The Patriotic Front(PF) Campaign manager for the Mufumbwe by-elections Jean Kapata has refuted all allegations leveled against the party by MMD.

Ms Kapata has told the media that MMD are merely scared by the clean and issue based campaign the PF is conducting in Mufumbwe. She also accused the MMD of having failed to develop Mufumbwe twenty years after it was declared a district.

MMD has accused the Patriotic Front (PF) of fueling violent activities in Mufumbwe prior to the by-election slated for November 8, 2012.

MMD Chairman for Local Government and Housing, Newton Samakayi said his party was aware of a scheme by the PF of importing about 250 youths from Lusaka to Mufumbwe to cause more confusion.

Mr Samakayi told journalists at a press briefing at the MMD secretariat in Lusaka yesterday that his party had information that the PF was printing MMD and United Party for National Development (UPND) campaign materials in Matero which it intended to use in its violent activities in Mufumbwe.

He said “PF intends to wear MMD and UPND chitenge materials and t-shirts so that they go in villages intimidating and beating people as they did in Livingstone and claim that it is the MMD.”

He said what the PF should know was that they would not have it easy because the people of Mufumbwe were aware of the primitive tactics of the PF.

He said his party’s campaign in the area had heightened as their campaigns were issue based with reference to a success history of sustainable development policies in all sectors of the economy during the MMD reign.

“He appealed to North Western police Commissioner Eugene Sibote to be proactive in dealing with the violence in Mufumbwe saying if he continued with the lukewarm approach the situation may get worse.

He said it was disheartening to hear Mr Sibote describing the campaigns so far as being peaceful when MMD vice President Michael Kaingu was attacked as well as a Mr Wisamba who was currently admitted to hospital.

He said if MMD and UPND had reacted to the provocation of the PF, Mufumbwe would have been on fire by now.

But PF campaign manager in the area Jean Kapata rubbished the accusations and allegations from the MMD saying the former ruling party was just scared of losing the polls.

She said the PF was engaged in issued based campaigns because it was a serious party which had no time for such talk from the MMD.

By Rev Kapya Kaoma

On Tuesday, August 28, Archbishop Desmond Tutu declined an invitation to share the same platform with former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair at the “Discovery Invest Leadership Summit” in Johannesburg, South Africa. Tutu objected that Blair’s “morally indefensible” decision to attack Iraq made it awkward for him to share the same platform with him. At first, I found such a response very far-reaching. Afterwards, I realized that Tutu’s position is an invitation to hold politicians accountable for their immoral actions and decisions while in office.

But Tutu’s statement also left me wondering about the relationship between the Church and politics in Zambia. Most Christians are apt to argue that the Church should be apolitical. Religious leaders, they insist, should be concerned with sending people to heaven; it is politicians who must worry about what people eat on earth. After all, politics is a dirty game, which religious ministers should avoid at all costs. But as the Iraq war has shown, political actions have severe consequences: they can build or destroy the nation.

Nobody doubts the dirtiness of politics especially when left unchecked. Yet, it is this filthy game that determines who eats, goes to school and even get medical attention. Equally important is the fact that politics is the key that separates economic prosperity from perpetual poverty, and justice from injustice. Love it or not, politics affects people’s lives. To allow politicians to operate without any checks and balances is like asking starved lions to guard the innocent lambs.

Knowingly or unwittingly, the Church has been instrumental in changing governments in Zambia. UNIP, MMD and now PF worked closely with the Church to get to power. Sadly, the moment these parties got power, they either worked to bribe the Church into ultimate silence or side-lined those religious leaders who refused to be bought. President Chiluba’s relationship with Fr. Umberto, the famous former editor of the Catholic Magazine Icengelo is a good example. At the time when everyone was afraid of Kaunda’s UNIP regime and the print media was highly controlled, Umberto managed to publish articles that presented Chiluba as the “man” strong enough to oppose super Ken. No sooner did Chiluba get to State house than he dismissed Umberto’s voice. Chiluba surrounded himself with pastors who saw him as a “Man of God” sent to liberate Zambia from the demons of UNIP; thus infallible in all his decisions and policies. The Roman Catholic Church and Fr. Frank Bwalya’s relationship with the PF government seem to follow this pattern as well.
[pullquote]Injustice is like a tree; it grows with time. We watch it grow and only want to cut when it has matured.Church leaders should not pretend to be non-partisan when it comes to poverty and injustice in the nation.[/pullquote]

In Zambia, it pays to support the ruling party; after all, the president is the bank of endless cash. Usually, brown envelopes accompany presidential or political officials’ visits to local Churches, making such visits income generating ventures. No wonder, we, the religious leaders are the last ones to stand up against bad governance by government officials. Yet we should remember that injustice is like a tree; it grows with time. We watch it grow and only want to cut when it has matured. Imagine the resources and the lives we would have saved if we cut it when it was still small. Do we really need another 4 more years to see that the PF government has departed from its democratic obligations and promises it made in 2011? Is the continuous harassment of Hakainde Hichilema’s UPND party really justified? Why is the Church so silent on these issues?

