Maravi

Sata has patience for the poor - Munkombwe
By Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone and Agness Changala in Lusaka
Tue 02 Apr. 2013, 14:01 CAT

PRESIDENT Michael Sata is a person full of humility, says newly-appointed Southern Province minister Daniel Munkombwe. And Sylvia Masebo says President Sata is in his best health and works harder than all ministers.

In an interview, Munkombwe said President Sata had always cared for those who were suffering, even before he was elected president.

"…that is what makes him peculiar, unlike others who have big lust to get into State House," Munkombwe said.

Munkombwe, a former deputy minister in the office of the vice-president under the MMD administration who has been nominated as member of parliament and due to be sworn in as Southern Province minister, said President Sata could best be described as a "patient person for the poor".
"I'll say much about President Sata after I assume office (a Southern Province minister) but suffice to say that he has always been full of humility; that is his pattern of leadership," Munkombwe said.
He said President Sata would love to see Zambians prosper and not pre-occupy himself with personal material enrichment.
"He can also best be described as a non-proud person who has patience for the poor because he is simply ordinary and anybody on the streets is equal to him; that is the way he carries himself," he said.
Munkombwe has worked in all administrations so far and is expected to be sworn in today.
And Masebo in an interview on Saturday said some people were so desperate that they were portraying an image both locally and internationally that President Sata was not fit to lead the country, claiming that he was sick.
She said the enemies had become so desperate that they wished someone dead and were concocting stories about several individuals' health.
"For those of us that work with President Sata, I can confirm that his health is at his best and works harder than all of us…Those that know President Sata, if he is at his best health, it is today and during the campaign days. But that is how desperate they have become," she said. "Some people are also working to ensure that they destroy people working hard and think that President Sata would not make it in 2016."
Masebo said there was a deliberate ploy to get the international community and local community to begin to think that they had a president who was sick and for them to start looking for an alternative president to take over, instead of people focusing on development.
"They are systematically throwing falsehood to confuse the people. We are not responding to that because we don't want to give credit to people who are even hiding their identities. We are looking at that as being garbage. But there are people who are believing what they are reading; even if they are few, it's still not good for the country. Let people say the truth. When we say the President is at his best health, we don't mean he cannot get sick. Even me, I was sick this week," she said.
"This talk is so unZambia, it's so evil. Can you imagine they can be that evil when they don't have power, what more if they had the power? Some of us are getting worried even for life of the President; it appears there are people who want to kill him so that they turn around and say 'we told you'. Unless you have an agenda, you can't persistently peddle a lie."
President Sata on Friday during Mass in Lusaka asked The Post to tell his enemies that he is enjoying good health.
And Masebo, who is also tourism and arts minister, said days were numbered for all those people who were insulting others because nothing bad lasted.
"They think that since they are doing it secretly, they will not be known but time is coming when they will face the music one day," she said
Masebo said the fights and attacks against her had become unprecedented to the extent that she feared for her life.
She said her enemies had even dragged her family and friends in the attacks directed at her.
Masebo said following her appointment as tourism minister and PF chairperson for elections, she was being portrayed as if she was powerful, untouchable and above the law.
She added that there had been a systematic, unprecedented vicious campaign against her personality and integrity to the extent that even her family and friends were affected.
Masebo said people were scared of her and did not know if they thought that she wanted to be president of Zambia one day.
She said attacks on her worsened after she cancelled the hunting concessions and put a ban on hunting in Zambia.
"But I am not surprised because if you recall even when I took that action, I did say that now I will be very unpopular and there will be a sustained campaign against me. They will try hard to find ways and means to get me fired so that they can have it their way and I know that they have been trying very hard and I am fully aware and I even know what has been happening and who is involved in some of the schemes," Masebo said.
She said her enemies were even trying to use the courts of law to try and find a way to get her so that they could continue plundering natural resources.
Masebo said in Livingstone, there were all sorts of false accusations, lies, fabrications and insults that were being thrown on the Internet against her, all with the aim of putting her in bad light with the public so that when she went out to campaign, people would look at her as a bad and arrogant woman who thought she was above the law.
She said she was not the only minister in government or member of the PF central committee that she should become the subject of her enemies.
"But suddenly it is as if I am the only minister and the people are not sleeping; day and night they are working on how they can destroy my name. Today I am even being called a foreigner, I was born in Zimbabwe because they think that when they say so, I do not qualify to be a member of parliament or minister," she said.
Masebo said those plotting evil against her were not even interested in her tireless commitment for the good of the poor.
She said the abuse of Internet was very unfair and becoming destructive to people's families and innocent children who were being dragged in it.
She complained that several stories had been fabricated against her to tarnish her image.
Masebo said the electorate would judge the PF by what they see and not what they hear.

And Masebo says she is a law-abiding citizen who always respects authority.

Last week, the Electoral Commission of Zambia condemned Masebo for disregarding the law during the filing of nominations for the Kapiri Mposhi parliamentary by-election.

"I respect the Electoral Commission of Zambia, the chairperson and the commissioners. In fact, I intend to meet the chairperson during the course of the week to explain to her what exactly transpired on that day as this would give her the other side of the story," she said.
Masebo said that at no time did she ever act as though she were above the law as was being portrayed by her enemies.

Labels: DANIEL MUNKOMBWE, MICHAEL SATA

posted by MrK @ 5:46 PM