Maravi

Rupiah returned to politics to steal public funds - Fr Bwalya

Rupiah returned to politics to steal public funds - Fr Bwalya
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Sat 26 Nov. 2011, 12:00 CAT

THE people on the Copperbelt and Lusaka voted for President Michael Sata because Rupiah Banda had clearly shown that he was a daylight robber, says Fr Frank Bwalya. And the MMD on the Copperbelt says the people in the province voted for the PF because the MMD did not attend to the plight of workers the time it was in government.

Commenting on former president Rupiah Banda's accusations that the people of Lusaka and the Copperbelt caused his defeat in the September 20 general elections by voting overwhelmingly for Michael Sata, Fr Bwalya who is Get Involved Zambia executive director said the former president must keep quiet as he was the one responsible for the sufferings many Zambians were going through.

He said Banda returned to politics to steal public funds and to destroy the country as evidenced by many ‘dirty deals' that he engaged the government in and were now resurfacing.

Fr Bwalya said communication along the line of rail between Copperbelt and Lusaka was so good that it did not take long before many people realised that if they allowed Banda to continue as Republican president, the country would have collapsed.

"We are now advising Mr. Rupiah Banda to keep quiet because he destroyed our country. The same advice we gave to the late Frederick Chiluba to say keep quiet and he didn't listen and we therefore started calling him lazo thief is the same advice we are giving to Rupiah Banda. Let him keep quiet. The man (Rupiah Banda) went as far as lying about where his parents were born. He committed a criminal offence. He occupied State House illegally," Fr Bwalya said.

He said the new PF government should make sure that they don't make silly mistakes that would overshadow the important achievements that they may be scoring.

Fr Bwalya said the PF should concentrate on addressing real issues that would uplift the living standards of the majority people.

"The PF has done very well in some areas…Some of the bad things they have done are denting their image in a manner that is even taking away the positive things. The new government should execute duties in the best interest of the country," said Fr Bwalya.

And MMD Copperbelt information and publicity secretary Yotam Mutayachalo said the massive defeat of Rupiah Banda was expected because issues of workers and the operations of the mines were not addressed.

Mutayachalo said the MMD was the brainchild of the workers and people were bitter that the government had betrayed them because many issues of national interest that were raised were ignored.

Labels: CORRUPTION, FRANK BWALYA, MMD, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 5:14 PM