Luapula Member of Parliament (PF) Peter Machungwa and Federation of Free Trade Unions of Zambia (FFTUZ) president Joyce Nonde Simukoko have condemned Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata’s alleged lie that Chadian President Idris Derby sneaked into the country to meet President Rupiah Banda.
Dr Machungwa has urged Zambians to be alert and avoid entertaining statements that have the potential to ruin Zambia’s relationship with other countries.
Commenting on the PF leader’s allegation that Chadian President Derby was last month in Zambia for a business meeting with President Banda, Dr Machungwa said the statement should be condemned because of its negative impact on the bilateral relationships of Zambia with other countries.
“Zambians must be alert to such misinformation and be careful with what type of leadership some people are exhibiting, it is unfortunate that they just want to be heard to be saying something to gain cheap political mileage,” Dr Machungwa said.
Mr Sata made a telephone call to a ‘Let the People Talk programme last month which featured United Party for National Development president Hakainde Hichilema and announced that he had information that Mr Derby was in Mfuwe to discuss business deals with President Banda.
He said Mr Sata’s statement had the potential to damage investor confidence and, therefore, should not to be entertained.
Dr Machungwa said Zambia should be careful with information coming from some opposition political leaders because they were aimed at creating unnecessary animosity in the country.
And Mrs Simukoko said even if the Chadian president came to Zambia, he did not come to commit crime but strike business ties that would benefit the citizenry.
Mrs Simukoko said it was high time that the opposition political leaders became realistic and stopped frustrating Zambians.
She said the Zambian people were tired of half baked blanket statements aimed at misleading the nation.
“Why can’t these leaders hold press conferences to give details on things they claim to have more information about, they are just misleading the people for personal agendas,” Mrs Simukoko said.
[pullquote]“These leaders are just bringing confusion and hatred because of their gossip, people wants real issues and not cheap politics,” Mrs Simukoko said. [/pullquote]
Mrs Simukoko urged opposition political leaders to help the Zambians understand issues by giving factual and accurate information so the citizens are able to make informed decisions.
She said, for instance, on the sale of Zamtel, the opposition had talked against it but they had failed to provide adequate information on what they are claiming.
“These leaders are just bringing confusion and hatred because of their gossip, people wants real issues and not cheap politics,” Mrs Simukoko said.
She said people wanted to know how the opposition if voted into power would address the many problems the country was facing and not gossip and cheap politics.
[Times of Zambia]