Kavindele, Muteteka heighten MMD presidency campaigns

Kavindele, Muteteka heighten MMD presidency campaigns
By Kombe Chimpinde
Sun 20 Nov. 2011, 13:59 CAT

MMD is a big party and needs a leader who knows it inside-out, says Enoch Kavindele. And MMD youth chairperson Moses Muteteka who has also applied to be considered for party presidency says Pastor Nevers Mumba's application for presidency must be rejected because he is too careless to lead a big party like MMD.

Kavindele, the former MMD vice-president, said he was consulting all party structures in all the nine provinces before he could officially launch his bid for the MMD Presidency.

He said that MMD had so many challenges and needed a person with vast experience to take over as party president.

"You see we made a mistake by appointing President Banda who did not know the MMD well. This is why we had a problem organising the party. You also know that most of our members are still in shock about the loss, so we need someone who can bring members together," Kavindele said.

"I do know the MMD very well, I have been to every part of Zambia previously. Firstly, I took President Mwanawasa round and then I took President Banda around the country in the last six weeks of his presidency."

Kavindele said that the response that he had received from the provinces was encouraging and that he would make decisive position after studying all the responses.

And Kavindele said that the MMD did not have enough money to go to an extraordinary convention.

He differed with Dr Katele Kalumba who said that the MMD needed to go to an extra-ordinary convention, saying that electing an acting president would give the party chance to observe him or her before they elected such a one at the convention in the next four years.

And Muteteka, one of the contenders of the MMD presidency, said Pastor Mumba who had also applied for the MMD presidency was too careless to lead the party and must focus on preaching the gospel.

"He made a lot of people join churches during ‘Zambia shall be served' but what happened was he abandoned the flock and formed a political party, which he abandoned. The man is just looking for who can look after him," he said.

Muteteka said that there should be no room for opportunists in the party, as this had led to its defeat.

"He has talent in preaching and not governance and leadership, so those who are misleading him must desist because they end up having him land crushing. In fact, he is not in good standing with the party. He has been excommunicated from the party," he said.

"When Mumba was vice-president and on oath he almost put the country in conflict with Congo DR. Let's be conscious with the people we appoint."

Muteteka added that technocrats like Dr Situmbeko Musokowane, Felix Mutati and Brian Chituwo who it has been rumoured had applied to be considered for the position were not best suited for the mantle as they were not so much of politicians.