ZNFU reveals interference from millers on wheat import ban
By Moses Kuwema
Tue 27 July 2010, 04:01 CAT
From left to right, Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) security unit chairman Charles Coxe, deputy commissioner of police Emmanuel Chileshe and ZNFU president Jervis Zimba listening to CMR farms of Kabwe managing director Sara Ashworth during the visit to her farm on Wednesday. - Picture by Moses Kuwema ZAMBIA National Farmers Union (ZNFU) president Jervis Zimba has disclosed that there are people who are fighting to have the ban on wheat imports lifted. And Chimsoro Farms proprietor Constain Chilala has said only non Zambians can push for the reversal of the Statutory Instrument on wheat imports.
Speaking when he addressed farmers in Mkushi last week, Zimba said the country did not need any imports on wheat because the crop yield had not reduced. He said once the imports on wheat were allowed, Zambian farmers should forget about selling their wheat.
“This battle was fought, we said there is no need for wheat imports but again we are aware that the millers are working together with some directors at the Ministry of Agriculture to try and remove this SI. They started last year again now we are seeing this is what is happening…and because of the annoyance among the millers and some directors at the Ministry of Agriculture they are using a fake association just to be attacking ZNFU to say this is not right… its not correct we have to look at the bigger picture of farmers and what is happening,” he said.
He said Zambia was the only country in the southern Africa region, or perhaps in Africa, which could feed itself in any commodity but that there were people who were bent on destroying that potential.
“Some two weeks ago, one miller wrote to the minister to say you ban all exports of soya beans… now we have a bit of excess in terms of soya beans but what they want is to make sure the prices are suppressed and they pay the yields to the farmers for nothing...We have told them there is no need of writing letters to the minister, write your letters to the president of ZNFU who will then call a stakeholders' meeting and determine how much should go for exports, we did it last year,” he said.
And Zimba said farmers should this year brace themselves for hard times because of the commodity prices which he said were not good.
“Whatever you have produced no one knows where that maize is going to go so you are hammered with commodity prices. We need to put our heads together, for the issue of commodity prices in the country we are completely at cross roads. If you look at the briefings we sent you, all of you must have seen how the prices have dropped in a couple of months be it wheat, be it soya beans,” he said.
Zimba said the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) had totally lost direction, adding that the continued lack of a board at the agency was a source of concern for the farmers.
“They FRA keep interfering on the market at the wrong time all the time, you remember in the beginning of the year we had early maize to be taken on the market, most of it was stuck, today some of you have sold it for a song. There is nowhere in the world where you have a huge output of crops and the minister is delaying or failing to announce the board when he has got the names on the table, we can’t allow a situation like that. Right now as am talking there is an advert in the paper where the FRA is saying they have about 160,000 metric tonnes and they have just put a huge advert that traders should bid for it to try and see if they can buy it for exports…they have got no capacity as FRA to monitor whether that maize is going for exports or not. For heaven’s sake why can’t FRA themselves not secure the export market?” he wondered. “They have been telling us that they have secured almost a million tonnes of exports, then why advertise locally to allow other people to export it when FRA themselves have got the capacity to sell it, so as farmers we are braced for hard times this year its not going to be a good road in terms of the maize and we know the cost of production is high, how do farmers sell their commodity below the cost of production?”
Zimba said if the situation was allowed, the millers and traders would again start playing around with the prices of the commodity.
Zimba said the farmers were grateful to the government for finding money to buy maize but that it was unfortunate that the funds had not yet been released.
“We are now coming towards the end of July and you know when you are buying commodity under collateral management it takes long time meaning that they have got to buy and then after two to three weeks the banks have got to verify how much maize, is it true, the location, so for a farmer to get his money, we will be looking at may be another three weeks and who knows with the way the FRA plays games it may be a month, so these millers would say we have no choice but to keep buying and dispatching 42,000 and so forth. So we have a very serious problem at hand regarding the maize marketing season this year and I call it the national crisis,” he said.
Zimba said there was need for a serious intervention by the government because officials in the Ministry of Agriculture were reluctant to implement the presidential directive on exports.
