Nevers vows to take Sata on

Nevers vows to take Sata on
By Allan Mulenga
Sat 24 Mar. 2012, 12:59 CAT

PASTOR Nevers Mumba has vowed to take on President Michael Sata once elected president of the MMD. Addressing MMD party officials in Chongwe on Wednesday, Pastor Mumba said the MMD had a challenge of seeking a leadership that would take the party to the next elections.

"I think as soon as we solve the problem of leadership in our party, you are going to see a lot of things change because now we are not going to let this government just keep saying like what the President said two weeks ago that MMD and UPND are led by thieves. My promise once elected president of the party will be that I will be looking eyebrow to eyebrow with the President; punch for punch, because that is the only way to quieten what is not true. Zambia is a Christian nation and what we need is truth and especially truth from the highest position," he said.

"To call the leaders of the two parties thieves, I think it is unpresidential and we hope that the President said it jokingly because that was very sad that the President can say that."

Pastor Mumba accused the government of embracing dictatorial tendencies in its governance system.

"Zambians are no longer ready for a dictator. A dictator will never last in Zambia because Zambians are not interested. This government must learn to consult. This government must learn that democracy means you respect the people who put you into office. They must respect Zambians as the ones who put them into office," said Pastor Mumba.

And speaking on Radio Phoenix's Let the People Talk programme yesterday, Pastor Mumba accused members of President Sata's Cabinet for the mistakes of the PF government.

He said the PF government had brought a lot of problems in the governance system of the country.

"For instance, we have just understood that the President sneaked out of the country yesterday on Thursday morning to go to India. I want to appeal to this government that let them understand that President Michael Sata is the Republican President of Zambia. He is not a party president; you can't sneak him out of the country without informing the Zambian people," he said.

Pastor Mumba urged the government to tell the public the truth about President Sata's private visit to India, saying that the President was using taxpayers' money.

"These are the things that cause speculation and create insecurity in the nation. The position of the President is a public position. There is nothing secretive about sickness if it is about the matter of sickness, for instance, if the President has gone to see a doctor, Zambians are used to that. We have had presidents have gone to hospitals. What Zambians don't like is to be played with like children," he said.

"Zambians must be told, protocol demands that at least two days before the President leaves the country, the Zambian people are informed so that they are aware of where their President has gone to and one of the reasons for that is that he uses taxpayers' money to wherever he is going, otherwise there is nothing private about any visit the President makes."

Pastor Mumba said members of the Cabinet were not advising President Sata correctly on many policy issues.

He urged the government to learn to do things the right way.

"We demand that this government learns to do things in the right way. There are people in his Cabinet that can advise the President but none of them is doing that. Some of the things that the President is doing are very concerning," said Pastor Mumba.

On Thursday, President Sata left on an unannounced trip to India. Kenneth Kaunda International Airport sources told The Post that President Sata left for India around 08:30 aboard the Presidential Challenger jet.

Pastor Mumba also said the government's fight against corruption was cosmetic and a witchhunt meant to quieten those opposing government.

And Pastor Mumba said the only positive thing the PF government had brought was President Sata flying in a helicopter to the airport thereby not disrupting traffic.