By REBECCA CHILESHEPATRIOTIC Front (PF) president, Michael Sata, says the party will not punish any of its 27 members of Parliament for participating in the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) but those who have committed other offences will face penalties.
Mr Sata said in an interview on Monday that the PF was not worried about members who had defied instructions to shun the NCC because the party had more important issues than the NCC.
“As far as the PF is concerned, the NCC is a dead issue.
The party is not worried about our colleagues who are defying their own decisions by taking part in the conference,” Mr Sata said.
He said only those MPs who knew they had gone against the PF constitution should be worried about what would happen to them.
He said the MPs should not panic but just go ahead and “enjoy” the allowances from the NCC.
He said the MPs should not even have bothered to go to court over the NCC because the court was not a disciplinary committee of the PF.
He said by taking part in the conference, the MPs were merely giving the party a chance to re-organise itself and to bring in more competent people.
Mr Sata said he regretted having embraced Luapula MP, Peter Machungwa and Bangweulu MP, Joseph Kasongo, who he said had brought confusion in the party.
He alleged that Dr Machungwa, who came from the Party for Unity Democracy and Development (PUDD), was instrumental in destabilising the PF, even before he joined it.
“We are actually reaping where we sowed.
We did not listen when people warned us about the characters of some of these people,” Mr Sata said.
We knew that some of the people who were joining us from PUDD and Forum for Democracy and Development such as Elizabeth Chitika-Mulobeka and Major Celestino Chibamba did not mean well.”
He said the party had difficulties selling Mrs Chitika-Mulobeka, Major Chibamba and Ernest Mwansa to the people in their respective constituencies during last year’s general elections.
Mr Sata said he had to plead with chiefs and the people to accept some of the candidates the PF fielded.
He said the party’s NEC would soon meet to find a new chairperson for elections to replace Mr Mwansa who was removed from his position last week.
Mr Sata said once a replacement for Mr Mwansa was found, that person would draw up a programme for elections to usher in new leaders.
The PF president said he was pleased that the party was now going to get better leaders because it had “more intelligent and loyal leaders” than the 27 MPs combined.
He said it was just as well the PF did not form government because some of the MPs who had “betrayed” the party would have been ministers.
He said people in the provinces had already started campaigning for new leaders to take over the various positions that have fallen vacant.
But Dr Machungwa, the spokesperson for the 27 MPs, said he would not comment on the allegations made against him by his party president.
Dr Machungwa also advised PF spokesperson, Given Lubinda, not to be personal when dealing with party issues.
He said Mr Lubinda was behaving as though he was “more PF” than other members yet he was also just appointed by Mr Sata.
He was reacting to a statement by Mr Lubinda that Dr Machungwa must produce minutes of the meeting where party leaders resolved to incite party cadres to rise against the 27 MPs.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Pure Zambian politics. Very boring to read.
Sata has been cornered. These thugs belongs to the gutters
I like you sata coz you keep Dr lpm in check, my wish is that you wo`nt end up at plot one.
Keep it up sata, i think the gov`t should start paying formidable opposition parties like yours.
Iam not a member of PF but I strongly believe people who voluntarily join a party because they they believe in its principles should live by those principles or opt out and not wait to be kicked out or seek court injunctions.In addition there should be intra party democracy and true dialogue but once a majority decision is reached members should stick to those decisions or quit if such decisions strongly go against their conscience.
Michael Sata has a low voltage fuse.Disgracefully he operates with a short circuit.His riotous behavior thus far has weakened his reputation.You don’t act irrationally when faced with a difficulty crisis before a savvy and ruthless opponent.MMD now will get more emboldened, scheme more undermining strategies and dress him the “flip flopping tag” which he has proved to be thus far.
The PF must hold its party elections.These are long overdue. Sata is accountable for all the indiscipline going on in the party. Don’t just appoint people on positions in the party,let them compete for posts.
