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Rupiah's exit is deceitful - Katele

Rupiah's exit is deceitful - Katele
By Moses Kuwema
Sat 17 Mar. 2012, 12:00 CAT

DR KATELE Kalumba says Rupiah Banda's exit from the MMD presidency is a deceitful one meant to cover up for his failure to be responsible for the mess that he has created in the party.

Commenting on Banda's decision to step down as MMD president because of the invitation he received from Boston University in the US, Dr Kalumba who is former MMD national secretary said, during the card renewal exercise, Banda came out too hard on the people that were calling for him to step down.

"It's really a deficit of truth. He more than anybody else knew this thing US invitation long time ago and not too long ago when he was renewing the party cards, he came very hard on young Moses Muteteka.

He said those people who have been calling for him to step aside must themselves step aside, must themselves get out of the party. Now that's not too long ago," he said.

"Let him say he was not aware of his programme at the time he was making this statement. How much should we trust his stepping down now if not to avoid the accountability that is required from party members as to what went wrong which has led to the de-registration of the MMD. Why has he failed to meet the cost of what the Registrar of Societies announced?"

Dr Kalumba said having been one of the people that were calling for Banda to step aside, he was not impressed with the timing of the former president's stepping down.

"This has come as a bit of a deceitful exist, which is basically covering up for his failure to be responsible for the mess that has led to a major political party to come to nothing and create considerable amounts of national political anxiety. He should have cleaned the house. I pity the members of parliament, including my colleague George Kunda, the former Republican vice-president. They are now left with a mess to clean up. I hope he has left them with the coffers because he controlled the presidential account."

And on the de-registration of the MMD, Dr Kalumba said the party president had always been interfering with the secretariat's role of remitting monies to the registrar of societies.

He said party presidents that included Fredrick Chiluba, Levy Mwanawasa and Rupiah Banda used their offices to inform the secretariat that the Ministry of Home Affairs or the registrar itself to ignore the question of branches.

"The issue is not that MMD was not making annual returns, the real technical issue is that MMD as a party was making returns only for its secretariat. It was not doing as by law required to also pay for all its branches and that's what this has come to. I think even the Registrar can confirm the fact that they were returns being done for the secretariat but they were remitting because presidents were intervening. They were asking the Registrar to look the other side, that's what I suspect. This did not start in the last three or five years no! it started under Chiluba, Mwanawasa and Banda. It has been the case all along, they are all responsible. No one should take exception here, it's not Banda alone. This is right from the beginning of the party, they ignored that particular requirement of the law," he said.

Dr Kalumba said the Registrar of Societies should have de-registered the MMD a long time ago because the law required that the MMD like all other parties should have made returns for their branches each year.

"It's the same with churches. It appears there is a case to be made, it may appear as if it is victimisation but the Registrar has a job to do. This is the problem with the NGO Act, there is a complex issue of what do you register? Do you register only your headquarters or you register the rest of your organs? For example for us MMD it meant we register the provincial organs, district organs, the constituency organs, ward and the branch organs," he said.

Dr Kalumba however, said in all honesty, the K390 million was not outside the reach of Banda.

He said Banda needed to help the party clean up rather than allow it to go into oblivion

"There are over 50 members of parliament, now that's a lot of members of parliament, you can't ignore their fate and just cut and run. I don't think Michael Mabenga has any fall back in terms of coffers. I don't think the secretariat have got more resources to meet the obligations of the party. MMD brought Banda from the farm as vice-president and as president of the Republic of Zambia. He owes an obligation to pay that bill, I really think it's a moral issue for him, it's a least he can do. It's not just a political issue," Dr Kalumba said.

"Mr Banda, MMD has made who you are now, the least you can do is help it clean up this mess now. Thanks you have stepped aside but still as a member, you must pay the bill because I don't think he has retired the presidential account. I ask him in good faith, let him do the honourable thing," he said.

Labels: KATELE KALUMBA, MMD, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 7:30 PM