“Again I met the president before the end of the year I said look, can we try and look at the exports to Democratic Republic of Congo DRC, the DRC problem we have is that we keep shutting the door, open it up, shut it...so the best thing we can do is can we have these quotas, agreed quotas between the DRC and in February the millers, ZNFU, grain traders we established a list of these quotas we should be able to be given to DRC agreed and they were given to them, to date as I am telling you ministry of agriculture has said no we cannot do that we shall give it to the joint permanent commission I think this is between the Copperbelt Province and the DRC, what a joke!
“We believe the Ministry of Agriculture is totally in reverse gear its like nobody seems to know whether we are going forward or backwards, the only time we see these Ministry of Agriculture officials very active is already now they know that they have got a serious crisis of the maize, they are already jumping talking about the Fertiliser Support Programme FSP programme that this year we are giving 900,000 farmers, they are more excited because this is where they cut deals. No one is interested about the FSP now what every farmer is interested in now is how he is going to secure his maize.”
And Chilala said the implementation of the SI was to protect the production of wheat in the country.
“The production of wheat is so high now to a level where we are able to feed even Katanga Province in the DRC, now if someone at the ministry decides to go against the presidential directive or advise against the presidential directive, that person is not Zambian he should be one of those who were involved in the importation of wheat which we heard in 2008 and 2009 where they brought 30,000 metric tonnes during our harvesting season,” Chilala said.
He said millers had become like briefcase business men because they did not want to buy the crop on time.
“They want us to keep the crop after growing it and then they want it for nothing. And unless this is resolved between the millers and the farmers it will see farmers now stop investing in wheat, they will start saying no investment in wheat is very expensive it requires you to buy centre pivots, irrigation equipment and those are very expensive,” he said.
And Chilala said a crop surplus without well organised marketing programmes put people into new and bigger problems.
“As a country we are able to produce these crops by the farmers, but farmers are now suffering that they can't get this crop to the market to process it so that the Zambians can eat it, one time I read in the newspaper where the Minister of Agriculture was saying we have got a bumper harvest now, so the food can go down but he forgot that that food costs money to produce, how does he expect that food to walk into homes as cheap as he was anticipating it to because someone spent money to grow the food he must sell it at a reasonable price for him to be able to grow a new crop this year,” said Chilala.
Labels: CHARLES COXE, COSTAIN CHILALA, JERVIS ZIMBA, MAIZE, MILLERS, ZNFU
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Prof Chinene urges govt to subsidise budding institutions
By Justin Katilungu in Kabwe
Thu 22 Apr. 2010, 03:00 CAT
MULUNGUSHI University vice-chancellor Vernon Chinene has urged the government to consider institutions with subsidies in its formative years before it can attain financial sustainability.
And Mulungushi University council chairman Costain Chilala has asked the government to move fast and operationalise its US$35 million joint infrastructure development investment for the university.
Professor Chinene told education minister Dora Siliya during her visit to the institution yesterday that the university in its initial stages was facing high overhead costs relative to the income being generated internally.
Prof Chinene said that to get the university running, management had to assemble a critical mass of staff resulting in high personnel costs relative to the income being generated internally.
“This situation is however expected to change as student numbers increase. This is the justification for seeking government subsidy in the formative years of the university before we attain financial sustainability,” he said.
Prof Chinene explained that the annual budget for emoluments and other personnel-related costs currently amounted to K24 billion while the grant from the government in 2010 was just K16.9 billion, living a financing gap of K7.1 billion which the university has to source internally.
“This is in addition to having to fund in full all other recurrent costs which in the 2010 budget amount to K19.9 billion, which is quite heavy for a new institution that is barely two years old,” he said.
On infrastructure development, Prof Chinene said the institution was undertaking five projects where the government had already spent K105 billion leaving a financing gap of K28.4 billion.
He was happy that the university had brokered several partnerships with universities abroad in academic ventures.
The university has launched seven-degree programmes, while certificate courses continue and that in September this year the degree programmes would increase to 16.
Labels: CIVIL SOCIETY, COSTAIN CHILALA, VERNON CHINENE
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COMMENT - I think this explains a lot. Brian Chituwo is straight out of the corrupt Ministry of Health. Now, instead of releasing the money from the budget, he tells the FRA to 'go borrow some money'. Which in turn explains one reason why lending rates in Zambia are so high - government borrowing from commercial banks instead of the public, and using borrowing from commercial banks instead of their budget. I wonder why the money from the budget is not available? What happened to it, minister Chituwo?
