Chipili asks MMD members under investigation to resign
Chipili asks MMD members under investigation to resignBy Kombe Chimpinde
Mon 02 Jan. 2012, 13:53 CAT
FORMER MMD Kamfinsa member of parliament Webby Chipili says party members currently under probe must disassociate themselves from the party on moral grounds.
And Chipili says that the coming convention to appoint a new president will be a sham as long as Rupiah Banda and current national executive committee, which he said was of low credibility, are the principal drivers.
In an interview, Chipili, who was also State House minister in the late Levy Mwanawasa's government, said the party needed to get rid of corrupt elements to clear the ‘corruption perception'
"The perception of corruption Zambians have about the party, we have to take this matter seriously. The fight against corruption should begin with ourselves in the MMD because if you remember very well, when President Mwanawasa ascended to power, that was our theme and now we are hearing charges being brought on our members. Although they have not been concluded in the courts of laws yet, we will need on moral grounds those that are affected to step aside because when one is being investigated, it's better to step aside so that that stigma does not remain with the party," Chipili said.
Chipili said that the party's decision to hold a convention only to elect a president and vice-president of the party would be an exercise in futility because the current executive was not credible.
"We need a fresh start, meaning even this NEC, in my view, is not credible enough because I will tell you, one thing is for sure, what happened at the last convention was a sham. These guys (Banda and his allies) came up with some lists. Those of us who were not preferred candidates were mistreated," he disclosed.
"They came up with a very weak NEC which resulted in a loss. In my opinion, just electing the party president will not solve the problem because it is the same people who caused the last confusion that will still be in charge." Chipili said that he foresaw a situation where Banda would hand-pick a party president by manipulating the convention.
"If we use the same method the party president (Rupiah Banda) was using, then we are not going anywhere. If this is not done, we might forget about MMD coming back to power.This is our fear because he is going to be there. Everything being equal, we would have gone in for a fresh convention, elect a new NEC and president and start afresh. After the ill-treatment I was subjected to, I do not think I will go for any position until there is proper democracy in the party," he said.
"If this does not happen, I may withdraw my membership from the party. I had joined MMD which brought democracy but this is not the same MMD."
The MMD is supposed to hold an extra-ordinary convention in two months' time to elect Banda's successor.
Labels: CORRUPTION, MMD, NEC, RUPIAH BANDA, WEBBY CHIPILI
posted by MrK @ 5:08 PM
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