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HH and UPND are selfish - Chirwa

HH and UPND are selfish - Chirwa
By Chibaula Silwamba
Fri 28 Oct. 2011, 08:20 CAT

HAKAINDE Hichilema and the UPND are selfish and that is why they are still in opposition, says UK-based UPND party member Professor Clive Chirwa. In a telephone interview from Chongqing in China, Prof Chirwa said the UPND and Hichilema had made a terrible mistake by not listening to his advice that they merge with Michael Sata and the PF ahead of the elections.

He said Hichilema refused to take up the vice-presidency of the PF-UPND pact because he deceived himself that he was more popular than Sata. President Sata was elected in the September 20 elections after beating incumbent Rupiah Banda.

"I was extremely disappointed that Hichilema didn't get my advice. In fact, I told him before the elections that he was not talking and doing the right thing when he refused to bring UPND together with PF. I told him that PF has popularity," Prof Chirwa said.

"I told Hichilema in his eyes in his office that, ‘no, Mr Sata is more popular. The figures which you have are completely wrong'. This was the selfishness of Mr Hichilema and the people who surrounded him. Those are the people who ruined the pact. He would have taken it on board but the people who were advising him completely misled him, thinking he was more popular than Mr Sata."

He said he predicted that the PF and Sata would win.

"The week before the election, on the 15th of September, I wrote a letter to the PF leaders to say that ‘next week all the Zambians will be celebrating Mr Sata's victory' and it's true when 20th came, he had victory, because I could see that," Prof Chirwa said.

"UPND made a terrible mistake by not listening to me and now what I was predicting has actually happened."

He said some top members of the UPND opposed the pact with the PF because they were selfish and did not want to relinquish their responsibilities and powers to competent people.

He said now many senior members of the UPND were regretting after the PF victory.

"I have spoken to a few of them, who are within UPND and they have regretted their decisions. I have received nearly seven emails from the people within the UPND national management committee telling me that ‘Professor, you were right. Why didn't we listen to you?" Prof Chirwa said.

"I told them that, ‘you did not listen to me because you had different agenda. You were not for the nation. If you were for the nation you would have actually taken the offer which was put on the table by PF and everybody else'."

He said selfishness had landed the UPND in enormous disaster.

"It has ended up in enormous disaster because it's inconceivable for the UPND to be actually talking to MMD. The MMD government ruined the country and I was telling them UPND before that ‘these MMD people are corrupt. You cannot get in bed with them. It's virtually impossible. You must change your tact and start moving away from them'," Prof Chirwa said.

"I even wrote a letter to the secretary general of UPND, of course I might not disclose the content of the letter, but I was so displeased."

He observed that in the past the UPND was more progressive than the PF, but now the tables had been turned upside down.

Prof Chirwa said he supported President Sata's agenda and his speech to Parliament.

"The speech in the Parliament was the speech which I could have written but I didn't write, it was his Excellency Sata who wrote it. That speech gave everything that I wanted to move Zambia into the new century," he said.

Prof Chirwa said President Sata's speech gave Zambians opportunities for employment and change of the constitution to eradicate poverty.

He said President Sata's agenda was progressive and urged Zambians to support his Presidency.

"The government of progressive thinking has come on board and the agenda they have put forward is progressive and I want to contribute to that agenda. So far, I am extremely pleased with the government. President Sata has chosen ministers who are adequate in their intellectuality to bring real change to the Zambian people," Prof Chirwa said.

"It's extremely important that now Zambia moves forward in a real way, not all those things we were hearing from MMD with their corrupt tendencies. Time now is to say, ‘congratulations PF'."

Prof Chirwa said he would come to Zambia in December to present lectures in Lusaka and Ndola about technology transfer and national development.

He said he wants to help the Sata-led government to achieve its goals.

"I will be putting real figures and opportunities for Zambians to build the industries, the infrastructure, the medical care and every single part of society so that everybody has a house, food, etc," said Prof Chirwa.

"I will bring all the technology to Zambia to help Zambia develop. I will be looking forward to the government to help me in this to eradicate poverty."

Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, PF, UPND

posted by MrK @ 5:30 PM