ZNFU challenges Chituwo to explain extra funding to FRA
Written by Kabanda Chulu
Friday, August 28, 2009 3:01:58 PM
ZAMBIA National Farmers Union (ZNFU) president Jervis Zimba yesterday challenged agriculture and cooperatives minister Brian Chituwo to clarify
his statement about additional funding to the FRA since there seems to be
a ‘circus’ in the maize marketing process.
Dr Chituwo, who is currently in the Northern Province to check on the crop marketing exercise, announced that the government has released over K200 billion additional funding to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) that would be available by today (Friday) in all districts across the country.
But FRA chairman Costain Chilala said the government has directed the agency to borrow K271 billion from commercial banks for additional purchase of maize and that funding would only be available in the next three weeks.
Speaking yesterday, Zimba said the government should not just focus on borrowed money but should instead release funding that was allocated to the FRA in the national budget.
“We are happy with President Rupiah Banda’s intervention that FRA should buy more maize from farmers but we hope Dr Chituwo is not being misquoted that funds will be available by end of this week (Friday) because we know that it is a process to access borrowed money and that it can take many weeks,” Zimba said.
“It seems there is a circus in the maize marketing process and Dr Chituwo should clarify this inconsistency from his statement and that of the FRA because this development will result in many farmers to start camping at FRA depots in a bid get their money and yet money is not readily available.”
He advised the government to disburse in full the funding budgeted for the FRA so that borrowed money would only cushion what the FRA already had.
“We all know that only K30 billion has been released to the FRA out of the K100 billion that is meant for crop marketing exercise for this season so government should not focus so much on borrowed money but release the balance of K70 billion to the FRA,” said Zimba.
Labels: BRIAN CHITUWO, COSTAIN CHILALA, FRA, JERVIS ZIMBA, ZNFU
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FRA begins construction of storage sheds countrywide
Written by Florence Bupe in Kapiri Mposhi and Emmanuel Kampamba in Mpulungu
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 7:18:42 PM
THE Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has commenced the construction of grain storage sheds around the country under the US $11.6 million concession loan from the Chinese government. The loan is meant to make possible the construction of about 98,000 metric tonnes of storage facilities in eight districts around the country.
Speaking during the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the sheds in Kapiri Mposhi, agriculture minister Dr Brian Chituwo said the agriculture sector was faced with a number of challenges that were impeding growth, including inadequate storage facilities.
“Although we have been recording surplus harvests over the last few years, our agriculture sector is still faced with many challenges, including the lack of storage facilities. As government, we will do our part to ensure that the project is completed on time,” he said.
A Chinese contractor, Camco Corporation, has been engaged to construct the eight sheds.
Dr Chituwo said the availability of additional storage sheds would enhance maize marketing for small-scale farmers around the country, and increase the possibility of exports.
Dr Chituwo also said the government was working towards ensuring that farmers were paid on time for the produce they supply during the ongoing maize marketing season.
“Consultations are ongoing to speedily pay our farmers. The export market is waiting. We are in consultation with FRA to try and work out modalities of servicing the export market,” said Dr Chituwo.
And FRA board chairperson Costain Chilala disclosed that the agency had almost fulfilled the crop purchase target for this year, but expressed worry at the payment mode.
“We have collected almost all the maize we intend to buy this year, but we don’t have the assurance that government will pay. FRA is in consultation with government to borrow money in order to alleviate the challenges that farmers are facing,” said Chilala.
Meanwhile, Camco Corporation vice-president Peng Jiping and Chinese Embassy representative Wang Hu stressed the significance of agriculture to Zambia’s economic growth, and pledged that country’s continued support to the sector.
The storage shed construction project is scheduled for completion by October 2010.
And 1,500 Mpulungu farmers are stranded with hundreds of bags of maize because the FRA has stopped buying the commodity from the farmers in the area.
District Cooperatives Union (DCU) manager Lawson Simunyola said farmers were now spending nights in the cold at different satellite depots because they did not know where to sell their maize.
He said less than a quarter of Mpulungu farmers had sold maize to FRA in this year's maize marketing season.
'' What has caused this problem is that FRA has only pledged to buy 4691 x 50 kilograms bags of maize from each satellite depot. But the farmers are saying this sealing is too low and it has disadvantaged them because some satellite depots in Mpulungu like Vyamba and Chitimbwa produce more than 20,000 x 50 kilogrammes bags of maize annually, respectively,'' he revealed.
