Maravi

Fr Muliya blames Chiluba for poverty in W/Province

Fr Muliya blames Chiluba for poverty in W/Province
By Roy Habaalu
Tue 08 Feb. 2011, 04:01 CAT

THE people of Western Province are now living like second-class citizens in their country, according to a Mongu clergyman.

Fr Gregory Muliya, the St. Johns Catholic Parish priest, said the MMD government had deliberately created poverty so that people remain perpetual beggars.
He said people had lost confidence in the MMD government for failing to deliver on its political assurances.

“The feeling of the people here is that the government had deliberately caused unemployment and created high poverty levels so that people have no say and remain beggars. The record is that Lozis were among the most educated but after realising this, MMD started to kill education so that people are suppressed and manipulated and make them poor,” Fr Muliya said in an interview.

He said the recent fracas that resulted in two deaths in Mongu district was as a result of the government’s ineptness to listen to the people.

“People are saying they have no reason to believe there is a government in place because it has neglected them. They are saying there is development in the province but there is nothing to show for. Hunger is the order of the day, young people have no jobs,” he said.

Fr Muliya said he was disappointed with parliamentarians who hailed from Western Province for failing to speak for the people.

“I am disappointed with most of our MMD members of parliament who are either Cabinet or deputy ministers except for those in the opposition. They are the ones in the forefront claiming that there is development in the province when people are suffering. People in their constituencies have no food, no jobs. Is that development?” Fr Muliya said.

He said the government statistics showed that Western Province was the least developed.

And Fr Muliya said Frederick Chiluba was the main architect of the high poverty and unemployment levels currently prevailing in the province.

He said Chiluba could not be separated from the misery and pain people were going through.

“In fact, the 10 years of Chiluba’s rule were the worst and it is at this time that whatever Dr Kaunda brought into the province was destroyed. Chiluba never thought of people in the province, it was not on his development agenda. He is the major culprit for all the sufferings here. The cashewnut industry collapsed when Chiluba was president and didn’t care to create jobs,” said Fr Muliya.

Labels: FREDERICK CHILUBA, NEOLIBERALISM, POVERTY, WESTERN PROVINCE

posted by MrK @ 5:48 AM