Maravi

Chitala calls on Zambians to start impounding govt vehicles being abused

Chitala calls on Zambians to start impounding govt vehicles being abused
By Patson Chilemba
Wed 20 July 2011, 14:00 CAT

ZAMBIANS should start impounding government vehicles which are being abused by Rupiah Banda’s ministers for MMD campaigns, says Dr Mbita Chitala. Commenting on the ministers’ campaigns sanctioned by President Banda using public resources, Dr Chitala said President Banda was the main culprit in the abuse of funds because he was deliberately delaying to announce the election date in order to allow his ministers to abuse state resources.

He said citizens, including himself, should become more action-oriented by impounding vehicles that were being abused with impunity.

“In my view, citizens can use the principle of citizens arrest and impound all the GRZ vehicles when they see them being abused by politicians. This is legitimate because the abuse is not only unlawful but it greatly undermines the level playing field,” Dr Chitala said.

He said labour minister Austin Liato and information deputy minister Angela Cifire were recently spotted distributing MMD chitenge materials in Chipata using government vehicles, while education minister Dora Siliya is using a GRZ 869 CE registered vehicle in her campaigns on the Copperbelt. MMD parliamentary candidate in Mongu, Dr Mwilola Imakando, is also using a government vehicle believed to be from the Ministry of Finance.

“Arrest those people and impound their vehicles and hand them to the police, just to show reasonableness. But as I said, all this is because of Mr Rupiah Banda’s stubbornness,” Dr Chitala said. “Any one citizen can do that who has legitimacy, legitimate force to take away these…. I feel we can and I can.”

Dr Chitala said President Banda and the MMD would do anything to try to win the elections, even through fraud. He said even MMD Lusaka Province chairman William Banda was on record as having said that they would use witchcraft to win elections.

“The practice of bribery, since they are very rich, you know they have extorted money from so many people all over the country and outside. The only way is to bribe people, and the first targets are chiefs who they think have the capacity to influence public opinion in their chiefdoms,” said Dr Chitala. “But this won’t work. And we are telling the chiefs ‘just eat, it’s your money. It is stolen money, and vote as your conscience pleases’.”

Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, BRIBERY, CORRUPTION, MBITA CHITALA

posted by MrK @ 10:34 PM