Blah,blah, blah… yawn…
so, has he u-turned on his “we will expel them’ line? Politics of bullying people into supporting your ideas does not work when one is not in power.Sorry Mr Sata. ilyauma?
PF is synonymous to the Titanic boat at this stage.
Good luck!!!
Sata has been checkmated.
If Sata was clever he would have immediatly started by denouncing Chiluba as a PF member.Is it a coincidence that the PF members in the forefront of defying Sata are mostly from PUDD a creation of Chiluba and are always at Chilubas residence.Dr Xavir Chishimba the PF MPwith direct opposition to Sata is always among the inner crowd when ever Chiluba is holding a press entertainment(conference).Is it a coincidence that immediatly Sata began having problems with his MP’s
Chiluba also began public politiciting by his usual press conferences almost on a weekly basis. In short Chiluba is taking over the mantle from Sata as the loudest opposer to Government. In no time if Sata continues with his dullnes he will wake up to find Chiluba has taken over PF. Besides PF has no constitution and membership cards which means ny body cann stand against Sata for President when internal elections are held , this includes Chiluba.
Big up ba ‘kateka’ i think PF really need serious pipo this time around not mere political opportunists like Machungwa and Mwansa,cant wait for the bye elections.
Ba Citizen(11),Sata is now paying for the shortcuts he made when setting up a political party.How can a party not have registered or card holding members?without formal membership how do you enforce exclusivity and discipline?now he has problems with his “members” and he doesn’t have a party constitution to guide/dictate punitive action..the absence of an elected leadership in PF compounds the problem..hence PF is the Titanic for sure!!
Sata is history. To him being in opposition, he is not entitled to to support anything, including contructive ideas. Come 2011 the PF boat and its die hard sailors will sink to death.
Ba Citizen mukamba bushe mwalyupa imwe? If you are then your wife must be very lonely, becoz you spend all your time blogging and commenting (am and pm) on any subject brought forth.
I have been reliably informed that CITIZEN is “cohabitting” with a prostitute somewhere around Chamboli township in kitwe,he’s been blogging through a local internet cafe but at the moment he has run out of icuma,so ali busy ukupundilila pa ‘kmb’ abaleya ndola,mufulira,chingola..!!! same applies to ‘ba Zed’
Well done Sata. That was the best to handle the issue. Now from this time handle your party issues internally. Don`t bring them out to the public before trying to resolve them. And learn from this incident. All the time come up with a round-table, it be small issues or big ones. Work as well on your membership. There should be something to show i.e. party cards. Otherwise you`ll have the same problems. You must have an entry point then olderliness. This you should work on it, Sir. Democratise PF
PF CADRES ATTACK SINYANGWE
Police spokesperson Bonnie Kapeso said they have since opened a docket against four of Sinyangwe’s attackers and that a manhunt has been launched for them. She said four of her attackers were Sata’s security men and others seemed to have been picked from a tavern. She said she could identify the four because they were always with Sata. “I feel very bad the fact that they are the president (Michael Sata)’s security men, they came from the president,” she said.
Unless we deal this culture of hooliganism, we should forget about ever ruling Zambia.
The PF president has made a wise decision over the MPs who decided to take part in the NCC. I find them a let down and good for nothing individuals who the part should not waste time on. Let them enjoy their terms in NCC and parliament.All we know is that they are not PF. They can continue saying hear hear in the National Asseembly. The Party should start decampaign them. It indeed takes a wise man and leader to take the kind of decision Mr Sata has taken. Other wise he would ve expeled them.
Continued –
Then what. Let them get close enoough to the MMD. Then use that as a weapon. MMD being as corrupt as it is will then teach them a lesson. They should remember Nawa, Nzowa, Banda, Mumba and many more who have been swindled.
Why was Nevers expelled from MMD if it`s a democratic party?CHUCHU was scared of him plain and simple.What we have in Zambia is just a circus mascarading as political parties.