CHIEF Government spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha has said the statement by Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general Wynter Kabimba that President Rupiah Banda’s recent trip to China was a tourism stint showed arrogance and cheap politicking by the PF.
Lieutenant-General Shikapwasha, who is Information and Broadcasting Services Minister, described Mr Kabimba’s statement as cheap and part of the PF’s orchestrated anti-China campaign to undermine the positive accomplishments being made by President Banda in accelerating Zambia’s economic development.
He said President Banda was the first African head of State to be invited by President Hu Jintao to China this year, and that his delegation included businessmen who took the opportunity to establish contacts in China.
The minister said the PF secretary general needed education on the role China was playing in the global economic development.
He said Zambia had undertaken to diversify its economy from copper, and the delegation to China took advantage to sample the tourism potential in that country.
Gen Shikapwasha urged Mr Kabimba to focus on addressing the many problems the PF was facing in the face of its leader’s recent declaration as the sole candidate for the pact with the United Party for National Development.
He urged Mr Kabimba to do more research as a lawyer before issuing any statement as he was a learned person.
Meanwhile Agriculture and Co-operatives Minister Peter Daka has said PF leader Michael Sata was exhibiting politics of hatred and ignorance on issues that he does not understand.
Mr Daka said Mr Sata’s condemnation of President Banda’s official visit to China, was a clear indication that the opposition leader had wrong ideas on politics because there was no way he could attack the president when he did not know Zambia’s benefits from the China trip.
He said in an interview yesterday that President Banda went to China to solicit for support in many sectors of the economy.
Mr Daka said agriculture was one sector that would benefit from the projects on electricity that President Banda solicited in China.
He said Mr Sata’s attacks showed that he was now panicking because he had no future in Zambian politics.
The minister also said that Zesco held talks with China Export Bank for assistance to expand Kariba North Bank power station, which would raise the power generation capacity by another 360 megawatts.
The idea was such that if power generation was increased, farmers would have water throughout the year to use in irrigation farming that would help ensure food security.
He said many institutions benefited from the trip and cited a local entrepreneur who signed a US$3 billion partnership with a Chinese company to produce electricity from bio-mass.
Mr Daka said Mr Sata was practicing retrogressive politics by going to Luapula Province, flying and driving round Eastern Province only to talk about him (Mr Daka) and Education Minister Dora Siliya.
He said Mr Sata showed that he could afford to hire a plane but when he went to Eastern Province he wanted to show people that he was poor and went round radio stations condemning President Banda and the two ministers.
Mr Daka said President Banda’s Government was on course and, for the first time in 30 years, the country had achieved $1.8 billion international reserves and saved 1,700 jobs at Luanshya Copper Mines.
Times of Zambia
It is not fair to criticize President Rupiah Banda’s trip to China just to gain political points. Sata must know that everybody including the USA of which a large chunk of their debt is held by China is working to solicit investment from China and for Zambia to be invited by the President of China is a very good thing. It shows that Zambia’s ties with China are growing.
China has invested a lot in Zambia’s economy and the benefits are there for everybody to see more especially in Luanshya where LCM was reopened and soon Kitwe where Mulungushi Textiles is scheduled to re-open.
China is a strategic investment and business partner to Zambia and ignoring them would be catastrophic for our growing economy.
Can we have tangible figures please!! What growth in the Tourism sector are we looking at(in value terms)? This increase in reserves is not putting food on my table!! Give us real benefits!! If there is development in Zambia why is it difficult for most Zambians to see it? Only ministers, from their offices, are seeing it!! Rather strange!!
Just the other day this the same incompetent junior lawyer that was insulting Zambians from Cuba where he went seeking denied asylum. He insulted Zambians that they have no brains such that any dog pitched against KK in 1991 could have have received Zambians’ vote. These cadres on their way to calvary are trully not in denial but showing worrying indifferences to their salvation and stubborness of a camp in crisis. Events have confused and over frustrated them such they think insulting Zambians and their institutions of power are panaceas.
are trully not only in denial but showing worrying indifferences to their salvation
kabimba is diplomatically challenged- you need to read the headline in the Mail
Veteran, sooner than scheduled this patched marriage of convenience called PACT is unpacking itself. Never seen an embattled opposition that evolves around insulting Zambians and their institutions as PF. Any led by a convicted criminal what do we expect?
10 Ronnies = 1 Wynter Kabimba
This is not the only foreign trip we are talking about. How many trips has RB undertaken withn the shortest possible time? and all that at the expence of the Country. The amount of moneys that have gone into those trips could sort out the drainage situation in Lusaka. Tatulekana, we can solicit for investment, but we need to be moderate in the way we spend public funds as we do that. The truth is that RB lacks the vision and capacity to handle issues obtaining in our Country right now. Lets not just argue for the sake of arguing. Lets face the truth and deal with it.
YES !That was tourism Period:-t:-t:-t:-t:-t
In most serious countries Presidents only travel to Sign Agreements and pose for Cameras which is after all the ground work has been done by respective ministers. Mwe Lesa twafweni!! Moses is coming in the form of PACT!!!
