Maravi

UPND dares Sata to dissolve Parliament
By Moses Kuwema
Mon 13 May 2013, 14:01 CAT

THE UPND has challenged President Michael Sata to dissolve Parliament and call for an early election as a way of curtailing the parliamentary by-elections. And the UPND says the PF's popularity is melting like wax.

UPND deputy spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa urged President Sata to ivoke his constitutional powers and dissolve Parliament so that all the members of Parliament who stood on either MMD or UPND tickets but are desirous of being in PF could be given a platform to do so.

"President Sata has a noble duty to call for an early election so that we can all be subjected to scrutiny by the electorate. We as UPND members of parliament are willing to go for an early election so that we subject ourselves to the mandate of the people once more and see what people are going to say. As UPND, we would really be grateful if President Sata did that," he said.

Mweetwa said the dissolution of Parliament would help to restore normalcy on the Zambian political scene.

He said the PF, as a private club, was abusing public funds for its own gain.

"This is gross abuse of public resources for private gain and a private club called PF is gaining. To end this colossal abuse of public funds and to bring to an end these unprecedented resignations, President Sata can do one noble thing to the people of this country - dissolve Parliament," Mweetwa said.

He said the PF was abusing public office and taxpayer's money in order to extend their presence.

"They want to use taxpayers' money through these by-elections and cause PF to be present in areas which they lost during the 2011 general elections so that in 2016, they will be present in many constituencies they lost in 2011," Mweetwa said.

He said President Sata should dissolve Parliament if sincerely believed that PF was not inducing by-elections.

"We suspect that President Sata might not even heed this well-intended, timely and friendly advice. He knows that PF's popularity is melting like wax exposed to heat and, therefore, he knows that if he calls for early elections, the people of this country will teach PF is a lesson," said Mweetwa.

And MMD Die-Hard youth coordinator Bowman Lusambo said if President Sata wanted numbers in Parliament, the best thing for him to do was to dissolve Parliament.

He said it was unfortunate that President Sata had concentrated much on political fights at the expense of development.

Lusambo said President Sata risked being "the worst president that Zambia has ever had if he continued on the same path".

Labels: CORNELIUS MWEETWA, MICHAEL SATA, UPND

posted by MrK @ 2:43 PM