Chief Government spokesman, Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha says that Republican President Rupiah Banda has the right to travel locally and internationally.
Lieutenant General Shikapwasha explained that people should understand that whenever President Banda travels, it was for the benefit of the entire country.
He told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka yesterday, that Mr Banda is entitled to be on both local and international trips adding that the President has the right to travel when necessary.
Lt. Gen. Shikapwasha, who is also Information and Broadcasting Services Minister, said that Citizens should be mindful that whenever the President travels, it was for serious business.
The Chief Government spokesperson said it was from these trips that the President sometimes makes decisions that have helped the nation greatly.
He said it was because the President has been able to market the country and that this has also attracted some investors to consider visiting and investing in the country.[quote]
Lt.Gen.Shikapwasha also said with the economic crisis the country was experiencing there was need for all stakeholders to work closely with the government of the day.
He said with more concerted efforts from all stakeholders the economic crisis the country was experiencing can be dealt with.
There have been calls from some sectors of society calling upon President Rupiah Banda to consider reducing on local and international trips.
ZANIS/AJN/ENDS/MM
Yes he has the right to travel…but i do not agree that its always for the benefit of the country!
Then what are diplomats for?
no one says he doesnt have the right to travel its the question of whether it is necessary for him to travel on all these ocassions, at similar occasions most western and developed countries send their ministers of foreign affairs, the diplomats and other higher ranking officials. Travelling expenses of the president are much higher than other government officials when we talk of entoiurage that the president needs this could be money targeted for pending issues in the country.
Iwe Ronnie
why didn’t you tell us what RB benefitted from travelling to places like Nigeria? Wasting Tax Payer’s money, he went to see Pastor Joshua. Ku nkazikika tyala
ive been told u that this President is a waste of TIME!!!!!.. he failed to run his companies, failed ZAMBOARD made bad buisness plans that led to a BANKS closure, but still voted him into STATE house!.. all i can say bane IMPEACH THE BASTURD!
# 3 Mukwa ginger Brandy….very good in put from you…totally agree with you.
#3. unfortunately zambia is underdeveloped hence travelling comes as a peck for the president ,entourage aside. who can blame him?
no ba shikapwasha,yo boss has never spent two wks in state house.ha has been xrisxrosing the country with large entourage,why do have provincial ministers and DCs?why do we have embassies?why do we have minster of foreign affairs? Yes the certain gatherings where he has to attend but alas awisi temwani chicilamo!
its easy to criticise RB but for those who listen to news media just how often has Obama travelled in his 100 days as president? probably more than RB. the only difference is the USA can afford or can they with the recession at hand?
First he travelled to introduce himself around.Then he travelled to neighbouring counties to Talk about Zimbabwe.Then he travelled around to campaign for Muammar Gaddafi.Then he travelled to discuss the implications of the global financial crisis on Zambia.I think he will now be looking at fundraising for FAZ abroad as if its the only sport that exists.Kozo
#1 Stripper
You have spoken my mind. #2. Dark Knight Diplomats are merely there as to represent the president so their authority is restricted to representative functions. However, there are certain occassions that call for the direct presence of Heads of State.
It’s encouraging to note that some people back home have also realized that RB has made way too many unnecessary trips since he came into office. I understand that as a developing nation we need to seek international AID but the president needs to know his country first before he can embark on as many international trips…just my opinion
And Shikapwasha, did RB ask you to make that statement ?
Someone advise me please is there supposed to be a cap on how many trips the head of state should make in a year???
Travel is part of any President’s duties, but the entourage must be trimmed to cut coasts. When RB travels, its like an orchestra on tour and when he returns there are all those MMD groupies at the airport to welcome him. When do these people actually work?
Imwe mwliyeshiba amanone yaba muli Challenger ?
You Shikapwasha what benefits are we getting from the manone Banda feels when he travell? Its him alone who benefits by getting heft allowances.
Yah even thou RB was at the falls on a flight of angels at 12:00 hrs using tax payers money to fly one of the biggest helicopters i have ever seeing in my life we have in Zed and jet fuel that is one of the most expensive fuels.
Does he need to have a free ride?
Ba Dr Maureen how are you? Mwali yeshiba amanoni? Eyo bo mfwa ba Banda when travelling.
banda bwezani manoni
Honestly,RB never ceases to amaze me in as far as his tours are concerned.He is ever in the move like an agricultural extension worker.Even agricultural extension worker to even have that chance to visit farmers because of poor funding to the ministry of agriculture.Pliz save the tax payers money and use it on meaningful things RB. Its too much of your trips & for useless things. Stay at state house think of the marks that you will leave as president of the country Zambia.I do realise that you never knew you would be head os state considering how we interact at your farm & nyakutwa basic school as you were following Madam Thandiwe! Learn to be in your office at state house & work.
