Thursday, March 28, 2024

President Sata’s trip to New York a waste of money-Fr Bwalya

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UPND president Hakainde Hichilema confers with Alliance for Better Zambia leader Father Frank Bwalya
UPND president Hakainde Hichilema confers with Alliance for Better Zambia leader Father Frank Bwalya

The Alliance for Better Zambia (ABZ) has charged that President Michael Sata’s trip to New York was a “scandalous waste of money” because the Head of State did not do anything while in the United States.

ABZ leader Frank Bwalya said it was unacceptable that President Sata could have led a huge delegation to New York for the United Nations (UN) general assembly summit, a function he did not attend.

Fr Bwalya said President Sata should have stayed home to attend to many other important national issues rather take an astronomically expensive trip to New York and not perform any function.

He said the ministers who travelled with him would have ably represented President Sata as they did and that his presence in New York was irrelevant.

Fr Bwalya said moving a president to far places like the United States often cost a lot of money and that President Sata should have considered the cost implication of his trip that did not help Zambia in any way.

The ABZ leader said President Sata was on record as condemning the abuse of public resources through costly trips that did not benefit Zambians, adding that it was shocking that the Head of State could engage in wasting public resources in the manner he was doing.

Fr Bwalya said President Sata’s voice was still on a named radio station on the Copperbelt where he repeatedly condemned the practices of wasting public resources through expensive presidential trips.

“While President Sata was busy wasting public money on trips that he could have easily delegated to his ministers, some hospitals on the Coperbelt that had acquired dialysis machines did not have consumables for the machines to operate,” he said.

Fr Bwalya said people had to travel all the way to Konkola hospital to access the services of a dialysis machine yet the country had a President who was ‘roaming around the world doing nothing.’’

“Our party, the ABZ, thinks that President Sata’s trip to New York for the United Nations (UN) summit was a scandalous waste of public money. President Sata should have stayed home to attend to many important national issues rather than travel to New York and not perform any function. The ministers would have represented him ably as they did. Moving a president to a far place such as the United States costs a lot of money,” Fr Bwalya said.

He said that many employees in local authorities and public service such as the Times of Zambia and the Zambia Police were not being paid their salaries and advised President Sata to demonstrate that he cared about the suffering of the people by making prudent decisions.
He explained that President Sata was commending his ministers for representing him well at the UN and wondered why the Head of State had travelled all the way to the US just to address his ministers after the UN summit was finished.

“Our position is not that he should rest or recover but we are concerned with the wastage of public resources. They say ‘ichikalipa chumfwa imwine’ (he who feels the pain knows it) and so we believe he is well. We will continue calling on Mr Sata to be moderate because this is a scandalous wasteful of money,” Fr Bwalya said.

24 COMMENTS

  1. It was nice that our president M.C. SATA had travelled to the U.S.A. so that HH and his cronies stops telling lies about the president is sick and that he had died in USA. All the UPND and the M.M.D. boot lickers should stop barking about the presidents ill health. Silly *****s

    • Poor people are poor because they know how to waste money. The PF government has a gargantuan travel budget that if spent on UTH would turn it into a world class hospital in a month..The president was too sick to travel.Let him do the noble thing and leave office for someone younger and energetic who can represent Zambia at international meetings.Zambia was not represented at the African Union meeting at presidential level and now we received no representation at the U.N. at presidential level. This is damaging to our country no matter what dull docile PF cadres think.

    • Kwena ali kuchena HH. Surely the President could travel to New york in that state just to run away from HH? If your analysis is true, then HH chaume!

  2. Ok, but ndiye ku tidelela as Zambians, the chap travels all the way to the US with 50 or so of his vilage clansmen, does nothing there, comes back, doesn’t say anything nd we are all quiet!! This is so unacceptable. There should be an apology from government, Fr. Bwalya has apoint, and anyone that does not support this is wicked.

  3. He shouldn’t have gone there in the first place, but why the HELL he forced himself to tag along, now this is the problem. May be he did it to impress his ever adoring and worshipful cadres. They see nothing wrong with his senseless escapade to America in such a state of unhealth, a stup!d thing for a grown man to do if you ask me, but he did it!

  4. 180,000 US dollars on flight tickets, 300,000 US dollars on boarding. 300,000 US dollars on allowances. We could have used that money to buy trucks that can collect garbage from the townships. We could have used it to buy desks for school children in the deep rural areas

    • Flight tickets alone could possibly have cost more than what you have quoted. These people must have all travelled by Business class at the least. Assuming the delegation was 50 odd at a say the price of $6000 dollars round trip, you are talking of $300 000 and as @Umwina Zed has said, how many classroom blocks would that amount have build for those kids learning under trees? Have a heart ba PF!

  5. But fat Christine Kasebanyasekaseka got some sort of award as we saw here on LT so how can the trip be said to have been a waste of money?

  6. He shouldn’t have gone there in the first place, but why the HELL he forced himself to tag along, now this is a problem for psychiatrists. May be he did it to impress his ever adoring and worshipful cadres. They see nothing wrong with Sata’s senseless escapade to America in such a state of unhealth, a stup!d thing for a grown man to do if you ask me, but he did it!

  7. dear follow zambians abz leader fr bwalya has a point he needs to be supported by all patriotic citizens and not these useless pf cadres who cant see anything good said or observed by wise pipo like hh and this man

  8. Father Bwalya, Elias Chipimo and Gen Miyanda are the only opposition leaders that I have respect for, however father Bwalya on this subject you are off the point.When was the last time the President traveled apart from the trip to Israel?I believe that was a while back.Compared to Mwanawasa who was always traveling as well as Rupiya HEMCS doesn’t travel that much. Also father Bwalya please understand there are elements in the PF govt that deliberately frustrate govt programmes, they are amongst the same ones that caused you to leave.These people are letting the govt down, alot of expenditure can be cut in govt if for example we simply did away with all luxury vehicles and cut meaningless allowances as traveling expenses for seminars.Still the departure of Father Bwalya was a big loss.

    • South Africa. He went after Isreal. Jeesh. Your analysis or entry is very wish washy and pointless. Stick to the topic. A few times you’ve caught yourself out with wrong data.

  9. Unless catholics are too forgetful!. The same rosary u stepped on is what removed KK and RB. Though they did it while they where Presidents in your case………………………..

  10. lets have this line up for zambia 2016.

    HH president
    Frank Bwalya VICE
    Elias chipimo Secretary
    Miyanda Legal
    Dambisa moyo finance
    Mizinga melu Treasury

    You guys can complete the rest of the team Zambia………………………………………..

    • With such a line up, Zambia would rightly, be called a Rhetorical Nation. What credentials qualifies hh to lead this nation? That he personalised national wealth in his name to call himself the richest? That he sailed to party leadership by selling his tribal qualification (only a Tonga can be prez of UPND)? I need convincing of what to look for in hh, bwalya, pule, & other such “yackety-yack” performers.

    • Kakolwe…..he is CEO of many companies that require similar structures as government and attributes. Many countries are actually run like businesses now with austerity , globalisation ,trade and budgets etc …sorry if I’ve lost you. Politics isn’t about experience…you’re lost if that’s what you think is a major factor to consider.

  11. Very articulate from this Father Bwalya… don’t know much about him but I have been impressed by his statements recently.

    @“..the country had a President who was ‘roaming around the world doing nothing’.’’; hahaha good one!

  12. The president needs to justify his hefty salary increament by engaging and enlightening the people that put him into office on the purposes and achievements of such trips. It does not take much to pacify Zambians unlike our muslim brothers in the Arab World. So far he seems to be preoccupied with preserving his image rather than being a servant of the people.

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