SOME clergymen have described as an act of desperation by the Patriotic Front (PF) to claim that it will uphold the Christian nation clause in the Zambian Constitution if voted into power.

The church leaders said it was surprising that the opposition party could make such a statement a few days before the general elections, when they were widely known to favour a secular State that tolerated gay rights.

Life Gospel Church Fellow Ministries International overseer, Joseph Kazhila said it was suspicious that the PF had left it so late to make a stand on the Christian nation matter and subsequently attempting to shed off its soft spot for secularism.

Bishop Kazhila said the PF had not been straightforward on the matter so a long time and that the u-turn did not help their cause much because the public could not be easily convinced. “It’s quite suspicious because it maybe part of their ‘don’t kubeba’ strategy of not telling us what they really stand for,” Bishop said.

He said it was even more worrying that the statement came from the party’s secretary general Wynter Kabimba, and not its leader Michael Sata. Bishop Kazhila said it was difficult for citizens to accept the position because Mr Kabimba could have been making his personal view known on the Christian nation issue.

“This party should have made their position known when reports came out over its support for homosexual rights and not to wait till now,” he said. He said the party would have to do more to convince the electorate on their position and that it would not be through a mere statement.

Bishop Kazhila said however that it would be encouraging if the party was being sincere and that it would be a starting point for them to restore some credence. He the PF needed to exhibit Christian values such as the rejection political violence so that it reflected their acceptance of the Christian nation clause.

The bishop said there was a lot of apprehension that the PF would only accept the September 20 elections results if they were declared in their favour but that all political players should accept the outcome whether they won or not.

And Global Training Network (GTN) Central and Southern African coordinator Barney Mulenga said the PF was desperate because they had no campaign issues to address and were now hoping to repair their image.

Apostle Mulenga said the PF was trying to win the support of Christians, who were the majority of voters in Zambia, by promising something that they could not guarantee to protect if they won the elections. He said the opposition party had realized that the MMD government had done well in its governance of the country and was implementing most of the activities contained in both the MMD and PF manifestos.

Apostle Mulenga said having failed to discredit the electoral process through various accusations on the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and the MMD, the PF had realized that it had run out of time and was now making promises that it was sure would attract Christians. “The current republican president has delivered beyond expectation and a lot of people are happy that he was able to do it in such a short time,” he said.

And Bishop Kazhila urged political parties continue denouncing violence in the run up to the elections and beyond. He appealed to both the ruling and opposition parties to deal with any of their members who went against this ideal.

[times of Zambia]

NATIONAL Movement for Progress (NMP) president Ng’andu Magande has pledged to reverse the exchange rate from the current K5, 000 to a United States dollar below K3, 000 if the people of Zambia gave him chance to lead Zambia after the 2011 presidential elections.

Mr Magande also said he would not address public rallies in the townships to avoid causing accidents when ferrying people to the rallies but would use radio stations to popularise his policies and convince the people that he was the right candidate to rule Zambia.

In an interview in Lusaka on Monday, Mr Magande, who is a former minister of Finance and National Planning, said time had come for the people of Zambia to vote a leader who had experience in the management of economic affairs. He said he would also use his skills as former secretary general of the African Carribean and Pacific Group of States to influence development.

Mr Magande said around 2005, the exchange rate was at K5, 000 to a US dollar but he ensured that it dropped to below K3, 000 in 2007 because of the policies he introduced as minister of Finance. He said he was not saying that as a way comparing his abilities with other leaders because such an approach was wrong since leaders had difference types of experience in governance.

Mr Magande said in planning for economic development of the country, he would involve ordinary citizens to achieve maximum results. He said he would go to townships to address small groups of people and raise issues that affect them.

He cited Kuku Township in Lusaka which was prone to flooding while Chelstone needed roads and Kanyama required an improved drainage system. Mr Magande said he was confident that NMP parliamentary candidates would campaign for him to secure victory and as such, there was no need of organising people for big rallies.

He said the party had only managed to field 20 candidates in all the provinces except Northern and Western provinces where it would use the provincial committees to win popularity. Mr Magande said the NMP constitution had a chapter that dealt with promoting national unity and identity where all citizens would be involved in managing the affairs of the nation.

