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Corruption made me leave MMD - Masebo

Corruption made me leave MMD - Masebo
By Kombe Chimpinde
Wed 02 May 2012, 09:00 CAT

SYLVIA Masebo says she is not surprised that some former leaders who served under Rupiah Banda are being arrested and investigated because their corrupt acts manifested before elections. And Masebo says it is childish and embarrassing for people to cry over jobs.

"I was part of the MMD, I can say I have been there in the MMD since perception, remember I was one of the first deputy mayors of the city of Lusaka under the MMD. I was part of the Ministry of Health, I became Minister of Local Government. I have been in the opposition, I have been in the front and back bench. I have been part of the political dispensation of this country, so I am a seasoned politician," said Masebo during Muvi TV's The Assignment programme on Sunday night.

She said corruption was one of the reasons that made her leave the MMD to re-contest the Chongwe seat on the PF ticket.

"I was not sure hundred per cent that PF could win in Chongwe. I was not even sure that President Sata would become President but I was prepared, even that even if he was going to lose, I was going to be on the side of the opposition in order to fight MMD and Rupiah Banda," she said. "It was not personal. It was the hate that I had for what was happening in government. I was very clear that there was corruption during Banda's time…in fact if Levy Mwanawasa had come back, Rupiah Banda was not going to continue as vice president, many of the ministers in the MMD and many of those chaps…"

Masebo said she knew and made it clear publically that Banda was not the right person to lead the country but that she came to terms with the choice of Zambians in the 2008 presidential by-elections by continuing to work with him and the MMD.

She said the prosecution and investigations of some former leaders that served under Rupiah Banda was justifiable.

"If you recall, on the floor of the House, when I was re-elected I made a statement in parliament that although they were leaders and were called honourable, most of them were not supposed to be sitting in Parliament. I told them they were supposed to be behind bars because I was part of MMD and I knew what was happening, so I am actually not surprised," Masebo said.

She added that that wishes by the MMD to retain power in future were out of question and impossible.

And Masebo said it was erroneous for people that contributed to the PF's victory to complain about not being given jobs.

"I know myself people that put in their life, they don't even want to be known…including his own campaign manager Mr (Willie) Nsanda (former Chimwemwe member of parliament) but he is not crying for a job," she said. "This is not to undermine or underrate what people have done. I contributed but maybe my contribution is only 10 per cent, there are others that have contributed 90 per cent."

On the clearance of allegations of her involvement in the controversial procurement of hearses when she served as local government minister under Mwanawasa, Masebo said she was surprised at the announcement that she had been cleared of all allegations concerning hearses when she was not in any way involved in the procurement.

ACC public relations manager Timothy Moono recently told journalists that the ACC had not found Masebo wanting on alleged irregularities that marred the procurement of hearses.

"First and foremost, the statement to implicate me was just a deliberate political ploy to try and destroy my name and when I hear today that I have been cleared by the ACC, I wondered what was there is to clear because as far I was concerned, I had no case to answer," she said.

She said the idea of the previous government, through the ACC, to implicate her was to throw her name in the mud so that people could doubt her credibility.

Meanwhile, Masebo urged Zambians to give the PF and President Sata enough time to deliver on their campaign promises.

"It is too early for anybody to expect that in six months, one year of a totally new government, that you are going to see things," said Masebo.

"He (Sata) has his manifesto, everything is very clearly stipulated...Give him time and then come and judge him at the right time."

Labels: ACC, CORRUPTION, MMD, SYLVIA MASEBO

posted by MrK @ 4:23 PM