And as for China, they are not there to just help Zambia. They are developing rapidly, and in that process they need a lot of raw materials like our copper. We need to be careful how they are getting our copper and at least ensure that as we extract the copper, we develop where the copper is coming. Someone from one foreign service recently said that the extractive minerals should develop the Country. Are we doing that. And China, we need to give them conditions 1) They must respect and pay workers well 2) They must respect and take care of the environment 3) They can’t bring every rubbish onto our market we need to give chance to our local industry 4) They must build or rent proper busibess houses not make shit structures
Peter Daka,you say a local businessman signed $3billion biomass deal.To start with how much of that amount will come to Zambia.The chinese will make sure they supply all the equipment for the plant,bring in cheap chinese labour.Lets know to scrutinise these deals detail by detail not just getting confused and excited with that figure.Besides,over what period is that $3bn coz you can talk about that amount yet it gets spread say over twenty years.I for one is busy designing those same biomass plants.$3bn worth of investment in biomass to produce electricity should solve Zambia’s electricity problems,that amount can enable Zambia produce well over 400MW which is the country’s deficit.
Well, if you travel too much in the name “State Visits” and yet there is very little to show for it, YES!, people will mistake you for a tourist!!
How many of these so called State/Vital trips has RB undertaken within a year he has been President? Too many to remember! And apart from a huge bill every time he takes one of his “touristic” ventures, what has Zambia benefited from all his travels? The trip to China may be important, but it is the accumulative effect of his many trips that have rubbed Citizens a wrong way!!
This President seems more comfortable talking about Zambia’s problems to foreigners than his own people. If you are to ask a common folk in Zambia today, very few even know what RB’s economic strategy is! Yet the Chines know more about it than ourselves!!
#6 Senior Citizen- I hope you will not say something else when this man faces the New Task force on 24 Jan 2012. Remember FTJ? When Mwanawasa removed his(FTJs)immunity for plunder, the man said he accumulated the $s through foreign travel allowances- the rest is history so to say.
Senior Citizen of what country? If it is Zambia, what are you doing in America? You ought to be ashamed of yourself! You are probably one of those plunderers that have ran away with our money.
As for Shikapwasha. What about your own arrogance?
Ronnie, I know you are the government spokesperson, but do do you really need to talk about that arroagnt failure wynter?
As for Peter Daka, if someone can raise US$3billion, please invest it in proper pwoer stations. Bio gas electricity for that kind of money, are you crazy or are the figures wrong? Why haven’t you done Kafue, itezitezi, kabompo if that kind of money can be found that easily?
Mr. Capitalist, if you are Nevers Mumba, it won’t be long before we see you back in Zambia for spending so much of your time on the blogs.
Mr Wynter Kabimba does not think before or after he has opened his mouth that is why even people like Shikapwasha can see that the man is diplomatically challenged. Actually, he has many challenges. For those of you who have inept reasoning like Mr Kabimba’s you will do well to realize that though you claim the RB is always airborne, we have registered economic growth – in a depression. Those who have done a bit of management know about MBWA – it works!
Daka the co-operatives minister states that “…Zambia’s benefits from the China trip”. What Zambia’s benefits? Did you mean Banda’s benefits? Please stop insulting the intelligence of the Zambian people.
By the way how co-operatives do we have in Zambia? Less than 5?
I was dismayed by what I heard from the two sponsored MMD lackeys called Chimumbwa and Mumbi on the MMD ZNBC.
These two confused individuals want to portray the Catholic Church as an evil institution just to get favors from the MMD government. In the last week we have heard how the Indian owned KCM has stopped giving contracts to the Zambian Mine Suppliers members because they are perceived to be PF sympathizers. These people were actually identified by Chimumbwa who is a finished businessman. This chap when he was PF MP lost business with KCM so he switched to MMD and lost the seat to PF’s Simusa. At one time he tried to reconcile with Mr. Sata but it appears things didn’t work out.
I come to their smear campaign against the Catholic Church. All host people will recall that the…
Vis a vis the two gentlemen and the Catholic Church. Going by their first names Iam sure these TURN COATS are Catholic by faith. And as Catholics these two chaps that matters of faith are personal and confidential in the Catholic Church. They are very much aware of the Sacrament of Contrition and the respect the Catholics give to this sacrament- both the clergy and laity. But they defy these point to ask the Bishop why one Michael Sata is receiving Holy Communion insipite of their allegations,
If Mr. Sata is receiving Holy Communion without being absolved, it is not Bishop Mpundu who is committing an omission it is Mr. Sata himself. It is up to Mr. Sata to make sure that he is “CLEANSED” before he can partake in Church functions, What ever happens the Church will not go to the press…
The two Chaps have gone to confession in their miserable lives and therefore I would like them to tell the nation if they have ever made public of there discussions in the Confession Box,
One consolation for me though, I was drinking in the one of the Nchanga Mine Clubs when this news came on the MMDTV and all the forty plus people disagreed with this item coming first, All except two asked the Channel to be change.
My advice to MMD is that using fallen stars is an exercise in futility,