Maravi

Sarcasm won't take HH anywhere - Munkombwe

Sarcasm won't take HH anywhere - Munkombwe
By Moses Kuwema
Wed 19 Sep. 2012, 10:30 CAT

VETERAN politician Daniel Munkombwe has advised the people of Southern Province to realise that politics is a moving phenomenon and that they should move with time. And Munkombwe said the sarcasm that was being exhibited by some politicians towards senior citizens would not take them anywhere.

Commenting on President Michael Sata's revelations that UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema has been discouraging Tongas from working with him, Munkombwe said it was wrong for those that were allowing themselves to be intimidated.

"Politics is a moving phenomenon and once you choose to remain, you remain for good. The people who allow themselves to be intimidated are missing the point," Munkombwe said.

He said Southern Province could have been far much developed if the people in the area had not chosen to remain in the opposition.

"If somebody is intimidated for taking up appointments, it means we may have a situation where nobody will take up an appointment for life. Politics is a moving scenario. We were all in African National Congress party, including Dr Kenneth Kaunda, nobody can doubt. When it became obvious to some of us that ANC would take us nowhere, we moved and we joined UNIP. When the chiefs are advising the President and somebody in politics comes to discourage the chiefs' subjects from accepting the appointments, that is not right," Munkombwe said.

And in an apparent reference to Hichilema, Munkombwe said the sarcasm that the UPND leader was exhibiting towards elderly politicians would not take him anywhere.

"If you widen your sarcasm to include everybody; Kaunda, Munkombwe, Sata, the originals of this country…whether you don't like them or not, they took part in the liberation and development of this country and if among your insults you include Kaunda then you are insulting all of us, those that were there," Munkombwe said.

Asked who he was referring to exactly on sarcasm, Munkombwe responded:

"I am referring to people that have a tendency of being sarcastic against the senior citizens of the country. Those who have been insulting know themselves."

And Munkombwe said President Sata should be encouraged to regularly meet with chiefs.

"I want to encourage the President to constantly meet our chiefs individually and in groups," he said.

Speaking when he met 15 chiefs from Southern Province on Monday at State House, President Sata told the chiefs that since he became President, he had learnt that Hichilema discourages Tongas from working with him and advised the chiefs to speak to the UPND leader.

Labels: DANIEL MUNKOMBWE, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, TRIBALISM, UPND

posted by MrK @ 1:50 PM