Vice President, George Kunda, has called for unity and hard work in the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) if the ruling party is to win all the by-elections in the country.
However, Mr. Kunda says the MMD is ready to scoop the Kasiya ward seat in Livingstone Central Constituency.
Mr. Kunda said this at Livingstone International Airport when he arrived from Itezhi-Tezhi district where he had earlier gone for a campaign rally in a local government by-election to be held in Lubanda ward tomorrow.
He said the MMD leadership will now pay as much attention to local government elections as it does to parliamentary elections.

Mr. Kunda said the party had decided to pay attention the lower organ elections in order to identify the top leadership of the party with all its membership at the grassroots level.
He explained that this is in a bid to make the party much stronger and to foster unity within the MMD.

“We cannot be what we are without you, our members. That is why from now onwards, we will be coming to Southern Province very frequently to familiarize and work with our people who voted us into these positions,” he said.
The Vice President added that the move to visit the MMD grassroots membership was also meant to examine the strength of the recently formed PF-UPND pact against the ruling party at all levels.

“We want to test the strength of the so called pact. They lost the parliamentary by-election in Chitambo constituency and we are going to give them a good run for their money in Thursday’s Kasama by-election in Northern Province,” he said.
Mr. Kunda said the MMD has so far discovered that the opposition Patriotic Front (PF) and United Party for National Development (PF-UPND) pact was fragile and can easily break.
He was happy that the MMD was stronger and united in the Southern Province despite few internal misunderstandings.
He said Kasiya ward belonged to the MMD and therefore, the ruling party was going to retain it at all cost as Livingstone was the stronghold of the MMD in the province.

The Kasiya ward seat fell vacant following the appointment of the incumbent councillor, Mary Mukwiza’s (MMD), to the post of District Commissioner for Kazungula district.
Speaking earlier, Southern Province Minister, Daniel Munkombwe, said at the airport that the visit of Mr. Kunda to the province was meant to remind Zambians about the value of unity in the MMD.
Mr. Munkombwe said Zambians should not be worried about political alliances because pacts have always been there and failed because they lack political programmes.

“The PF/UPND political pact is an alliance of officials who are already tearing themselves apart,” he charged.
The vice president is accompanied by Agriculture Minister, Brian Chituwo, Labour Minister, Austin Liato and their Science and Technology counterparty, Gabriel Namulambe.
Energy Deputy Minister, Gladys Lundwe and her Local Government counterpart, Lwipa Puma, and other party and government officials are also on the vice president’s entourage.
Mr. Kunda is today expected to address a series of rallies in Kasiya constituency, where he is expected to explain government’s developmental programmes in Southern Province before returning to Lusaka.

[ZANIS]

There has been so much talking about “continuing with the Mwanawasa legacy” by Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) leaders recently—a legacy whose content they have not been able to explain to the Zambian people.

If the so-called “legacy” includes the introduction of free education up to Grade 7, it does not match the legacy of the United National Independence Party (UNIP), which provided free education from Grade 1 through university from independence until the mid-1980s.

If the “legacy” includes the provision of “free” healthcare to rural dwellers, it does not match UNIP’s free healthcare for all Zambians from independence until the mid-1980s. If it is about the fight against corruption, the scourge had never been pervasive until the MMD assumed power.

There is, however, still a great opportunity for President Rupiah Banda to leave his own legacy rather than continue to sing about someone else’s questionable legacy. Let me suggest some of the potential initiatives which President Banda can pursue if he is interested in leaving a legacy after his term of office:

1) Creation of a smaller Cabinet with fewer Ministers, and abolition of the positions of Deputy Minister and District Commissioner, among other sinecures.

2) Operationalization of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in order for the broadcasting industry to be regulated by an independent body.

3) Enactment of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill and make it possible for journalists to access information that is vital to both the media and members of the public.

4) Creation of an autonomous “Bureau of Statistics and Archives” and place the Zambia Daily Mail under its auspices. The Bureau should replace the Central Statistics Office (CSO) so that it can freely and independently collect, process, maintain, and publish essential data and information about our beloved country, and should incorporate the National Archives of Zambia.

5) Establishment of an Electoral Complaints Authority of Zambia (ECAZ), which should assume the functions of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) stipulated in Clauses 6 through 8 of Article 112 of the Draft Constitution prepared by the Mung’omba Constitutional Review Commission (CRC). These functions could be designated as a separate Article and amended accordingly.

