The United Party for National Development (UPND) says the PF/UPND pact will not proceed to announce the pact presidential candidate without agreeing on various issues.
UPND Vice president for Political Affairs Richard Kapita told a media briefing in Lusaka today that it will be pointless for the pact to go ahead and choose the pact presidential candidate in isolation or abstract without settling various pending agreements upon which the pact was founded.
Mr. Kapita said the UPND is fully aware and understands the anxiety among their followers on when a pact presidential candidate will be chosen but appealed to them to remain patient as the two groups harmonise some issues.
“We believe that a number of many important issues should be agreed upon. For example, there is need to commit to generally acceptable good governance tenets in particular reference to separation of powers with an independent judiciary,” Mr. Kapita said.
He said while it is true that the choice of the pact Presidential candidate is important, the joint economic, social and good governance is even more important as it is the basis upon which the hopes of a better future for Zambian lies.
“We appeal to all Zambians to remain calm and patient on the selection of the pact candidate as their concerns are being addressed by responsible joint working groups of the pact,” he said.
Mr. Kapita has, however, pointed out that the UPND does not mind on who is chosen as pact president as long as he commits himself to the agreed economic, social and good governance programme of the pact.
He said the UPND believes that a good economic and social action programme in various areas was key to improving the lives of people.
The Pact which was formed on 4th June 2009 with a view of unsettling the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) in this year’s general election has experienced various challenges especially on the selection of the pact presidential candidate.
[ ZANIS ]
Dont be cheated, SATA is the agreed PACT President, so UPND GO TO MMD and ask for an ALLIANCE.
Fair comment and statement. Its wise. But no doubt the usual MMD cadres on this blog will take this for a joke. Wait and see. UPND does not mind who will be the President of the PACT. He can be a vice to SATA. watch how MMD cadres will insult HH based on this.
I think UPND seems to be committed more to this pact than the PF. PF should not be too proud and think that they can win the elections without the pact with UPND. In addition, PF officials appear to be arrogant and do not want to iron out the pending issues facing the pact.
Dont get me wrong, I for one support the PF, but I think UPND officials appears to be more noble and sober. I just hope sanity will prevail in the PACT to unseat the corrupt MMD out of power. Twanaka no kuchula.
If the PACT can come up with a good joint economic and social action programme, we can surely kiss MMD goodbye. But if they continue with their current ‘orchestrated manouvres in the dark’, they are condemning us to another 5 years of MMD rule. Time to shape up is now.
there is no problem with sata being the president of the pact till 2016 i have worked with both sata and hh and i know what i am talking about.
But if UPND went to MMD theyd still be in second place!
#1 YOUR DREAM IS TO SEE THE ZAMBIANS FAIL TO DISMANTLE THE MAMMOTH MONSTER OF DEATH. You are not a sympathiser of UPND.
Getting boring…ba PF ukumeka…don’t think you can go it alone and win..impossible.
Who ever is presido just carry on with your circus and keep us entertained while RB does the development thing. MMD are hear to stay.
#2 what a good choice of words for yourself there, i agree its a JOKE.
Since when did UPND say they do not mind who the PACT president is?
PF only need UPND when they are split….in the evnt SATA is given the Presidency HH should also stand to give SATA a chance to win. This means Southern and N/W vote HH then SATA for N/W and barr RB from getting votes. Western should vote Milupi to give Pf a chance to win , coz Luapula and Northern will vote PF so will Lusaka , Copperbelt and abit of Central. So ba SATA please dont agree to anything if you want to lead Zambia . Where will Banda get his votes , Eastern???? since north western the lost. what more of western……………
Just go on with the circus, us we are busy “Delivering on the promise and continuity with change”.
Can we get similar comittment fro PF?????????? VIVA RB
UPND never cease to amaze us! Chilufya Sata has moved on and is already in full campaign mode while UPND continue to be in a state of deja vu. What governance issues are you waiting to agree on? These are the basics you should have agreed on early last year! The comedy continues….
hh defected to PF from upnd nowender it doesnt matter to him for shikulu to be the presdento hh now holds a post of youth chairman in pf.
PGF needs UPND just like UPND needs PF. If the two wont agree and field one joint candidate them Both PF & UPND should kiss goodbye. If such a scenario unfolds, I will lobby I take over Ken Wright Ngondo’s party (MHSRIP).
We Zambians and the PACT needs to be serious. MMD is not the altenative after 2011 elections. They need to Go.
The standing of the pact as at now is not pleasing us as followers.Mr.Kapita is saying the principles on which the pact was founded shud be agreed to first before the presidential candidate is anounced.Why then these pertinent issues are taking so long if both PF & UPND came together with this common goal? I am foreseeing a split at the last minute which in turn will frustrate the voters not to cast.Eventually giving the plunderers an upper hand in retaining the government.