Simunyola said the remedy to that problem would be for FRA to extend the maize marketing season and increase the sealing from 4691 bags and ensure that they bought every grain on the market like they did last year, adding that there were still more farmers who were currently ferrying maize to satellite depots for sale.
He wondered where the farmers were going to find money to buy fertilisers for the 2009/2010 farming season if they did not sell their maize.
'' Last evening they said on TV that fertiliser distribution will begin this month end but we don't know how our farmers will access these fertilizers because government has not yet bought their maize,'' said Simunyola.
And Simunyola said that over K2 billion was needed to clear the farmers in Mpulungu who had managed to sell their maize to FRA.
He said out of the K2 billion, only K403 million had so far been released and disbursed to farmers in the district.
Labels: BRIAN CHITUWO, CAMCO CORPORATION, COSTAIN CHILALA, FRA, SILOS, STORAGE
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Food Reserve Agency announces Maize floor price
Saturday, May 16, 2009, 17:23
The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has announced K65 000 as the maize floor price for a 50 kilogramme bag of maize for the 2009/2010 marketing season.
The agency has also announced K60 thousand as the rice floor price for a 40 kilogramme bag for this year’s marketing season.
FRA Board Chairman, Costain Chilala says this represents an increase of 18 percent for maize and 15 percent for rice.
Mr. Chilala announced at a press briefing in Lusaka that the FRA will this year buy 110 000 metric tonnes of maize an 1200 metric tonnes rice at a cost of K200 billion.
He also said the rice and maize price for this year’s marketing season are as a result of consultations with various stakeholders on grounds of production, supply and demand factors affecting the food balance sheet.
Mr. Chilala also said FRA will buy most of its maize from outlaying ares as directed by president Rupiah Banda early this year.
He however said farmers should use the floor prices as guidelines when negotiating with buyers.
Meanwhile, the agency has announced that it will only buy maize and rice from farmers this year.
Mr. Chilala said the withdrawal from buying other crops such as cassava is as a result of non availability of a market and processing plants for the crops.
He said the agency has embarked on a country wide rehabilitating its silos in Kitwe, Chisamba, Monze, Ndola, Lusaka and Kabwe which have beeen vandalised over time.
The FRA Board Chairman said the first rehabilitated silos will soon be commissioned in Lusaka.
[ZNBC]
Labels: COSTAIN CHILALA, FRA, MAIZE
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FRA gives GIA ultimatum to bring non-GMO maize
Written by Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 4:51:15 PM
GIA International have up to March 30 this year to bring in white
non-Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) maize to replace the consignment that was recently rejected by FRA, chairman Costain Chilala (right) disclosed yesterday.
And Chilala said the board had not yet met to decide the fate of FRA executive director Dr Anthony Mwanaumo following his arrest last week for allegedly procuring maize covering materials in 2006 without following tender procedures.
Giving an update on the maize importation exercise, Chilala said the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) had not cancelled its contract with GIA International despite the company's attempt to secretly import GMO maize, contrary to contractual clauses.
Chilala said the other company involved in the maize importation exercise, Mark Daniels, had started bringing in the maize and that part of the consignment had been cleared and was in the country while the other half was stuck at the border awaiting GMO clearance by Mt Makulu Research Station.
"We have not cancelled the contracts but rejected that consignment. They [GIA International] have an open contract up to March 31 this year and if they have not brought maize by then, they will have severely breached the contract and then the contract will be cancelled and then I don't know clauses which will be on top of that. But basically, they should look for the right maize to bring between that day [when the contract was signed] and March 30th," Chilala said. "The other company, the controversial Mark Daniels has brought in two consignments of maize of 13 trucks of 30 tonnes each. The first 13 trucks were very well and we have no problem. The next 13 ones we are looking at the samples but the trucks are at the border awaiting inspection.
"That is another delay we have; you know sometimes, it takes another four or five days, until Mt Makulu says 'yes these trucks have non-GMO maize' that is when they can be allowed to enter. We don't want them to enter and start finding them they are GMO here in Lusaka. That is not what our interest is. Immediately they do not get the right maize by 31st March, [2009] the contract should elapse."
Chilala said it was easy for Mt Makulu to inspect the maize brought by Mark Daniels because the commodity was being imported in bulk form of 600 bags per truck.
"The whole truck can simply be opened and you can get samples everywhere," Chilala said.
