Maravi

Lubinda relates well with us - UPND

Lubinda relates well with us - UPND
By Allan Mulenga, Mukosha Funga and Roy Habaalu
Sun 16 Dec. 2012, 14:00 CAT

UPND members of parliament will continue enjoying a cordial relationship with Given Lubinda, says party deputy spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa.

In an interview, Mweetwa, who is also Choma Central UPND member of parliament, said there was no way the PF could halt the long standing relationship with their fellow member of parliament.

"In terms of our relationship as members of parliament with Honourable Lubinda, this issue will not change our relationship because, for goodness sake, Given Lubinda and many of us share personal relationship that we cultivated way before even PF came into existence," he said.

"So, there is no way that we are going to stop because honourable Lubinda has been accused of collaborating with us and we start running away from him or he must be running away from us!"
Mweetwa said it was not a secret that Lubinda related well with UPND members of parliament.

"For the people like me, we are very close with Lubinda and it is not a secret. I went as far as telling people in my maiden speech that honourable Lubinda is the one who paid K400,000 nomination fees for me to contest as UPND deputy spokesperson three days after I left university.

So how can I change my personal relationship with him? No, we will not change," said Mweetwa.

And Kalomo Central member of parliament Request Muntanga dismissed as nonsense reports that he has been collaborating with Lubinda in discrediting the government.

Patriotic Front members of parliament have accused foreign affairs minister Lubinda of collaborating with the opposition to discredit the government.
Muntanga said he does not need Lubinda to effectively debate national matters in Parliament.

In an interview from Tanzania, Muntanga said he had nothing to do with Lubinda, whatsoever.

Muntanga said in Parliament he queried why the ZAWA board which was recently dissolved by tourism minister Sylvia Masebo, was constituted.

"The law says that the board will be the one running the day-to-day business on behalf of Zawa and that was the line I was questioning, period! The next time I questioned was the allocation of K1.5 billion to the office of the first lady. Again, it has nothing to do with Lubinda, it was from a newspaper cutting where the first lady said the money she received was for salaries.

I was questioning how come because the people she's working with are already taken care of by State House. Do you think something like that I need to be pumped brains by somebody?" he said. "It's total rubbish, total nonsense. If they are scared of Lubinda for something else that's their problem, it has nothing to do with me."
Muntanga said he raised points of order because he believed in something, not that he was being used by anyone.

The PF has accused Lubinda of treachery and has given him seven days within which to exculpate himself over the allegations that he had been collaborating with opposition members of parliament to discredit the government.

Labels: CORNELIUS MWEETWA, GIVEN LUBINDA, PF, REQUEST MUNTANGA, UPND

posted by MrK @ 4:11 PM