PATRIOTIC Front (PF) Secretary General Wynter Kabimba has said actual construction of the house for President Michael Sata has not started.
Mr Kabimba who is also Justice Minister said Government had only provided funding for rehearsal drawings and preparatory state for the house contrary to beliefs by some section of society that money for construction of the house had been budgeted in the 2013 national budget.
He was reacting to a Belgium-based Zambian caller BoydMwangela who wanted to know whether Government had started building the house for President Sata and whether the same was the case with the three former heads of state, Fredrick Chiluba, Levy Mwanawasa and Rupiah Banda.
This was when he featured on an on-line radio interview called cross fire monitored in Kitwe by Flava FM.
He said serve for preparatory works which were budgeted for in the budget, no physical construction works had started.
“Let me put things correct, we have not started building the house for the current president because the provision that is in of the budget was actually to start rehearsing for the drawing of the house and preparations works,” Mr Kabimba said.
He however assured that houses for all the former republican presidents would be constructed as provided for in the constitution.
Mr Kabimba said Government would go ahead to construct houses for all former heads of state regardless of court cases some of them could be facing.
Meanwhile, Mr Kabimba said he was not ready to resign in view of calls by Heritage Party leader Gidfrey Miyanda for him to step aside
You are not ready to resign but will be fired, you chancer. What is a Justice Minister always doing on radio, is that part of your Job description.
Sata should in 2016 prepare to go back to his house in Rhodespark. We got other areas in dire need of funds than building a house for Sata who himself has more than 20 houses dotted around Lusaka.
This mega flaw in the constitution must be removed immediately. Its a huge and very unnecessary cost to tax payers.
Why are we quick to spend money on such rubbish when we are told there is no money when it comes to much more pressing national matters?
The same goes with presidential retirement benefits. A president will ONLY be considered as having retired if he completes two five year terms, does not re-contest elections at end of first term or dies in office.
Defeat at elections while re-contesting does not constitute retirement and cannot entitle such former president to full “retirement” benefits.
Why should we reward an employee after being fired?
Its time we as Zambians stood up and stopped all these unnecessary waste of our meager resources.
Hmmm people,lets not be cheated. for starters the government has architects and civil engineering professionals at the ministry of works and supply. they also have architects at the civic centre lusaka with the training to do such jobs. so why cant the superiors assign four or more architects to design this house? they don’t even need to pay them since they are already employed by govt and local govt(civic center LCC). So you telling me,to buy the land,put up drawings and clearing the area is what will cost us 1.4 billion kwacha (KR 1.4 million) as budgeted for? Ninshi who has won the bid for the drawings since its apparent that they used an external company to do the drawings and thats where the 1.4 billion has gone to?
the cost of building pa zambia yadula. mwati ise tizakamangako? 1.4 billion kwacha just for buying land,ukuseba ulubansa and some “rehearsal drawings” . what more manje when i want real drawings not ma rehearsal ones. mamama,there is no hope for us the ordinary citizens.
PF is now feeling the heat for their arbitrary decisions. The man wont even live to see the house
Ya things are getting apart ba pf 2016 is knocking in the corner.
A plan. and how did it costs? is there any house plans for FTJ, Levy and RB. If not why in a hurry to have a house plan for the current President who has served only for two years.
STUPID KAWIMBA, DO 1ST COME 1ST SAVE.WHY DOING IT OPPOSITE?.IS THAT NOT CORRUPTION?.SELFISH HYENAS IN A HONEY MOON.
What is drawing rehearsing that it should cost as much as the millions reportedly set aside – is it playing to draw, preparing to draw, or what? Secondly, we need to review the provision for building such houses in the future, e.g. why build them houses that now look like personal houses, to take even to the grave? If that wasn’t the case, why talk of FTJ’s house when he was already built a permanent home at Embassy Park, who is going to live in the house since all the children are grown, and under what condition would it ever pass back to the govt? Besides, even those who are living have ouses dotten around town; and if anything, we should have been encouraging former leaders to be going back to the land, to encourage development in those other areas – not the way Chinsali, etc are now!
Thank you KBM 4 seeing this. I had opposed this thing from the start, but who am I? Frankly I have never 4given the MMD 4 making this very very selfish decisions. It is ridiculous how GRZ rushes using the back door 2 come up with bad policies. Assshaaa mina batu.
Rehearsal drawings? So the drawings they are spending our money on aren’t even for real…… just practice ones like a five year old with crayons?
Sounds more like PF is “rehearsing” to govern…. or should have done years ago!!!
Building mansions 4 4mer Presidents who have more property. Why, when they continue to get paid 80% of the incumbent’s salary, an office and staff. This law must be scrapped. Let it end with KK. Conditions of service do change please. They are not God these people. They are supposed 2 b servantd,
CNP finally has made available funds for planning….kekekekekeke this is the only time i hear the word planning in CNP way of doing things.
We always tell u that kabimba is very dull just look at the way he answers questions .it clearly shows that this govt lacks good governance.honestly how much money do you need for planning and whose money are they using?taxpayers money our money.why cant they build houses for the former head of states but why rush to build a house for sata?its clear things are not ok at plot one and i mean state house is in trouble too many strange things happening.
Why do they need to “provide funds” for rehearsal planing (whatever that is) when GRZ has a whole ministry devoted to works and supply that includes a department full of architects? Surely “practice plans” for a GRZ project are something these guys should fit into their work program without spending additional resources. Is the house so special, or the plans so advanced, that it requires additional funds for a private architect?
Sounds more like a kick back! I wonder what party member, cadre, PF financial backer got the contract. Please, next time Kabimba is on the radio someone ask him how the tendering was done!
imagine and from the yellow pages,it read that they were spending 1.4 billion kwacha unrebased on the construction of presidos house. so all this money spent on drawings and ukuseba ulubansa where the mansion is to be built.
“He however assured that houses for all the former republican presidents would be constructed as provided for in the constitution.”
He needed to include the word “First” after the word “Constructed”.
“Rehearsing for the drawing of the house” my foot. What a foolish explanation. How can funding for something due 3 or 8 years from now (unless the worst happens) be provided in a 2013 budget. Are they saying they do not expect their leader to last that long? Just another bunch of liars and criminals regrouped into a political party and milking people of their little resources.
Could this then be a sign that he might retire before 2016 or immediately after incase they champion the elections? This also tells me that there is no indication of him kicking the bucket soon for why would they go on building him a huis if he wont set foot on it? This got me thinking.
Does such a “rehearsal” require money in millions of Kwacha? There are Government architects, who can be used free of cost for any drafts if that was the intention. They are failing to justify the issue because it is wrong.