He also said although GIA International wanted to cheat the country by bringing in GMO disguised as non-GMO, FRA would not rest with its effort to keep a tab on the importation exercise.
"You know these chaps [GIA International] we told them they should test the maize in South Africa so that they already know it is GMO free. We have been doing that [taking precautionary measures] even in 2005. You know this thing is not a joke for me and the board. It is very a serious thing," he said. "In 2005, we did exactly the same exercise but the guys brought in GMO maize. They were trying to sneak it in but we discovered and we rejected it. But the rest of the maize which came was clean in 2005. But they can't cheat us unless Mt Makulu is compromised. We don't pay anyone who is doesn't meet the standards."
And Chilala said the FRA board was currently consulting over Dr Mwanaumo who was arrested last week.
"We have not suspended him yet but we know that it is common knowledge among you guys that there was this arrest by the anti-corruption people and then we are doing consultation. Once we have consulted, that is when we will be able to make an administrative decision," Chilala said.
Asked whether Dr Mwanaumo was still in the office, Chilala responded: "We are doing consultation this week and by next week, the board will have finished their consultation. You know this issue of this importation is a very sensitive thing and if you take out the chief executive just like that, we can have serious problems. But that decision to remove him [Dr Mwanaumo] from the office, if need be, would only be made after we complete the consultation."
Chilala disclosed that Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) arrested Dr Mwanaumo following FRA's procurement of materials for covering maize in 2006 without following tender procedures after late president Levy Mwanawasa threatened to charge the agency with crimes against humanity if they allowed maize to go to waste.
Chilala said FRA had to quickly buy the maize covers because the rain season was imminent.
"The matter is not a current thing. It is an issue for 2006, which they had arrested him for. It is when Mwanawasa during the press conference had told the nation that if FRA get their maize soaked, then it gets rotten, then it will be crimes against humanity," he said. "They [ACC] have already informed us. They wrote to us on Friday and we also started consulting on Friday immediately they informed us. We are moving toward something. But it is not the President [Rupiah Banda] or minister, but the legal people to tell us how to deal with this and once we have got those consultations, we will meet as a board and then make a decision."
Meanwhile, Chilala expressed anger at a letter published in The Post last week from an anonymous former senior FRA employee who accused some board members [Chilala and Caleb Mulenga - Miller Association of Zambia chairman] of being highly compromised.
The anonymous former employee also wondered why Chilala and others could serve both the people of Zambia and monetary profits.
But Chilala said the FRA board had worked hard to avert the maize crisis in the country and to sanitise the grain administration sector.
Chilala said he was a focused, elderly person who wanted to perform his duties properly and ensure that good standards were set at FRA.
Labels: COSTAIN CHILALA, FRA, GIA INTERNATIONAL, GMO
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MAZ urges access by all millers to cheaper FRA maize
Written by Fridah Zinyama
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 10:05:39 AM
SOME milling companies have disclosed that they will only effect a reduction in mealie-meal prices once they access cheaper maize being offered by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
In an interview, Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) vice-chairperson Peter Cottan said the milling companies which were currently selling mealie-meal at reduced prices had signed a contract with FRA which was offering maize at a K55, 000 per 50 kilogramme bag of the commodity.
“We will be meeting FRA this afternoon (yesterday) to discuss the way forward concerning the mealie-meal prices,” he said.
Cottan said all millers would like to be included in the package that FRA was offering as that would assist them reduce mealie-meal prices.
Last week, FRA chairman Costain Chilala had announced a reduction in maize prices from K60, 000 to K55, 000 per 50 kilogramme bag.
Chilala stated that all willing millers would be supplied with FRA maize at 100 per cent mill requirements at the current price.
He said participating millers would sign a legal document to further lower mealie-meal prices.
Chilala said the agency would also buy available maize from the local market at its offer price to meet increased demand for the commodity. This would be in addition to the planned imports of 100,000 metric tonnes of the commodity.
Labels: COSTAIN CHILALA, FRA, INFLATION, MAZ
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More millers consider mealie meal price cuts
By YANDE KAPEYA
SOME millers have started considering a reduction in the price of mealie meal following the reduction in the price of maize grain by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA). On Wednesday, the FRA reduced the price of maize from K63, 000 to K55, 000 per 50 kilogramme bag.