It is God’s people who voted PF in power and their voices should be heard in all matters of governance. For politician to ignore the plight of the masses while giving themselves billions of Kwachas is absurd. The PF government knows the root causes of Zambia’s social and economic dire straits. When he was in opposition, President Sata repeatedly cited political greed and corruption as behind Zambia’s growing poverty. Despondently, this political gluttonous situation is increasing under the PF government and the Church is busy watching!

Let me put it this way: Church leaders should not pretend to be non-partisan when it comes to poverty and injustice in the nation. Politicians are stealing from God’s people; the cries and tears of the poor are visible to those who have eyes to see. That child going to bed without food, dying because the hospital has no drugs, denied a place to join the army because s/he has no money to bribe the officers and even arrested for supporting the opposition party is a lovely child of God. Demanding the rights of such a person is within the framework of the ministry of the Church.

I fully understand that the bible calls us to pray for those in authority. However, I wonder how many Christians will close their eyes and pray when a criminal is breaking into their brother’s house. I guess the first reaction is to fight the “thief” before thanking God for defending our brother/sister’s property. As sister’s and brother’s keepers, the Church has a spiritual mandate to defend the least of Jesus’ brothers and sisters – the poor and the oppressed. Sadly in Africa, the prophetic voice of Nigerian legendary musician Fela Kuti in “Coffin for Head of State” still echoes true; behind that corrupt African dictator, politician or business executive, there is a respectable Christian bishop or Muslim Imam. How I wish our bishops can emulate Desmond Tutu for once!

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”
(Mark 2:22, NKJV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Are you ready for increase? Are you ready to go to the next level, spiritually, physically and emotionally? Many times, people hear the truth that God has more in store, and something resonates on the inside. Their spirit comes into agreement with God; but often times, their natural mind will try to talk them out it. Thoughts will come like, “It’s not going to happen for you. You’re not going to have a great year. You know what the economy is like.” Or, “You’re never going to get well. You saw what the medical report said.” “You’re never going to get married. You’ve been single so long.”

Friend, those are the old wineskins or the old way of thinking that you have to get rid of. This is a new season. What’s happened in the past is over and done. You may have been through some disappointments, you may have tried and failed, or things didn’t work out. That’s okay. God is still in control. It’s time to get a new vision for your life. It’s time to open yourself to a new way of thinking so that you can receive all the blessings God has in store for you!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father in heaven, today I choose to get rid of old wineskins. I choose to release old thinking, old habits, and anything that would keep me from Your best. Strengthen me by Your Spirit so that I can live my life in a way that pleases You in Jesus’ name. Amen.
— Joel & Victoria Ostee

Western Province minister Obvious Mwaliteta has accused opposition UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema and his MMD counterpart Nevers Mumba of giving wrong advice to the opposition parliamentarians.

Mr. Mwaliteta said that there is no rationale in the decision by the MPs to walk out of parliament adding that opposition legislators need to be reminded that they have a duty to represent their electorates in a more responsible manner.

He added that one thing that the opposition needs to understand is that government is not run by individuals but that all the ministries had an input in the formation of the 2013 budget.

Mr. Mwaliteta added that the opposition is trying to be copy cats of the PF in opposition but that they lack issues unlike the PF that brought out issued based criticism while in opposition.

Mr. Mwaliteta was speaking to QFM news in an interview.

Yesterday, Mr Hichilema charged that the 2013 national budget will not respond to the needs of Zambians. Mr. Hichilema cited the allocation of K 1.8 trillion to the agriculture sector as minimal. He also described as a joke allocation of K300 billion kwacha to the Food Reserve Agency.

And on tourism Mr. Hichilema said that though government considered the sector to be a pillar of economic growth only K63.8 billion had been allocated to the sector which he describes as a drop in the ocean.

Mr. Hichilema also raised concern on the increased borrowing as opposed to increased revenue collection.

On the political scene, Mr. Hichilema expressed confidence that the opposition will win the Mufumbwe parliamentary seat. The UPND leader said that he would personally go to Mufumbwe and campaign for MMD’s Stanford Mulusa.

He said his party did not want to field a candidate but opted to support MMD in the spirit of strengthening the opposition in parliament.

Mr. Hichilema added that his party members have been advised to rally behind Mulusa’s candidature.