Frankly speaking UPND cant will elctions alone not even 2o%.PF has been dribled for several times.If this happens VJ will just give it that careless smile of his and lough it out.
CAUTION: PACT you are not doing this for your own good but for the general populace.Pliz think on those lines.Twachula pafula mwebantu mwee
The fact that the MMD has NOT ignored the existence of the PACT means it is a big factor to their continued hold on power for the benefit of RB, his children, GK, Chiluba, Shikapwasha, Dora and all the pathetic bootlicking contigent. It is also a threat for RBs’ children to continue making money from bangled privatisation such as that of ZAMTEL to Lapgreen where there is only 1 engineer for the exchange controlling the industrial area now.
The PACT will succeed and there is very few days left to that end. I have consulted with both parties and they are both keen. This comment from UPND is to counter the horribly report from Mr Nkombo. Garry put himself away from the centre of the PACT negotiations due to his close friendship with MMD MP Shakafuswa. None believers,…
Wise words Mr. Kapita.At least it shows that El Pacto PF/UPND is still going strong.Let all the em em dee scum bugs continue yapping shiti.Lets choose whoever we feel can lead us as Pact in not only ousting the em em dee govt from power but to deliver us from all the evil that they have bestowed upon our dear country Zambia
Hmmmmmm going by the inconsistencies, its seems UPND is panicking. They are afraid of going it alone or join RB even. They can see their party sinking even further if any elections was called today. Then they keep boasting ati ‘the ground has shifted’, shifted to where? If it has shifted why the panic? They are just pandas who are trying to projects themselves as lions. Only yesterday Garry Nkombo and Choolwe Beyani where insulting PF and giving ultimatums, barely a day after that they are singing pact pact pact. What is happening? Do these UPND guys have political strategy or tactic? kekekekekekeke…FOOLS! VERY BIG FOOLS INDEED! At the end of the day PF is even looking reasonable because they are quiet amidst numerous insults and negative statements from UPND.
One fundamental difference between UPND and PF is the clarity of their policies. The former is an organised entity with seemingly established and well documented beliefs. To the contrary, PF seems to be driven by emotion (90 day economic miracle for example), more often than not playing to the gallery. Mr Kapita’s concern about the independence of the judiciary is very genuine because PF have stated categorically that all such institutions will be under their political party cadres!! I urge all PF supporters to behave civil and critically analyse their manifesto (if there is any) without being emotional. There are so many gaps and that is why UPND are uncomfortable.
UPND must stop being cry babies. Today, they will cry The Post! tomorrow they will cry PF! another day they will cry RB and MMD! People will stop taking them seriously, its like a case of the boy who cried wolf! It seems to me that UPND is only courageous in the press and not on the table with PF. From the statement above its clear that they have opened the negotiations through a press briefing. But is that the way to go? For the first time, Sata seems to be thinking right because he is quiet, dead silent amidst all these insults…this is not the Sata we know, honestly. If UPND is not careful and calculative, they might end up propping up Sata due to their miscalculations. Its a pity that people who claim to be highly educated as claimed by Choolwe Beyani can’t apply common sense.
ALA BEE mwaiche sana. Nili bad.
@Govt at Work says! I can see that you are a serious victim of the VJ propaganda machinery? Have you ever sighted the PF manifesto yourself? because what you are saying here are things George Kunda and VJ claim through the Times of Zambia, Daily Mail and ZNBC. Don’t just make noise for nothing. Some of us have sighted the REAL PF manifesto and not the junk VJ feeds you with. In fact, PF will be launching its 2011 manifesto in a few weeks time. Please take time to read it and see if there is anything of that sort. Do you honestly believe acclaimed academicians and legal brains like Dr Ngosa Simbyakula can permit such crap? Get your facts right because some of us are allergic to gullibility levels of your kind. You call the ascendancy of HH to the UPND presidency, democracy? Very funny!
#24 Amusa, plz kindly provide the link to the PF manifesto. Would be very interested so that I finally make an informed decision.
@Not A LoWyer says! As a matter of fact, the PF Central Committee approved the 2011 manifesto last Saturday during a full Central Committee meeting. You can’t access it on any link at the moment because its considered a confidential document until its fully approved, corrected [typographical errors if any], printed and eventually launched. A lot is happening, that is why those of us who are preview to the under currents both in PF and UPND just laugh when we see some uninformed comments from certain usual quarters on this blog.
‘UPND are like buttocks, that can never be in front of any person’.
Levy P.Mwanawasa SC. 2005.
