THE MMD has warned of disciplinary action against Members of Parliament (MPs) who have been appointed deputy ministers by the ruling Patriotic Front (PF).
MMD national secretary, Richard Kachingwe said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that the ‘treacherous’ MPs had been given enough time to reflect on their actions and that the party was now going to take disciplinary action against them.
But when contacted for a comment, Elijah Muchima who is an MMD MP for Ikeleng’I in North Western province said it was a fact that he was working with the Government in trying to develop the country.
Mr Muchima said the idea of appointing MPs from the opposition to ministerial positions was not strange to the MMD which equally did the same under the leadership of former President Mwanawasa and former President Rupiah Banda.
He said Mr Banda appointed Mkhondo Lungu as minister of Home Affairs at the time he was United National Independence Party (UNIP) MP for Lundazi constituency.
Mr Muchima said people in his constituency were happy with his appointment as deputy Lands, Energy and Water Development deputy minister.
“This is all about national development. I don’t want my district which is a rural district to lag behind. I am working for the people of Zambia and want to contribute to the governance of the country,” he said.
Mr Muchima said leaders should work in unity in the quest to develop the country.
Major Kachingwe however, said MPs should decide whether to join the PF or remain members of the MMD.
“Time is running out and they (MPs) must make up their minds. Do they belong to MMD or PF. They have a tendency of camping at State House. These are treacherous and vacillating MPS.
“The party’s patience has now run out and very soon they will be shown the exit door,” he said.
He said the people of Zambia and posterity would harshly judge the MMD MPs who had been given jobs in the Government. Maj Kachingwe said the people had elected the MMD MPs so that they
could offer checks and balances to the PF Government but that they had abandoned their role.
“At the level of MP, you are honourable and this requires that one should stick to principles. You can’t betray your own constituency which put you in office,” he said.
He appealed to the electorate not to give such members a second chance as they had abused their trust.
When reminded that the MMD government under the leadership of President Levy Mwanawasa also appointed MPs from the opposition to serve as cabinet and deputy ministers, Maj Kachingwe said the
conditions were different because the PF’s decision was aimed at weakening the opposition.
He said the appointments were being done with impunity saying the ideal way was for the ruling party to consult the party before appointing their MPs.
Maj Kachingwe said the party would soon be writing to the affected MPs informing them of the next course of action.
Meanwhile, Maj Kachingwe has said preparations for the party Convention were going on well and that the fund raising committee had so far met twice to strategise on financing.
He urged members to donate generously when the fundraising events were on so that the Convention to elect the party’s leadership would be a success.
“This party is down but not out. We will bounce back in the next five years as the Government has failed to fulfill their promises in 90 days,” he said.
He said once the party mobilises funds, a one month notice as per requirement in the party constitution would be issued as regards to the date and venue for the convention.
Maj Kachingwe urged party members to remain vigilant and work hard in the New Year.
[Times of Zambia]
Maj.K you have missed the the point.What different conditions are prevailing now that were not there when your presidents were appointing opposition MPs.Politics in opposion can be rough but learn to adjust and settle quickly.
This is childish. Why should you discipline people for working? Isn’t that why they wanted to be in government in the first place? Gellout iwe Kachingwe! Pyamo pa photo apo!
kachingwe dont behav like uneducated man. this is one zambia. even if u are at pains that u lost thelections thats not how to behav to even stop yo friends from developin tis zambia. then u beta leav th party yo self n th country. mayb all th mmd mps should resign as u feel badtat pf is rulin. wat a bad decision.shame on u!
wow this party is going towards the slope real fast, what a shame !!!!
Kachingwe waitaya!
Sata has paid these MMD MP’s a lot of money to accept the positions.He needs them for parliamentay votes especially to impeach RB. He is positioning Nchito and Mwenye to get Banda.
This is one thing were he will devote his time durring his period of rule. Development will just be a song to sing once in a while. So far PF MP’s want the focus to be on National Development as it appears there is too much time and money wasted of fruitless missions. We now know that Thandiwe Banda has no hotels and flats in Malawi and Tanzania. It was a lie
KWENA MMD MULI MBUSHI!
Spot on!!!
Go on and discipline the ministers Richard. All you will achieve is making the MMD even more irrelevant, in fact, you will be lucky if the MMD survives beyond 2016. UNIP has survived this far because the have real estate property, you, you don’t even have kantemba. Mwaponoka!
