MMD cadres block other parties from Kawama market
By Abigail Chaponda in Ndola
Thu 29 July 2010, 04:00 CAT
MMD cadres and State House security officers on Tuesday afternoon allegedly harassed and blocked other political parties from campaigning at Kawama market in readiness for the Chifubu parliamentary by-election.
PF cadres who were at the scene told Post Online that
MMD cadres, with the help of the police, were threatening to beat anyone who went near the market to campaign saying that MMD was the only party allowed to campaign in the area.
One of the cadres, John Bwalya, explained that MMD cadres blocked the PF-UPND pact from campaigning because they were chanting slogans and telling people not to vote for MMD.
“We were doing our usual campaign of going door-to-door. When we finished, we went to the market where we wanted to campaign to people selling at the market but as we were heading towards the market while singing, we were stopped by MMD cadres and some police officers and they told us that we were not allowed to campaign at the market, only MMD was allowed,” he said.
“From there we were upset and we almost fought because we were not happy but some cadres tore three of our friends’ t-shirts and said that since MMD was the ruling party, they were going to make sure that they use the police to stop us from campaigning.”
Bwalya said he and other cadres later reported the matter to Chifubu police station.
When contacted for a comment, Copperbelt commanding officer Antoniel Mutemtwa confirmed that police had received a report and summoned all political parties.
“We received a report from some political parties and we have summoned all of them to find out what really happened. But I can confirm that the police is investigating a matter in which some MMD t-shirts were torn. But we have called all the parties to get to the bottom of what is happening,” said Mutentwa.
And police sources confirmed that State House security officers had been deployed and were helping MMD cadres blocking other political parties from campaigning.
“We as the police are disappointed with what we found when we went to Kawama to check what was happening after reports that MMD cadres were blocking other people from going into the market. We were surprised to find that police officers from State House were helping the cadres,” said the source.
“At first we thought they were just cadres, but after we questioned, that is when they showed us their identities. We feel intimidated that State House police can come here, to make us look like we don’t know how to do our job.”
Meanwhile, PF campaign manager Willie Nsanda said he would talk to the police over what happened in Kawama because he did not want violence.
“To say the truth, I am not happy. If MMD wants to fight we are more than ready to do that but because we assured the police that we’re not (here) to fight, we won’t. It seems MMD is taking us for a ride. Violence is bad. We don’t want a repeat of what happened in Mufumbwe. But we are going to talk to the police,” said Nsanda.
But MMD deputy campaign manager Joe Malanji denied the allegations saying MMD cadres were the ones that were blocked from campaigning.
“Hundreds of MMD women and youths were attacked by some cadres. It is not true that it is MMD. As MMD we are going to report to the police about this sad development,” said Malanji.
Labels: ANTONEIL MUTENTWA, CADRES, JOE MALANJI, JOHN BWALYA, MMD, POLICE CORRUPTION, WILLIE NSANDA
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Withdraw Chiluba’s benefits demands Nsanda
Written by Mwala Kalaluka
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 5:57:26 PM
CHIMWEMWE PF member of parliament Willie Nsanda on Tuesday demanded that second Republican president Frederick Chiluba’s salary entitlement be withdrawn following his engagement in active politics.
And Katuba MMD member of parliament Jonas Shakafuswa said the political era of bullying others was long gone and that it is only unreasonable people that use government resources to gain political mileage.
Contributing to the debate on the President Rupiah Banda’s speech at the opening of the fourth session of the tenth National Assembly, Nsanda said the law of the land should be followed on the matter.
Nsanda, who did not expressly mention the name Frederick Chiluba in his debate, however, said when a president retires he should never get back to active politics.
“But today retired presidents are taking (government) workers to various political arenas,” Nsanda said.
Nsanda said it was commendable that former president Dr Kenneth Kaunda was involved in the fight against the deadly HIV/AIDS pandemic but that there was a former head of state who had been taking government entourages to provinces to go and support some political party.
“If a former president engages in politics he ceases getting paid. We need to follow the law so that some of them stop getting paid,” said Nsanda as energy and water development deputy minister Allan Mbewe signaled for a point of order.
Mbewe asked if Nsanda was in order to debate the way he was doing.
“…Debating so fluently, without realizing that whatever he is saying he is shooting himself in the leg,” he said. “In the previous regime it is this same former president who was supporting a certain political party.”
But some UPND and PF members asked Mbewe, amidst noise from both sides of the House, to reveal which former president he was referring to in his point of order because Nsanda had not mentioned a particular name.
“Which one?” the opposition parliamentarians asked Mbewe who responded: “Whichever former president that he has not mentioned but is he in order to mention that he is supporting a certain political party?”
Speaker Amusaa Mwanamwambwa did not make any ruling on Mbewe’s point of order and he urged Nsanda to continue with his debate.
Earlier Speaker Mwanamwambwa made a standard ruling that those parliamentarians that had been in the Executive but were now speaking from the bank bench or opposition side were free to criticize some of the decisions they were party to in the past.
He said in doing so such members should consider the issue of their morality and conscience.
And Shakafuswa said he wanted to take an earlier debate by Chongwe MMD member of parliament Sylvia Masebo as his own, except that he wanted to add a few points.
Shakafuswa said whilst appreciating the efforts that were being done by the government there was need to remove an invisible hand.
Shakafuswa then focused his debate on the road equipment that was recently dispatched to the rural areas to improve the road network.
He noted that while a schedule of how the road equipment would be circulated in the areas of the Central Province, this equipment had not reached his constituency.
“I appreciate the effort that was done in Chitambo but the people of Katuba are also waiting for their turn,” Shakafuswa said with emotion. “While the people of Chitambo are happy…my people are not happy.”
He said his people were pressuring him because of a ‘bad decision’ by someone to take the road equipment to Chitambo.
