Acting Information and Broadcasting Services Fackson Shamenda has charged that Heritage Party leader Godfrey Miyanda’s “rantings” over the Patriotic Front (PF) Government’s one year in power is an indication that the former Republican Vice-President is still injured, bitter about and chocked by the victory.
Reacting to Brig Gen Miyanda’s assessment of the PF Government’s one year reign which he recently described as a joke, Mr Shamenda said it was clear from the Heritage Party leader’s statement that he had for a long time considered himself as a far much better leader than President Michael Sata.
“That is why President Sata’s ascendance to power a year ago definitely must have chocked General Miyanda whose political fortunes have seriously dwindled over the years.
“It is clear from his rantings that General Miyanda is still injured and bitter about the PF’s victory. His tone in the statement is that of bitterness and frustration. General Miyanda is failing to come to terms with the fact that Michael Chilufya Sata is now Head of State,” he said.
Mr Shamenda admitted that it might be true that the PF Government had not done everything to the expectations of the citizenry, but that describing its one year in power as a joke was malicious and out of order.
“In fact, it is General Miyanda’s statement which can rightly be said to be a joke, bad one for that matter as it cannot attract laughter from the readers because objective Zambians can attest to the fact that though the sailing of the PF boat has not been without challenges, a lot of good things have been achieved for the country,” Mr Shamenda said.
Mr Shamenda added that it was not shocking to see Gen Miyanda being bitter against “some objective leaders” like National Restoration Party (NAREP) leader Elias Chipimo and his Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) counterpart Edith Nawakwi.
He observed that Mr Chipimo and Ms Nawakwi were criticizing and praising Government when it was due, saying that was how it ought to be.
“To suggest that nothing has been achieved in the last one year by the PF Government is being economic with the truth.
“We are aware that General Miyanda’s rantings against the PF Government are because he is chocking with envy at the realization that Mr Michael Chilufya Sata is the President of the Republic of Zambia, but in all presidential races he (Gen Miyanda) has only managed to harvest devastating losses,” he said.
Mr Shamenda said the nation was aware that Gen Miyanda was synonymous with so many concepts, citing the Village Concept, in a bid to convince them he was the only man “capable of being their savior”, but that the citizenry had always viewed him merely as an “armchair”
critic.
“Perhaps General Miyanda is viewing the PF Government’s one year in power from his simplistic Village Concept which every right thinking Zambian has failed to appreciate.
“In his desperation to win votes, he has even tried to sell himself as a man of God, but that again did not earn him the necessary votes to see him into State House. Clearly, this is a General who has tried everything, but all what he has touched has failed,” he said.
Mr Shamenda wondered if the Heritage Party had followers or it was still in existence, adding that he was hopeful that Gen Miyanda would heed the warning from chief registrar of societies Clement Andeleki of de-registering non-performing political parties which only resurfaced during elections and go into “slumber” afterwards.
The Labour Minister further charged that it was a known fact that Gen Miyanda had allegedly been deserted by most of the members of his party thereby leaving him a “lonely man” in the Heritage Party.
“For a man of such credentials as General Miyanda, it will do him good to keep quiet and reflect on his own failures,” he said.
Gen Miyanda was recently said the one year PF rule was a joke besides welcoming Mwandi MMD Member of Parliament (MP) Michael Kaingu’s decision to tear President Sata’s opening speech to Parliament.
