quality contributions.”

He maintained that President Banda’s act was provocative and a precursor of violence.

“Dialogue is always better than wielding machetes. I again call on the President not to lead in provocative acts. If his motives are genuine, he must ask the sponsoring party to nominate. Why talk secretly to their member? This is called ‘Divide and Rule’ and makes his pronouncements in support of dialogue and peace questionable. Such actions create a chain reaction,” Brig Gen Miyanda stated.

He said when an appointment was made without consulting the sponsoring party, the concerned party began to quarrel with the poachers and ended up suspending or expelling their member resulting in court battles, disharmony and continuous discord in the political arena.

“The Heritage case was cited to show how we lost MPs who were enticed in the same fashion in a scheme manipulated at high levels of the ruling party. How do you build harmony and peace when you habitually plant seeds of discord and display vindictiveness?” said Brig Gen Miyanda.

He stated that President Banda must play the role of unifier which must be evidenced not just by words but by deeds.

Brig Gen Miyanda cited last year when he called on President Banda to be the first courageous President to show that he wasn’t afraid of his shadow by freeing the public media, especially television, so that contending political leaders could be seen together regularly, debating topical issues.

He said this would have helped citizens learn from the leaders so that they may believe that politics was not warfare and that it can be clean.

“This is a challenge that has eluded all our past Presidents. We must tolerate divergent views; we are over ten million people and cannot have the same views even if we tried. How does the government rubbish my non-partisan call for dialogue and fair conduct of political affairs?” Brig Gen Miyanda stated.

He said those that believed they were always right never repent.

“As Christians if we say we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves and must repent. Not repenting means we cannot renew our hearts,” stated Brig Gen Miyanda.