Politicians do not have principles especialy Zambian ones….
but we knew MMD and PF are one and the same…we have simply gravitated into MMD part 2 under PF.From top to bottom all are former MMD….
Shut up Kachingwe. It was okey for you to appoint from the opposition and it has become bad. Leaders should be above board and use their common sense sometimes. Being in the opposition does not mean being disoriented and mischievous, we want you to offer proper checks ans balances and not that trash you want to bring. Already we have wasted so much money on unnecessary by elections and if that is your line of thought then you are the worst opposition this country will ever have. Imagine Sata alone gave you sleepless nights until you surrendered power to him. What of a bunch of misguided loot like you, At lease try not that crap.
Major, You need to differentiate – National duties and party duties. You do not want to take part in defining the well being of zambia.?? You want the well being of MMD only? Major, think again.
Major kachingwe you must be a very dull chap,———- ( 1) once you sack these mps they shall join PF making PF stronger,while reducing your numbers in the house and its you who is weakening mmd. (2) No govt on earth wants a strong opposition, they would rather have a weak ( useless party like UPND) because then you have few votes in the house, how does that help mmd ?? (3) Maybe you Major have been bought of by the PF govt and are intent on weakening mmd from within?? If its checks and balances you really want, you would not be reducing your numbers by pushing your mps to join PF, (4) How did you become a major if you cannot form a simple plan???
This practice was started by Levy and it was percieved ok then. I do not want to say whether its right or wrong but I just to make mention here that MMD was vanquished because of No-Brainers like Richard Kachingwe. In my opinion Mike Mulongoti with the late Teta were strategists who won Banda the 2008 elections. Mulongoti was the their chairman for elections who these guys expelled from MMD a few months before elections
shame upon you major kachingwe no WONDER MMD WAS BOTTED OUT ITS PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF WHO ARE A LET DOWN. THOSE MPS IN PF GOVERNMENT POSITIONS ARE WORKING FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ELECTED THEM AND NOT FOR YOU AS YOU THINK. BOT THEM OUT DEAR MAJOR IT WILL BE YOU WHO WILL BE A LOSER YOU ARE THE SAME MAN WHO GAVE RB WRONG ADVICE AND NOW YOU WANT TO START WITH MMD MPS? SHAME UPON YOU !! YOU REALLY HAVE NO BRAINS. MMD TO COME BACK IN POWER IN 2016??? IN YOUR DREAMS!!!
This is why all crooks should be jailed. We risk a rerun of the MMD culture of stealing once they bounce back. All thugs like Kachingwe must be jailed for abetting crimes in the name of leading Zambia when all this was a cover for their culture of defrauding the nation.
Childish and Foolish.
In Zambia you are not corrupt as long as you are in the ruling party even if you are stinking corrupt and immoral yourself. You only become criminal, corrupt and immoral when your party loses power. So in 2016 we shall see PF officials paraded before commissions of inquiry or interrogated by Dr Malama or his equivalent then.
2016 are you sure?? because PF is ruling for another 3 terms that brings to the year 2032, by which time l hope the mess mmd created will have been cleaned up
See, that is all they think for a country. fighting each other at our expense zambia we need young stars to take up leadership. this is a computer error these old fellows are a tourist attraction and history to be like a museum to talk about for ruining our country. kachingwe what did he do for zambia apart from being a boot licker.
Politics in this country of ours can be so backward.
@ 15 Picasso am sure you are not in Zambia just now. Just to fill you in, the situation on the ground is that you are stuck with PF GVNT UNTILL 2031 AM SORRY BUT THESE ARE THE FACTS. INFACT ITS YOUR KIDS IN ELEMENTARY (PRIMARY) SCHOOL THAT ARE GONNA VOTE OUT PF IF IT WILL BE NESSASARY THEN. GOD BLESS ZAMBIA.
l totally agree with you, PF is doing another 3 terms, thats a fact that cannot changed a fact is a fact
Major Kachingwe you have a point,the party should be consulted before effecting the appointments. I think it is only polite for the PF to recognise this and correct the situation. Major Kachingwe you are wrong to even consider showing the exit door to your MPs appointed to serve in the governance of mother Zambia. If you do this you are going to cost the country a lot of money and drastically reduce your influence as MMD. You will lose these seats either to PF or UPND. Rethink your threat and let it remain as a threat
A very useless major.Zambians are intellectual people.They can easily see through your nonsense.