Will wait patiently – hope it is radically different from the one that was on pf\.com\.zm\/manifesto\.html. It was dis-hearting to say the least and disjointed to say the most :-)
UPND is in panic state. how many contradicting statements have we read this week from UPND big wigs. nkombo the best friend to HH, beyani the cousin to HH, kapita the vp to hh, kakoma the tribal cousin to hh etc etc they are all speaking yet sata and pf are mute. HH were do you stand do you still believe in this bogus marriage between calculator boy and shikulu. HH you will remember chizyuka and southern chiefs, they warned you early enough now we can all see the state of panic in UPND. It shows their is no leadership but the party is on autopilot. look at sata and vuvuzela they are united no disparaging remarks. sata is in total control of the sinking boat while HH remains in limbo. Come on VJ as dejavu says take advantage of this confusion and woo tonga votes
@No.24 Amusa. The problem with you Amusa just like many other PF cadres is that you are incapable of debating rationally. You are emotive and too prone to insults, what a shame. Part of Mr Kapita’s statement reads and I quote ‘“We believe that a number of many important issues should be agreed upon. For example, there is need to commit to generally acceptable good governance tenets in particular reference to separation of powers with an independent judiciary,” He placed emphasis on this because he has read the manifesto while you my friend, have not.
#18 Her Ladyship
Dont exhibit your ignorance pa blog.Even my 7 year old daughter knows that Zamtel needed to be run efficiently.If one engineer manining the industrial area in lusaka entails efficiency, then Lap green is doing a good job.Efficiency means zamtel will make a profit from which corporation tax will be paid from.Better than keeping a company that does not contribute anything to GRZ coffers but milks the coffers because of a huge wage bill.
@34 vj rigger i usually avoid her ladyship bcos of shallowness in her blogs. after reading you refer to her thats when i had to scroll upwards to read her see how little imformed she is.
pf held a rally as PF not as UPND/PF apct in Lusaka recently……Kapijimpanga defect to te PF not PF/UPND pact…………..wake people the pact is dead…the longer the announce it the greater the chance MMD has to win
Zambians vote for any one else apart from Sata and Banda if you surely want zambia develop and be economically indepedent. Be warned Sata has traits of a dictator! PF should replace him with a current candidate and let Sata retire . He is too old to bring anything new. Lets face it,if you owned a company would you employ a 70 year old man? All what is left of him is a dream to become President! As for UPND get your acts in order and begin to show people that you are not desperate for power.Stop the PACT madness otherwise it will be used against you.
Can Sata be trusted to honour his promises?
THE revelation that Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata threatened to withdraw the recognition of Paramount Chief Mpezeni, the Litunga and many others when he was MMD national secretary and minister of Health should be seen as a blessing in disguise.
Mr Sata did threaten the traditional leaders. Zambians can still go back to the Post Newspaper edition of Monday January 22, 1996 where he is reported to have held a Press conference and accused traditional leaders such as Mpezeni, the Litunga, Chitimukulu and Gawa-Undi of siding with UNIP.
He told the nation that the MMD had written a letter to then president Chiluba requesting that the named traditional leaders should be stripped of their recognition so that the party could meet…
All these were misplaced ambitions. No other minister, Government leaders or indeed head of State has ever thought of going to such extremes.
According to Mr James Mwape, a former freedom fighter, the attempts by Mr Sata to de-gazette the most senior chiefs in Zambia was only stopped by president Chiluba.
Former UNIP Secretary General Malimba Masheke had condemned Mr Sata for making such manoeuvres and said the MMD found the chiefs in existence and it could not have been in order to strip them of their recognitions.
One would only imagine if Mr Sata was head of State then and not minister. These are the true revelations that Zambians need to know about.
The background and past public pronouncements of political leaders aspiring for highest office in the land should not be a secret. Who can imagine that Mr Sata showered such threats on Zambia’s respected traditional authorities? This is just how powerful he could become when conferred with power.
Mr Sata has held several Government portfolios in the past and these were very senior positions perhaps only next to the Republican presidency.
His display of authority is never missed. The threat on the chiefs is just one of the many examples.
Mr Sata was a strong man in the MMD wielding a lot of authority both on party members and non party members.
He extended his political muscle even to non partisan traditional leaders who are custodians of national tradition and culture.
Now years later, the PF through Mr Sata is going round asking for votes in this year’s elections from the same chiefdoms.
How inconsistent?
The inconsistencies displayed by the PF and its leader Mr Sata in many areas of the country’s governance process are more worrying than comforting.
The lack of a clear cut position on many issues is not only a danger to the party itself but also to its supporters who need guidance.
The PF and particularly Mr Sata remain on record today as having opposed the introduction of the windfall tax by the Government during the time of late president Levy Mwanawasa.