Mr Banda has to recognise which trips need his direct presence and which ones need his foreign affairs minister, or even his ambassors. Some one had compared Obama to our president, Mr Obama’s first international trip as president last a few hours, as much as i agree that Mr obama had made a number of local trips, but those are not as expensive as international trips. Think about how much money the USA would have spent if Mr. Obama made all the trips that Hilary has made. Our president has got what we chewas call “Dyela”, it seems he enjoys being in other peoples ‘homes’. His like that man who never wants to make his home a paradise but wants to enjoy his friends hard work. The man should learn to stay in his country and when he make a trip it must be a necessary one.
Following “He said it was because the President has been able to market the country and that this has also attracted some investors to consider visiting and investing in the country”, I think this is where the MMD GRZ has gone wrong over managing Zambia. What we need are local invetsors nd enterprenuers as opposed to trusting that foreigners will ever develop Zambia.
I thus advise the Minister of Information Shikapwasha to tell his boss President RB Banda to look at developing Zambia with Zambian natural resources which include human resources than his current look to foreign resources.
We as a country Zambia have enough land and resources to put Zambia into the G20. If South Africa did it, why not us Zambia?
#18 Amanone yasuma !
we seem to be having a lot trush in the government! who are there to speak nothing but deffend RB s ruthless expensses
So now I am considering exporting a few individual to Nasa Project of finding out whether a human being can survive on planet mars.
1. Cosmo 2. shikabwasha 3. Kunda… Help me to sight a few other raw materials for this project. Infact we will give them free of of if they cant afford to pay… or if the worst gets better, we will fund them for helping us clear the gabage
I have now stopped being amazed that whenever this man (Ronnie Shikapwasha) opens his mouth, defending words come out. To him bad or good doesn’t matter as long as its protecting his job. These are people I have respected in Zambian politics for sometime and thought they would contribute to the development of this nation but its like their mission is to empower themselves. Where is this country going if great people like RS can talk anyhow just to please his boss. If people complain on RB making so many trips, its just useful for them to sit down and look at the problem.
#22. Maestro “What we need are local invetsors nd enterprenuers as opposed to trusting that foreigners will ever develop Zambia.” But where are they? What is stopping them from coming out and invest? What should RB do for them to invest? Should he fukunyuka, give them umuchanga and tell them ati invest? I really do not understand when comments like we need local inestors as if they are somewhere hidden in a carton box and only the President can reach out to bring them down for them to start investing. Where are they and why haven’t they invested ever since liberalisation started? And who are those investors so that we know whenever the term “local” is used? ” President RB Banda to look at developing Zambia with Zambian natural resources which include human resources” Are these the…
Who cares where he goes, he is a free man and if his job says he should travel, let him travel as far as he can even to planet Mars for a decade.
Don’t compare US to Zambia. US has huge resources and well developed, however, secretary of this or that just don’t tug along like it’s in Zambia. These men and women chosen to accompany the US president always have business to conduct. Ask any Zambian minister what business they conducted on these trips they would have no idea what you blubbering about. There is no cap how many trips the president makes but self discipline is what distiguishes between a bad and a wise leader. If RB is passionate about his country he would spend more time at problem solving at home but the nature of man does not lie in that direction.
Mr Banda can travel whenever he feels like but just as Stripper has put it, not every trip is a help for Zambia. Some trips are a waste and the same applies to the decisions this President makes. One thing is certain !! When it is time to vote him out , he will go.
No-nse-nse! This RB is a fu-lli-sh man. Now has anyone seen the hottest babes on Lt?
# 28
If only he can use the money from his farm and not this haldly earned money by taxpayers amid a difficult time!!!!!!
What a world we are living in,our leaders are so selfish,God help us
LT kupusa!
#33 I support your comment; they don’t care as long as there enjoying and for sure we need God’s guidance and help.
There is nothing wrong with RBs globe trotting. Next it will be that dull version of Mugabe, if he wins!
There is nothing wrong with RB’s globe trotting. Next it will be that dull version of Mugabe………. if he wins!
Let him not travel to planet mars please. Am the president there.
Does any one know why am not seeing Laura Miti’s Post articles these days?
This is a simple issue of “symolic interaction” Government 101 will answer you.The Presidency is not for Lusaka only but the entire country.As head of State and Politician, H.E needs to stay connected with the grassroot, and his political predisposition strategically expending his political capital.Lusaka centric Politicians who disconnect their Presidency from the wider national base by over delegating, run a risk of lossing their political predisposition. This where Sata and HH have failed to marshal a winning vote other than being Tabloid front page Presidents. A President that is aloof in a piramid-base structural functionalism stands to lose.President Banda is a seasone and educated Politician alive to these realities.At international level, treaties and conventions are
At international level, treaties and convention negotiations are strictly matters of his Executive office with absolute mandates from Parliament. In any institutional Government system, Envoys’ mandate are statutorily limited.They can never do be it by representation execute Executive office roles.This an international Government 101 norm.
