Maravi

Don’t let MMD manipulate votes, cautions Fr Mwewa

Don’t let MMD manipulate votes, cautions Fr Mwewa
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Mon 08 Aug. 2011, 11:59 CAT

OUTGOING Catholic Diocese of Ndola treasurer general Fr Augustine Mwewa says Zambians should not give room to the MMD government to manipulate this year’s elections.

Speaking when he featured on Radio Icengelo’s Face to Face programme on Saturday, Fr Mwewa, who will be on a sabbatical break to study for a Masters Degree in Mathematics at Catholic University in Kenya, said voters this year must ensure that benchmarks that render elections to be credible, free and fair are met.

He said the MMD government had a record of manipulating the demands of the people on many issues of governance such as the electoral process, the constitution, the fight against corruption among others.

Fr Mwewa said it was sad that due to selfish politicians and the MMD manipulation, the country ended up wasting huge sums of money on a futile constitution-making process.

He said the blame for the failed constitution must rest on MMD and the people that attended the National Constitutional Conference (NCC), refusing to heed to the demands for a people-driven constitution.

Fr Mwewa said the electorate must this year vote on moral grounds by refusing to give their votes to people that spearheaded the formation of the NCC, and those that attended.

“If it was in countries that have really developed in terms of democracy and good governance, we wouldn’t have entertained people that made the country lose money on a failed constitution and now they are seeking public office again,” Fr Mwewa said.

He said the more than K200 billion that the government wasted on the NCC would have greatly helped to improve the living standards of the majority of people surviving on less than a dollar per day.

Fr Mwewa said time had come for Zambians to analyse people seeking public office and to give their votes to credible candidates in good moral standing.

He said the country was in need of a Republican President that would push the agenda of the poor by fighting corruption vigorously and giving the people a credible constitution.

And during the same programme, Fr Elias Muma said citizens must open their eyes and scrutinise people seeking re-election ahead of the polls.

Fr Muma, who is the pastoral director, said the electorate must reject politicians that were responsible for the failed constitution, saying it was a serious mistake and waste of national resources by those that supported the formation of the NCC.

He said time had come for Zambians to start demanding high moral standing from people seeking public office.

Labels: AUGUSTINE MWEWA, MMD

posted by MrK @ 7:41 PM