Maravi

Dora blames MMD loss on Mutati

Dora blames MMD loss on Mutati
By Roy Habaalu
Wed 21 Mar. 2012, 12:00 CAT

DORA Siliya says Felix Mutati's globe-trotting contributed to MMD's loss in last year's elections. In an interview on Monday, Siliya said Mutati's statement that the MMD leadership got consumed in the luxury of their offices and ended up losing the elections because they forgot about the people, Siliya who is MMD spokesperson said it was good that Mutati confessed because he himself spent a lot of time travelling.

She said if Mutati, who is MMD presidential candidate, had spent more time organising the party, he wouldn't have won by a small margin.

"For me, I am happy that honourable Mutati can confess. To me in his constituency, we lost the presidential vote and he barely won so it's a good confession coming from him. I am happy that people like honourable Mutati have come out in the open. If we had spent more time organising instead of being luxurious, maybe we would have won more votes in his own constituency in Lunte where president (Rupiah) Banda lost," she said.

During the Southern Province MMD card renewal exercise at Livingstone's Victoria Hall on Sunday, Mutati said ministers in the previous regime got consumed in the luxury of government-paid-for expenses.

But Siliya, said it was good that Mutati was confessing because he was one of the ministers that failed to organise the party.

"It's a good thing it's coming from someone who did very little to organise the party. It's a good thing that he's confessing. If MMD made you a minister and you didn't organise the party and we lost votes for the presidency, it's right that honourable Mutati can say it because he's one of those where MMD didn't do well in his constituency. He won only by 200 votes. Maybe he was busy globetrotting as minister of commerce and forgot that he only became minister because of MMD," she said.

Meanwhile, the MMD has failed to raise K 3 billion for its extra-ordinary convention to elect a party president.

The committee headed by MMD treasurer Mwansa Mbulakulima comprising Mutati, Catherine Namugala and Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane tasked to raise the funds, reported to the National Executive Committee (NEC) that it had reached a dead end.

Siliya said that on March 14, 2012 it became clear that the Mbulakulima led-committee had failed to raise a single ngwee.

She said a new committee comprising herself, Vernon Mwaanga, Suresh Desai, major Richard Kachingwe, and Chembe Nyangu had been appointed to recommend ways of selecting a president following the failure by the previous committee to raise funds.

"The issues of the new committee is that whether indeed at this point in time after losing elections, is spending K3 billion on a convention the most important thing to do? So the question is really after losing the election, six months later, first do we have the capacity to raise K3 billion? And secondly, is it the most important issue right now to hold a convention to elect a party president or can we actually be able to elect an acting president until we re-organise ourselves. I think these are issues that the new committee appointed last week should be looking at so that they can make recommendations to NEC and to the party because what's important is that the party must have some leadership," said Siliya.

Siliya said there were members that were calling for the re-introduction of the vice-president position that was frozen.

Labels: DORA SILIYA, FELIX MUTATI, MMD

posted by MrK @ 5:32 PM