There is a need for a separate governmental watchdog designed to monitor the activities of officers of the ECZ, and the conduct of elections in the country. This will hopefully lessen the vulnerability of the ECZ and the electoral process to the influences, manipulation and/or machinations of unscrupulous politicians and political parties.

6) Conversion of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), which is currently vested in the Office of the Vice-President, into an autonomous “National Emergency Management Agency” (NEMA). The agency needs to be made autonomous in order for it to perform its duties without any political meddling or manipulation by government officials to achieve partisan objectives, and should incorporate the functions of the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme currently administered through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, which includes the Social Cash Transfer Scheme. NEMA should be accountable to the Parliamentary Committee on Health, Community Development and Social Welfare.

I make these suggestions knowing very well that some of the MMD leaders are likely to interpret the gesture as an insult to the President and his administration.

Henry Kyambalesa

PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has told MMD members agitating for the holding of the national convention to resign from the party and join political parties they think will hold conventions soon.

Mr Banda urged those trying to cause confusion in the party to resign than pretend to be MMD members when they were being used by the party’s enemies.

President Banda said he believed in democracy and that the MMD’s national executive committee (NEC) had, in fact, not yet met to discuss the convention.

Mr Banda was speaking when he addressed a mammoth rally to drum up support for MMD candidate Burton Mugala at Kasama’s President’s Park yesterday.

He said the MMD would do everything necessary to ensure transparency and there was no need for people to incite members to rise against the party over the issue of the convention.

“Those who want the convention and are pressing that it should be held at all costs should resign and join political parties that will hold conventions soon, if any. After all, we are two years away from the 2011 elections and the NEC has not yet met to discuss the matter.

“Do not pretend to be members of the MMD but at the same time you are being used by our enemies to rise against us because when the hour comes to discipline you, those inciting you will not be there for you. In fact, you do not know that they are the same people coming to tell me about you,” Mr Banda said.

At the same rally, Lusaka Province PF chairperson Evaristo Mulenga defected to join the ruling MMD, citing party leader Michael Sata’s dictatorial tendencies as the reason.

He said he did not regret the decision because, as a leader, he had decided not to work with a party which had completely lost the tenets of democracy.

The president welcomed Mr Mulenga, together with the 63 other PF defectors, to the MMD and advised party leaders to ensure they made the new members feel welcome in the party.

He urged the people of Kasama Central to vote for Mr Mugala and avoid voting for PF candidate Geoffrey Mwamba who was allegedly full of lies.

The president also expressed disappointment at the four youths that were arrested after allegedly being paid to go and denounce Government on Radio Mano on Teachers’ Day while masquerading as teachers.

He said he had information that two of them were actually businesspersons while one was a student from Chalimbana. He named them as Peggy Nyirenda, 32, a businesswoman, Chris Mutale, 32, businessman and John Mulenga a student.

Mr Banda wondered why Mr Sata and the UPND president Hakainde Hichilema continued hiding behind each other, instead of coming out in the open and tell the nation who would be the pact’s Presidential candidate for 2011.[quote]

Mr Banda said Mr Sata was blindly riding on Mr Hichilema’s back not knowing the UPND leader was also desperate to become president despite having lost twice.

He said the PF leader was panicking, especially that his party was broke and could not afford to sponsor a candidate. This was the reason why he adopted Mr Mwamba so he could sponsor himself.

The president said Mr Sata and Mr Mwamba knew they had lost support and resorted to issuing tribal sentiments, which had also backfired on them.

The president said suspended UPND Namwala Member of Parliament Robby Chizyuka’s move to denounce the pact in Lusaka yesterday was a major indication that the friendship between the two parties was going nowhere.

He said Mr Sata and Mr Hichilema had secretly printed respective Chitenge materials for their 2011 Presidential campaigns.

Mr Banda also said his Government had embarked on 14 major projects in Kasama Central and that K329.3 billion had been allocated to the area.

[Times of Zambia]

Suspected PF-UPND pact cadres this morning stormed ZAMCOM Lodge in Lusaka to disrupt a press briefing which suspended Namwala Member Parliament (MP) Robbie Chizyuka had convened.