“If we want to use government resources for political gain that game is over,” he said. “It is only unreasonable who use government resources to for political gain.”
Shakafuswa said there was need to treat Zambians equally.
“We should not allow people to think that they own the resources, which belong to the people,” he said. “We should allow them to think that they own resources which belong to their families.”
Shakafuswa said politicians ought to pat the people of Zambia on the back for the peace that the country was enjoying.
He said there were politicians who usually want to resort to intimidation if they failed to woo their opponents.
“The era of bullying is long gone,” Shakafuswa said. “Things come and go. Today you can shine on a seat borrowed from the Zambian people, it won’t be yours forever. The time when you realize that you might realize that it is too late.”
Labels: CHILUBA, JONAS SHAKAFUSWA, WILLIE NSANDA
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Withdraw Chiluba’s benefits demands Nsanda
Written by Mwala Kalaluka
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 5:57:26 PM
CHIMWEMWE PF member of parliament Willie Nsanda on Tuesday demanded that second Republican president Frederick Chiluba’s salary entitlement be withdrawn following his engagement in active politics.
And Katuba MMD member of parliament Jonas Shakafuswa said the political era of bullying others was long gone and that it is only unreasonable people that use government resources to gain political mileage.
Contributing to the debate on the President Rupiah Banda’s speech at the opening of the fourth session of the tenth National Assembly, Nsanda said the law of the land should be followed on the matter.
Nsanda, who did not expressly mention the name Frederick Chiluba in his debate, however, said when a president retires he should never get back to active politics.
“But today retired presidents are taking (government) workers to various political arenas,” Nsanda said.
Nsanda said it was commendable that former president Dr Kenneth Kaunda was involved in the fight against the deadly HIV/AIDS pandemic but that there was a former head of state who had been taking government entourages to provinces to go and support some political party.
“If a former president engages in politics he ceases getting paid. We need to follow the law so that some of them stop getting paid,” said Nsanda as energy and water development deputy minister Allan Mbewe signaled for a point of order.
Mbewe asked if Nsanda was in order to debate the way he was doing.
“…Debating so fluently, without realizing that whatever he is saying he is shooting himself in the leg,” he said. “In the previous regime it is this same former president who was supporting a certain political party.”
But some UPND and PF members asked Mbewe, amidst noise from both sides of the House, to reveal which former president he was referring to in his point of order because Nsanda had not mentioned a particular name.
“Which one?” the opposition parliamentarians asked Mbewe who responded: “Whichever former president that he has not mentioned but is he in order to mention that he is supporting a certain political party?”
Speaker Amusaa Mwanamwambwa did not make any ruling on Mbewe’s point of order and he urged Nsanda to continue with his debate.
Earlier Speaker Mwanamwambwa made a standard ruling that those parliamentarians that had been in the Executive but were now speaking from the bank bench or opposition side were free to criticize some of the decisions they were party to in the past.
He said in doing so such members should consider the issue of their morality and conscience.
And Shakafuswa said he wanted to take an earlier debate by Chongwe MMD member of parliament Sylvia Masebo as his own, except that he wanted to add a few points.
Shakafuswa said whilst appreciating the efforts that were being done by the government there was need to remove an invisible hand.
Shakafuswa then focused his debate on the road equipment that was recently dispatched to the rural areas to improve the road network.
He noted that while a schedule of how the road equipment would be circulated in the areas of the Central Province, this equipment had not reached his constituency.
“I appreciate the effort that was done in Chitambo but the people of Katuba are also waiting for their turn,” Shakafuswa said with emotion. “While the people of Chitambo are happy…my people are not happy.”
He said his people were pressuring him because of a ‘bad decision’ by someone to take the road equipment to Chitambo.
“If we want to use government resources for political gain that game is over,” he said. “It is only unreasonable who use government resources to for political gain.”
Shakafuswa said there was need to treat Zambians equally.
“We should not allow people to think that they own the resources, which belong to the people,” he said. “We should allow them to think that they own resources which belong to their families.”
Shakafuswa said politicians ought to pat the people of Zambia on the back for the peace that the country was enjoying.
He said there were politicians who usually want to resort to intimidation if they failed to woo their opponents.
“The era of bullying is long gone,” Shakafuswa said. “Things come and go. Today you can shine on a seat borrowed from the Zambian people, it won’t be yours forever. The time when you realize that you might realize that it is too late.”
Labels: CHILUBA, JONAS SHAKAFUSWA, WILLIE NSANDA
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Nsanda opposes cadres taking over markets
Written by Margaret Mtonga
Saturday, January 31, 2009 11:01:14 AM
CHIMWEMWE (PF) member of Parliament Willie Nsanda yesterday said Benny Tetamashimba will run down the operations of the transport sector and markets if he allows MMD cadres to control them.
Commenting on MMD cadres who protested at Lusaka International Airport demanding that the government intervenes to ensure that MMD takes control of bus stations and markets in Lusaka from opposition PF, Nsanda said cadres did not have the capacity to run bus stations and markets.
"Calls by the MMD cadres that the bus stations and markets be controlled by MMD and not the PF, that is a non-starter because the bus operators have invested a lot of money in this business," Nsanda said. "It's not by design that the bus stations and markets are controlled by PF, it’s all because we are good investors and a party that people love."
Nsanda said the cadres should source money from the Citizens Economic Empowerment Fund if they needed capital as opposed to looking forward to getting money from bus stations and markets.
"The MMD government should get money from the youth empowerment fund to pay their cadres that they promised during campaigns and not from the bus stations and markets," said Nsanda. "I would like to warn Tetamashimba that he is playing with a very highly and sophisticated business which we don't want him to disturb."
Labels: CADRES, WILLIE NSANDA
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