Maravi

Government, opposition should have a common ground - Mutesa

Government, opposition should have a common ground - Mutesa
By Fridah Nkonde
Sat 07 July 2012, 13:24 CAT

DR Fred Mutesa says the government and opposition political parties should always have a common ground where there is national interest at stake.

In an interview yesterday, Dr Mutesa, president of the Zambians for Empowerment and Development, said it was not wrong for the government and the opposition to work together for national development but there should be circumstances warranting the collaboration.

"In as much as the opposition political parties need to offer checks and balances and give government policy options, there is need for both the government and the opposition to adopt non-partisan positions where there is national interest at stake," Dr Mutesa said.

He said there was also need to ensure that the role of the opposition is maintained for the sake of democracy.

Dr Mutesa said it was important for both the ruling party and the opposition parties to show genuineness in the way they were tackling issues of national development.

He said the ruling party should not be seen to have a motive of trying to liquidate the opposition, adding that it would also not be right for the opposition to join the ruling party for a particular gain.

Dr Mutesa said all collaborations between the government and the opposition political parties needed to be justifiable.

He further said circumstances causing the government and the opposition to work together needed to be transparent and known to the public.

"The issue of the government and the opposition working together for the sake of national development is supposed to be understood very well because in a multi party state, the opposition needs to offer constructive criticism. But it depends on what Zambians want…whether to have a one party state or what…if they want both the ruling party and the opposition to think alike, then it would mean that the opposition has failed to play their critical role of offering checks and balances," he said.

Dr Mutesa said in the Zambian context, cooperation between the ruling and the opposition political parties was mainly motivated by sinister motives.

Labels: FRED MUTESA, MMD, OPPOSITION, UPND

posted by MrK @ 1:32 PM