A free legal advice to MMD SG! If you expel the 22 MMD MPs for them being appointed to ministerial positions, you will be wasting your time because their positions will not be declared vacant due to the fact that they have committed no offence at all being members of parliament. Please further be advised that when you MMD, told the 22 label PF MPs not to be loyal to their Party then PF by siding with you in squandering the National resources in the failed NCC and Constitution, they were not expelled using the same principle so what has changed? Don’t wast our resources. You MMD crooks what you have stolen is enough.
The MMD MPs appointed in PF govt are the ones major Kachingwe, Austin Liato and others received bribes from at the time of candidature adoptionss in MMD. Recall Liato and Kachingwe going round the constituencies receiving bribes from Isaac Banda in Eastern provincial minister, Kazonga, Chifire and others. RB even complained about this bribery and nothing happened. A total everhaul is required in MMD during the convention as the party needs new leadership. Kachinwge and Chembe Nyangu need to go for MMd to be effective.
If Kachingwe had been appointed deputy minister by Sata I am sure he would have jumped at the idea. But because he is not appointed, he feels envious that his colleagues are benefiting and not himself. MMD used to appoint opposition members in government when it was in power. So, why should this be bad because it is now the PF in power doing it?
Kachingwe your party of thieves mmd failed to deliver in 20 yrs, what is 90 days? Don’t deny your own people of development just because your party lost elections.It’s any government’s policy in power to take development to all parts of zambia irrespective of which party is in power and to work with the people of such areas. It’s because of leaders like you, who are unpatriotic,blind and without direction that zambia is still poor despite the massive natural resouces it has. You are driving mmd to it’s final death by issuing such irresponsible threats to your own mps. Just see where unip is to day.
Will Democracy be understood in African politics? Major Kachingwe is behaving like he is in a Chiefdom
and that was the end of mmd.this is a very stupid move major.
And we are not going anywhere with Sata as a president.
With all due respect to other bloggers’ arguments, I beg to differ on this one. It doesn’t necessarily mean you can serve the nation best when you are in govt, no. Look at Sylvia Masebo. She has been in govt for God knows how long, but Chongwe district has remained underdevloped during her tenure as area parliament, and she has the guts to blame govt for the underdevelopment. Politicians must be principled. How will they draw a line between PF and MMD? You can serve the country even as opposition parties because you will offer the necessary checks and balances to keep the PF govt in check. Imagine if George Kunda was appointed into the PF govt, would he have revealed that the office of Secretary to the Treasury is a parliament-approved post which could not be scrapped? Just imagine.
Major jst cross over also before you sufer a heart attack,its UPND next after PF,all your tricks wil jst bring agony and pain.
I think Kachingwe is acting quite dull. Why not use the MPs as spies?
Chiwamila galu kuluma mbuzi. MMD appointed opposition MPs to Govt. positions. Why should it be very wrong today, just because you are not in power? Foolish Major.
Special Agent….& 7th Ad Day, are you sure that our misery shall continue from 30th Sept 2011 to 2031? Nay bane! You are serious dreamers. We cant be subjected to GBMs, Kabwilis, Membes, for the next 15 years. We shall be brain dead which is worse than bankruptcy.
@35 and you other friends you are bringing in unnecessary arguments to the page stop giving us heart attacks we all know the term of office of sata why are you talking of 2031. plse leave that to the next election date in 3 years and some months time.
Remember Rebel PF MP’s? that is the same concept.
Please stop acting like children, MMD. If you’d stop worrying about yourselves and worry about Zambia you’d still be in charge. People want forward progress and they’re going to vote for the people most likely to bring it. Be the people who are going to bring progress or forget about getting elected again. Progress means working together, not being a bunch of bickering partisans.
Work together as one, That way we won’t call nepotism. Major please sssshhhh.
Mj. Kachingwe, somebody sung a song which MMD hated,Chiwamina Garu kuluma mbuzi.When you are in Power whatever you do to others ,shall also be done to You.You did all these things to the opposition ,why should you descilpine our MPs. Sata also just did what the people of N/W wanted. So keep away.We shall not allow Masumba our MP to heed to that.
Ba Chanda #6, what do you from mean impeach RB? Impeach him from what? May be you mean removing RB s immunity?
ba Kachingwe you are embarrassing the security wing of your iresponsible attact on men and women who wants to contribute to the development of this adored nation. Leave them alone and find what to do for your self,am sure you are getting broke, by the way the streets are open for all, you can go and open a kantemba,more money in pockets