[Times of Zambia]

By A Zyambo:-

Dont kubeba,popularly said as donchi kubeba is a slogan the PF have come to embrace originally embraced by the PF leaders Michael chilufya
Sata,a mixture of a bemba and English word to mean DON’T TELL or DON’T SAY A WORD, the meaning behind this term is that PF party members can go and collect campaign materials intended for other political party members such as UPND,MMD,FDD,etc when ever these particular party members are at a rally.PF members are encouraged to collect these materials and keep their hearts the term “donchi kubeba” a principle that is highly applied when an evil deed is
being carried out by either a person or group of persons.

It is a term that as we have seen in many court cases, child defilers say to the victimized children when they defile them, it is a term that money launderers use when they are committing their crime, it is a term that drug traffickers use when carrying out their deeds, indeed it is also a term that adulterers use when they cheat on their husbands or wives. I can go on, the list is endless every wrong doer embraces the “don’t say a word” term.

What scares me about this donchi kubeba theory is not that PF sympathizers embrace it, what scares the hell out of me is that an entire party president such as Mr. Sata can embrace such an evil slogan and encourage his members to practice it.[pullquote]Have you ever wondered how it will be when it comes to that time of the year when they have to reveal the Nation’s Revenue, have you ever thought that the donchi kubeba theory will apply there, when it comes to PF ministers over seeing projects in their various ministries, have you ever thought that they will donchi kubeba you on government resources[/pullquote].

It reminds me of a term OMERTA embraced the Mafia by the Italian (and still do), mostly in Sicily Omertà implies “the categorical prohibition of cooperation with state authorities or reliance on its services, even when one has been victim of a crime.” Even if somebody is convicted of a crime he has not committed, he is supposed to serve the sentence without giving the police any information about the real criminal, even if that criminal
has nothing to do with the Mafia himself.

Within Mafia culture,breaking omertà is punishable by death (Wikipedia).It became so strong that crimes such as murder as murder remained unreported. Let me not bore you with this “omerta code” issue, but my point being this donchi kubeba theory may appear to be a joke for now and many may take it so lightly yet it has a very negative effect on the moral standing of an organization, school, and nation at large,even homes have been torn apart due to such terms as donchi kubeba (she don’t have to know kind of attitude).

It is sad that it is officially advertised now and as the old saying goes “charity begins at home”, seeing a political party embrace such slogans at party level simply implies that even at national level they will have no difficult in doing likewise.

Have you ever wondered how it will be when it comes to that time of the year when they have to reveal the Nation’s Revenue, have you ever thought that the donchi kubeba theory will apply there, when it comes to PF ministers over seeing projects in their various ministries, have you ever thought that they will donchi kubeba you on government resources.

And now mr.Sata who is such qualified a politician stands up and proudly says donchi kubeba,he stands up and proudly places a huge advert of himself in the Post(“PFOST” as it has come to be known in the cyber word) saying donchi kubeba.

Sadly for the PF, this donchi kubeba slogan will cost them much of the student vote and the so called intellectual vote mainly comprised of people who analyze and look through issues critically.

Now before you vote, before you cast that precious vote of yours ask yourself how many things you don’t know, how many things the PF government will come and implement that they have “DONCHI KUBEBAd” you.

Be wise and think before you cast your vote

The opposition Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) has called for reconciliation between Republican President Rupiah Banda and Chieftainess Nkomeshya Mukamabo the second of the Soli people of Chongwe District.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Qfm in Lusaka, FDD deputy national secretary Bishop Anzanga Mbewe has described as unfortunate the ongoing differences between the two leaders.

Bishop Mbewe says the two leaders must lead by example in promoting peace and reconciliation in the country especially as people go to the polls on September 20th.

He says political and traditional leaders play a very important role in fostering peace and unity in the country adding failure by the two leaders to reconcile will have a negative impact on the people they serve.

Bishop Mbewe has also condemned the violence that ensued between suspected MMD cadres and Chongwe residents and further calls on the Zambia Police command to ensure that perpetrators are brought to book.

During a public rally in Chongwe on Saturday, President Banda openly denounced Chieftainess Nkomeshya and further warned her to stop intimidating her subjects for supporting their preferred candidates.

Chieftainess Nkomeshya is reported to have refused to meet President Banda on Saturday before he addressed a public rally in her chiefdom.

QFM

LUSAKA MMD information and publicity secretary Greenock Lupambo has refuted reports in the media that provincial chairperson William Banda incited violence at the party’s rally held in Chongwe last weekend.

Mr Lupambo said it was not true that Mr Banda physically attacked villagers in Chongwe Waterfalls area on Saturday in full view of more than 40 police officers because he was not at the scene where the alleged harassment of the villagers took place.

