Maravi

Muteteka opposes MMD-UPND pact

Muteteka opposes MMD-UPND pact
By Moses Kuwema
Wed 19 Oct. 2011, 14:00 CAT

MMD Chisamba Con-stituency member of parliament Moses Muteteka says he is not ready to go into a pact with the UPND because Hakainde Hichilema cannot be trusted. In an interview yesterday, Muteteka said he was not convinced and not ready for a pact with the UPND because they were trying to take advantage of the MMD's loss in the general elections and act as messiahs.

"Now he Hakainde Hichilema wants to take advantage of the MMD when we are just coming from losing elections and wants to make people think he can be a messiah. I have been talking to a number of politicians within MMD and outside and some people within MMD don't like him Hichilema, they don't trust him because of the way he has been going about with his politics, the pact with the PF, the last time he was in UDA United Democratic Alliance, now he wants to be with MMD.

Some people are not comfortable with HH. I am just saying some members because I have been consulting and some members are not comfortable with HH because of the past record. Those are issues which should be tabled within the NEC," Muteteka said.

He said the change of government lay in the hands of the people and wondered of what value it would be for the MMD to rush to work with the UPND, which he said had came out a distant third.

"What value is there? They did not want to work with MMD when MMD was delivering services in Southern Province, roads and such things that was good timing working with a party because it was bringing development, they never accepted that, they easily went to PF which was not even delivering at that time. So how can you trust such people.

UPND can't be trusted from the records, what difference are they going to make? They (UPND) want to chance all the time, it's like you have a funeral, you are in anguish and then someone comes to pull a quick one on you, that's the whole system they are using so for me, MMD is quite strong and has brilliant leaders, young people like me and others. We can still re-organise the party and bounce back to power, we don't need to borrow anyone," Muteteka said.

He said most MMD members did not trust Hichilima and they felt he contributed greatly to the MMD's loss in the September 20 general elections.

He said because Hichilema wanted numbers, he pulled them to his side and that those numbers should have gone to the MMD.

"Look at MMD Kaoma central losing candidate Austin Liato he is MMD he lost and the seat was taken by UPND and other few places so automatically the numbers that we lost from PF, had HH listened we could have recovered, we would have balanced up the numbers. So, to some extent, members of the MMD, some of them, are putting the blame on HH because Rupiah Banda did not start talking to Hakainde now, they started a long time ago including the time that MMD losing candidate for Namwala Major Robbie Chizyuka had to say enough is enough. A number of people from the UPND used to tell HH to say lets just work with this MMD since you have failed to work with PF in their pact, now he didn't want to listen," he said.

Muteteka said because Hichilema wanted numbers, he pulled them to his side and that those numbers should have gone to the MMD.

Sources have revealed that MMD and UPND are working towards a loose pact to frustrate the PF government in Parliament.

And Hichilema has in the recent past launched scathing attacks against President Sata and the PF government over their decisions.

On Monday, Hichilema accused the Patriotic Front of trying to channel national resources to one side of the country by creating another province called Muchinga.

But Mazabuka member of parliament Garry Nkombo, in an interview with Qfm on the same day, welcomed the creation of Muchinga Province saying Northern Province was too big and needed to be divided for effective service delivery.

Hichilema told Radio Phoenix in an interview that the increment in the number of provinces to 10, did not mean that the health services and other social amenities would be increased.

He said certain provinces would continue to remain poor as more resources would now be channeled to the new province in a bid to uplift its status.

"All those are cosmetic changes to hoodwink the people to say that is 90 days delivery but the province you create they may be nothing wrong with that but will the people of Muchinga Province be richer today because they have a province called Muchinga? The answer is no, will they have better roads? The answer is no, it is definitely no! Will they have...if you like, (laughs) children will they be in school? The answer is no! Boundaries - its an artificial thing you create, it can be artificial but really its never here nor there.

"What we need are delivery policies that will create jobs, policies that will create like improved lives for the people, that's what we need, but all these cosmetic changes are to hoodwink the people, but you know people are clever now, it will take just another 12 months you will see how people will begin to react, just wait," said Hichilema.

And Muteteka said there was need for the MMD to hold an extra-ordinary convention at which the party should elect a new president.

"...I don't think that Banda would be accepted in an event that there is a by-election so as MMD we must take that into account, its necessary that we look for a leader who will be inspiring, uniting the party and who can create hope for all the Zambians not only members of the MMD so we have to start now," he said.

Meanwhile, Muteteka agreed with immediate chairman for legal affairs committee of the MMD Bwalya Chiti's observation that a few members of the party were making decisions on behalf of the entire NEC.

"For instance, the floating of Richard Kapita as speaker, these are issues which were agreed by a few and the few now dragged everyone to say let's go this way and you see now in a state of confusion, that's why am referring to a funeral, you find people are orphans then there is confusion they are mourning, it's very easy to pull a quick one on them so even that idea of saying let's support UPND candidate and so on, it was too quick, and most of the members were caught up and before they could organise, they found themselves in some meeting, that was not a consensus by many it was almost imposed.

My plea is that we call for a NEC meeting almost urgently and we table these issues and we discuss over them and we resolve them. For me, I will remain in MMD and make it stronger than before, if only my ideas are being supported. The issue of rushing up for making up with other political parties are not in me for now, I think we are still capable of making MMD progressive," said Muteteka.

Muteteka said Chiti should have probably pursued his ideas in a full NEC meeting and that the resolutions should have been used as the basis of his resignation.

Chiti has charged that the party leadership were getting into alliances with other parties at the exclusion of NEC members just to protect themselves instead of the party interests.

Labels: HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, MOSES MUTETEKA, ROBBIE CHIZHYUKA, UPND

posted by MrK @ 2:39 PM