He criticised the idea describing it as a way of preventing the expansion of the mines and disadvantaging the investors.
Later, when the Government removed the tax, the same Mr Sata teamed up with selected civil society organisations to oppose the Government move.
Today Mr Sata and the PF are condemning Government for removing the windfall tax.
Issues such as taxes are critical in the Government process and the PF should have established a fixed and learned position on the matter.
For anyone who has been keenly following the political debate in Zambian, it is difficult to understand what the PF and Mr Sata really stand for with regard to the mining taxes.
The PF is the major opposition political party today in Zambia. Having a clear policy on major policies of the country could help enlighten the membership and potential investors.
Maybe this explains why most political debates on critical economic issues seem to be jaded and unsubstantiated.
In 2008, Mr Sata fell critically ill and had to be evacuated to South Africa courtesy of the Government and late Dr Mwanawasa.
This was the time when the PF and Mr Sata would spend time looking for personal attacks on Dr Mwanawasa or his Government. Anything that the Government did attracted criticism from the PF and Mr Sata.
On May 14, 2008, after he had returned from South Africa and recovered, Mr Sata visited Dr Mwanawasa at State House where he openly reconciled with the president.
Mr Sata said he attributed his survival to the support that Government gave him. It was at that meeting that Mr Sata urged fellow opposition parties to be focused and concentrate on civic education for the electorate rather than unconstructive political debate.
A lot of people praised Mr Sata for this sudden change of perception of Dr Mwanawasa and the Government.
Northmead Assemblies of God Bishop Joshua Banda said then that the approach taken by Mr Sata was the most commendable and a landmark and should be extended to other parties.
Dr Mwanawasa urged MMD members to emulate Mr Sata by being welcoming and tolerant to each other.
But alas, following the death of Dr Mwanawasa later in the same year, Mr Sata immediately differed with Mrs Mwanawasa who accused the PF leader of politicising the death of her husband.
Mr Sata launched a scathing attack on Mrs Mwanawasa and accused the ruling party of using the body of the late president to campaign for elections.
He attempted to follow the body across the country as it was being taken round the provincial centres.
Of course Mr Sata contested the 2008 presidential elections and lost to President Rupiah Banda.
This now appeared to have rejuvenated his buried rift with the MMD and the Government. The whole reconciliation with the MMD and Dr Mwanawasa seemed to have been forgotten.
The treatment
In 2010, Mr Sata openly stated that his evacuation to South Africa was a public relations gimmick by the Government and the MMD. He said he did not appreciate it.
So, what should Zambians believe? Is it what he said when he returned from South Africa or what he said after the death of Dr Mwanawasa?
Other strange turn of events for the PF and Mr Sata could include the manner they handled the relationship with the United Party for National Development (UPND) when they formed a pact.
Upon the formation of the pact, Mr Sata stated that he was willing to work with Mr Hakainde Hichilema as vice-president in the pact if people so wished.
This position was not sustained as both the PF and Mr Sata himself on several occasions denounced any possibilities of accepting to be led by the UPND. Mr Sata even called the UPND leader an under-five leader.
To some extent, such inconsistencies on the part of the PF has led to the collapse of the once much talked about pact with the UPND.
Sata….Flip flopping flip flippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!
Let Sata lead the pact, then us bana okwesu, southerners will massivelly vote for MMD so that Sata “AGUNWE”. Is it not Sata who hounded Mwanaokwesu mwana mudala Anderson Kambela Mazoka thinking that us Tongaz will be disappointed. Let him lead the pact, then we shall see. I remember this song from Mazoka when Sata hounded him from MMD ” Naluwama ulandithandanya ndime chimbilika, kwabula kambeli ndichijubejube ndichisowe kumbo mwiinga ndime chimbilika” Sata will never get the southern vote. VIVA RB. Nobatonga bonse tujatane awa.
“We believe that a number of many important issues should be agreed upon. For example, there is need to commit to generally acceptable good governance tenets in particular reference to separation of powers with an independent judiciary,” Mr. Kapita said.
But that is the crux of the matter, who told UPND that PF wants good governance, separation of powers and independnent judiciary? Sata wants power, absolute power and everyone knows that including his supporters. But I suppose UPND officials are not fools. They are pulling out of the Pact and saving face by giving PF impossible conditions.
We are tired of this PACT debate……….lets just wait and see!
What matters at this time is not about either Sata or HH been pact president. It’s about change of government from MMD to the pact this year. It’s clear, the die is cast, MMD will be out to be in the opposition this year and go into oblivion like UNIP in 2016..
You will never agree dream on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Agree after 2011 when you will be clobbered