In # 40, i meant “symbolic interaction”
Spot on Senior Citizen! President by ballot and not ‘annointings’ from departed Tsars or living scribes.
How ridiculous and stupid can a nation be?It is utterly embarrassing and inappropriate to bring into question the priorities and travel itenerary of the President. Prudence as well matters of security dictate that the President have the flexibility to make determinations and decisions within law without constraints. Where, why and how to travel is one such example.The Presidency is a serious office whose execution requires a mandate as was given at election. Here is hoping that you will not be crying for another tribunal to “investigate” too many trips! Lord where is this country headed to?Is it too late to return to sanity? Is this the preoccupation now that Dora has been crucified?
Shikapwasha you are a disgrace to your race!
# 34 Chop stick ni chani ba LT waba soka. imwe bantu, is shikapwasha normal? i have never understood this man. why should he support a president who like galavanting when there diplomats all over. i agree with you bloggers who said he is free to travell but why are ministers and diplomats there? Anyway, RB ni Bwezani for real.
ShikaMMD ule umfwako isoni.
morning breakfast bushe iyo picture in English breakfast or French mmmmmmmmmmm
27, kamunyama, on your “But where are they? What is stopping them from coming out and invest? What should RB do for them to invest? Should he fukunyuka, give them umuchanga and tell them ati invest? I really do not understand when comments like we need local inestors as if they are somewhere hidden in a carton box and only the President can reach out to bring them down for them to start investing. Where are they and why haven’t they invested ever since liberalisation started? And who are those investors so that we know whenever the term “local” is used? ”“, you hammered the nail on its head with these your queries!
A-President RB Banda needs to fukunyuka. Afunika ku-cheka so that Zambians can work harder for the betterment of our economy.
I short, let the MMD…
48 continued.
Educate us on how to be enterprenuers. Give us incentives to succeed in business.
The MMD GRZ must also redefine the maximum FDI the foreigners can contribute with regards to participation of Zambians living abroad and/or within in companies owned by foreigners.
#9,Obama started in white house for almost four months b4 a move.Ours didn’t even stay for a month.You are right we cant afford to have perennial movements for a president as it comes at a huge cost and declaring ambassadors redundant.
Don’t know how many investors this RB has brought to Zed due to his trips abroad. Zed, like most African countries, will never develop cause we just seem to lack proper leaders. It is unfortunate that we seem to always elect (appoint ) the wrong people to lead us. It’s simply not right that the same people who were there in the 60’s seem to in control to day. We need educated & incorruptible people to lead our country. Otherwise, come the next century most of Africa will still remain at the bottom of the pile.
Lord Jesus! market the country abroad when the local people cant even see what you are marketing. Can someone tell me how difficult it is to impeach a president? We are wasting valuable time by someone who thinks at his age he can use govt money to travel around the world in name of business when its vacation.
so what are you trying to tell us shikapwasha?
Zambia is gifted with smart people yet we never learn and are still wallowing in the same old sh*t regarding political/economic development. Those of you comparing US prez to Zambia should know very well that the two are not the same and can never be its like trying to put the armpit above the shoulder. No Zambian president has brought big development to the country by how many trips they make abroad period. Its simple economics here, the best way to save money is to avoid spending it in the first place. Zambian leaders always tend to be greedy and selfish such that we come to learn rather too late that the numerous trips are mere self enrichment sprees for those leaders that no ordinary Zambian would ever benefit out of, and if we remain passive as ever, we’ll realize too late how…
….. we’ll realize too late how many personal & plush properties abroad this same RB will amass before the next elections(which will be rigged of course). This is why it is the duty of all those of us in Zambia’s diaspora community , local & abroad to use forums such as this one to devise strategies to make a better way forward for our nation and rescind bad governance rather than remain sitting there on your Sony Vaios and Dell Inspirons making a joke of the mediocre governance happening in our country. Besides RD is just a hand pick filling in from where the Late Levy left, . RB is no exception, they’re all greedy. Let’s put our heads together Zambians.
I feel like the people in the diaspora see exactly what is wrong and are willing to put an end to such behavior. I just do not understand why the people in Zambia who are right there where the problem is are not complaining? We really need to learn to stand up for what is right, you do not need Sata or HH to complain for you.
Zambians talk too much but do not act seriously. Too many armchair critics that is why even dull people like Mulongoti and Teta are your Ministers. The same chaps are busy encouraging a man who does not know the job of president to continue campaigning instead of working. These trips are just useless but he wants to show you that he is around. Zambia is on autopilot and the man is busy collecting allowances on all these trips and lining his pocket. We miss LPM and more importantly KK.