The cadres found Major Chizyuka and his supporters performing an Ila traditional activity, which involved brandishing spears while drumming traditional drums and dancing.

The PF/UPND cadres, who were carrying stones, grabbed banners which Major Chizyuka’s supporters were displaying and dispersed them and journalists as the convener of the press briefing quickly went into hiding.

Confusion continued to reign as the pact cadres chased Major Chizyuka’s supporters, who dropped their spears while they scampered for their safety.

Calm was only restored when police were called in to quell the confusion.

Later, Major Chizyuka managed to address journalists and urged opposition political parties to stop criticizing government unnecessarily but to offer positive advice if peace was to be upheld in the nation.

Maj. Chizyuka, who is also UPND Chairman for Agriculture, stated that he sacrificed a lot for the party and regretted that it was now accusing him of misleading other party members in the UPND/PF pact.

And Major Chizyuka has doubted the morality of Patriotic Front (PF) president, Michael Sata, who allegedly supported tribal remarks issued by Kasama Central PF candidate, Geoffrey Mwamba recently.

Meanwhile, Major Chizyuka has dismissed allegations by UPND president Hakainde Hichilema that he was paid K10 million by a named political party to cause confusion in the pact.

He challenged Mr. Hakainde to disclose the names of people who gave him (Chizyuka) the money and the source of the same money.

And speaking after the confusion, PF Kanyama Constituency Chairman Isaac Mujulu accused Major Chizhuka of causing confusion in the UPND/PF pact.

Mr. Mujulu accused the Namwala MP of having received K28 million from a named political party in order to destabilize the opposition political pact.

He stated that the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation should unite Zambians but he expressed disappointment that some people resorted to funning anarchy in the political sphere.

ZANIS

The United National Independence Party (UNIP) has intensified its election campaigns in Kasiya Ward, where it is optimistic to emerge victorious.

According to UNIP District Chairman, Luther Peyton, the entire party leadership will today camp in the area and spread out in the surrounding areas such as Makululu, Jack Mwanampapa, and Natebe to disseminate campaign messages.

Mr. Peyton said UNIP is likely to grab the seat following people’s demand to have a Kasiya resident as the area’s councilor.

He said UNIP is the only party that has fielded a local resident, adding that the party has received blessings from the United Liberal Party (ULP) and the United National Development Party (UNDP) candidates who he said have pledged to support UNIP.

Mr. Peyton claimed that UNIP had gained momentum in the area and expressed hope that through its candidate Mwansa Adrian, Kasiya will be developed to its former self.

He said Kasiya was a UNIP stronghold and that it had better social infrastructure that was left unattended to when the UNIP Government was removed from power.

ZANIS

Opposition Patriotic Front (PF) Lusaka Province Chairman, Evaristo Mulenga, has with immediate effect resigned from his party and joined the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD).

Mr. Mulenga announced his resignation from the PF at a rally addressed by President Rupiah Banda at the President’s Park in Kasama this morning.

Mr. Mulenga said he has decided to leave the PF because he did not want to be part of an organisation that was championing politics of insults and tribalism.
He said he does not regret his resignation from the PF because its leader does not respect the tenets of democracy.

Mr. Mulenga described Mr. Sata and the PF as vindictive and only bent on vengeance and personal vendettas.
He said having known the PF since its inception, he understands all the tactics the party members have been employing to win elections in all parts of the country.

Mr. Mulenga also declared that he would go flat out and ensure that he destroys the PF.
At the same rally, scores of other PF cadres defected from their party to the MMD.

And in welcoming the defectors to the MMD, President Banda appealed to the MMD leadership to ensure that the new members feel welcome to the ruling party.

President Banda said the MMD is a party for the people. He said the voluntary resignation of prominent members of the PF was an indication that the opposition party was crumbling down.

The President further appealed to members of other political parties to feel free to join the ruling party.

President Banda is in Kasama drumming up support for Burton Mugala, who is the MMD candidate for the October 15th, by-election. The PF-United Party for National Development pact has fielded Geoffrey Mwamba. Other parties vying for the seat are the former ruling party, United National Independence Party (UNIP), All People’s Congress (APC) and two independent candidates.

The Kasama Central parliamentary seat fell vacant after the resignation of area PF Member of Parliament Saviour Chishimba from parliament.

ZANIS