He also said it was not true that President Banda threatened to dethrone Chieftainess Nkomeshya Mukamambo II if MMD won the September 20 elections and that he had accused her of intimidating sub-chiefs and village headmen over their political stance.

Mr Lupambo said President Banda in his speech called on the chieftainess to embrace all her subjects despite their different political affiliations because they were her children.

“It is not true that President Banda is going to take away the chieftainship from Mukamambo II if he wins the elections. The media should avoid blowing issues out of proportion,” he said.

Mr Lupambo said it was not true that the police tolerated the harassment of Chongwe people by MMD cadres because they were a formidable side which could not be overpowered by any group of cadres.

He said having been among the organisers and supervisors of the rally, he was not aware about any violence perpetrated by MMD cadres. He said Mr Banda was not at the scene because he was in the presidential entourage.

Meanwhile, more than 300 Patriotic Front (PF) and United Party for National Development (UPND) members in Lusaka Province yesterday defected to the MMD, citing better service delivery in the ruling party.

[Times of Zambia]

THE Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) has accused the Patriotic Front (PF) of inciting violence by blocking election materials and making unfounded allegations that there are pre-marked ballot papers in the country.

FODEP executive director Macdonald Chipenzi said it was unfair to block officials on duty in Nakonde and wondered why there had been no apology after the truck was inspected and discovered that it was ferrying tapes for boundaries.

Mr Chipenzi urged the Zambia Police Service to curb lawlessness as a way of stopping further violence because such misconduct could attract angry reactions and lead to chaos. He said the conduct by the PF cadres gave an impression that every Zambian now needed more security than before and yet Zambia was a democracy where the rule of law should remain above board.

Mr Chipenzi was commenting on an incident on Saturday when PF cadres blocked trucks that were ferrying election materials in Nakonde and accused the officials of having carried pre-marked ballot papers as a way of rigging. Police service spokesperson Ndandula Siamana on Sunday disclosed that the trucks were opened and that no single ballot was found.

Mr Chipenzi said PF cadres were over-suspicious but that his main source of worry was that they were taking the law into their own hands and hoped the police could bring such behaviour to an end. He said the PF leaders should encourage their cadres to report such incidents to the police, ECZ and civil society organisations so that appropriate steps could be taken for the sake of order in the country.

“You cannot have a situation where people are taking the law into their own hands. The police must deal firmly with such behaviour. “One gets an impression that Zambians are no longer safe because of the cadres who want to take the law into their own hands,” Mr Chipenzi said.

He said the PF leaders were aware and directly involved in monitoring the printing of ballot papers in South Africa and wondered how the same party could start running allegations that ballot papers had already been printed.

Mr Chipenzi said the unfounded allegations against the ECZ and the general management of the elections would erode confidence in the voters and such could be a source of violence against innocent people.

The 16.5 million ballot papers are expected to be flown into the country on Tuesday next week in time for the presidential and general elections that take place on Tuesday, September 20, 2011.

[Times of Zambia]

United Party for National Development UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma has doubted the fairness of the forthcoming tripartite elections.

Mr. Kakoma says the allegations of corruption surrounding the preparations of the elections raise doubts of a free and fair election.

He says the entire electoral process smells of corruption because of the MMD’s alleged involvement in corrupt activities during campaigns.

Mr. Kakoma adds that reports of vote buying and violence erode public confidence in the electoral process.

He says the MMD being the ruling party should be in the forefront denouncing acts with the potential of destabilizing the country’s electoral process.

Mr. Kakoma has further called on the Movement for Multiparty Democracy to realize that Zambia does not belong to its members alone but to all Zambians.

And Kabwata Patriotic Front parliamentary aspirant Given Lubinda has vowed not give the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) any information concerning the corruption allegations against Universal Print Group.

Mr. Lubinda says he still does not see it fit to avail evidence to the ACC when it is not willing to use the evidence in national interest.

In an interview with QFM, Mr. Lubinda says as long as he is not convinced that the commission is willing to act on the matter, he will hold on to the evidence he has.

Mr. Lubinda says it would be useless for him to give the ACC more information when it is covering up the print company by not clearly stating what it knows.

Recently, the Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Dispute (SACCORD) urged the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to convene a meeting which would be a platform for individuals claiming to have evidence of the corruption of UPG to bring it out.

Mr. Lubinda says even if the ECZ was to convene a meeting, he would not give out any information concerning UPG because the ACC is pretending to be blank on the matter when in fact not.

QFM