In Kapiri Mposhi, Chimsoro Milling Company proprietor, Constain Chilala said the company would consider reducing the price of the commodity to K45, 000 for a 25-kilogramme bag of breakfast and K35, 000 for roller meal.
Mr Chilala said in an interview yesterday in Lusaka that the move by the FRA to reduce the price of the maize grain was good news for millers as it would reduce the cost of producing mealie meal.
“The cost of maize was quite high and most millers found it difficult to reduce the price of mealie meal. As you know, the price of the commodity is determined by the price of the maize grain.
‘Now that Government has reduced the price of the maize grain, it will give an opportunity to many millers to acquire the commodity at a cheaper price,” he said.
Mr Chilala said all millers in the country should consider reducing the price of mealie meal now that they would be able to access the grain cheaply.
“Even if some millers decided to keep the price of mealie meal high, they will lose out as consumers will be going for cheaply priced mealie meal. It’s only right that as millers, we reduce the price of the commodity to a reasonable price,” he said.
In Luanshya , Roan Antelope Milling said the company would consider reducing the price of the commodity after it holds a meeting with the FRA next week.
“Yes, we shall definitely consider reducing the price of the commodity after we hold a meeting with the Food Reserve Agency on Monday next week,” a company spokesperson said.
And a Chat Milling spokesperson said in a separate interview that the company would reduce the price of mealie meal following the reduction in the price of maize grain.
The spokesperson said it would be inconsiderate if millers countrywide did not reduce the price of the commodity.
“In the interest of the nation, millers should reduce the price of mealie meal following the lowering of the price of maize by the FRA. As Chat Milling, we will definitely consider that when we receive the new maize consignment,” he said.
On Monday, Chimanga Changa Milling Company Limited announced a reduction in the price of mealie meal from K55, 000 to K45, 000 for a 25-kilogramme bag of breakfast.
The milling company also reduced the price of a 25-kilogramme bag of roller meal from K45, 000 to K35, 000.
And on Tuesday, Kwacha Milling Company in Chipata also announced price reductions on mealie meal from K49, 000 to K46, 000 for a 25 kilogramme bag of breakfast while the same quantity for roller meal was pegged at K40, 000 from K43, 000.
Labels: COSTAIN CHILALA, FRA, MEALIE-MEAL, MILLERS
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Chilala denies having presidential ambitions
By Lambwe Kachali
Monday January 28, 2008 [03:00]
RENOWNED Mkushi farmer and businessman Costain Chilala has said he has no presidential ambitions and he is not interested in joining politics. Commenting on speculations that he had ambitions to succeed President Levy Mwanawasa in 2011, Chilala said he enjoyed business life bettter than being a politician.
Chilala said many people had approached him to get into active politics but he is not interested because he enjoys being in business. He said he was scared of getting into politics because of the nature of the profession.
He said although he was a successful businessman and farmer and could manage to run the affairs of the nation, he did not want to disturb enjoying the fruits of his private life.
"For now I have no plans of getting into politics. I am busy enjoying what I am doing as a businessman. I don't dream of becoming a politician one day. I actually love being in private life," Chilala said.
He said business life was far much better than politics.
He said politics required a lot of psychological preparation.
"Entering politics is another step. You don't just wake up one morning and say 'I want to become a politician and become Republican president'. You first need to be prepared both psychologically and otherwise.
Being a politician demands a combination of different factors for which I am not ready at all. I am a businessman and I think I have to continue with what I am doing," he said.
Chilala said Zambia was not short of people to succeed President Mwanawasa.
He said if he had presidential ambitions as most MMD members and Zambians at large thought, he would have already announced his candidature.
"Why waste time to inform the people. In fact, when time comes for me to get into politics, I will tell the whole nation. You will not even ask me. I will inform the nation myself. But this is not to say that I am planning to join politics. No! Time has not yet come. For now, I have no plans (of joining politics) whatsoever," he stressed.
Asked if he had been approached by any politicians, especially from the ruling MMD or made any consultations towards getting into active politics, Chilala said although he had been in touch with most politicians he had never made political consultations.
"I don't think politics is part of my life. Maybe in future. If I had political ambitions, I should have made some consultations. But I am not. I will just continue to contribute to national development outside government. After all, it's all the same and sometimes even better," said Chilala.
Chilala's name has occassionaly come up among those likely to succeed President Mwanawasa.
Labels: COSTAIN CHILALA, MMD, PRESIDENCY
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