PARLIMENTARY Chief Whip Vernon Mwaanga has said former MMD chairman for elections Mike Mulongoti should be the last person to talk about morality.

And MMD national chairman Michael Mabenga has threatened to sue Mr Mulongoti for defamation of character.

Mr Mwaanga said his comment on Mr Mulongoti’s suspension had nothing to do with morality but a political decision taken by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).

Mr Mwaanga was reacting to Mr Mulongoti’s statement that he is always associated with illegality.

“I was not even there when the decision to fire Mr Mulongoti was made. I was in Uganda monitoring elections. I played no role in firing him but I supported this decision then as I do now,” he said.

Mr Mwaanga said Mr Mulongoti should stick to the debate on this issue and be civilised instead of hiding in the issue of morality.

“I am disappointed that Mr Mulongoti made it sound like I have something personal against him. If I want to be personal, I would have a lot more to say about the ministries where both he and I have worked,” he said.

And Mr Mabenga said he would not take the allegations levelled against him by Mr Mulongoti lightly.

“Mulongoti is living in a glass house and, therefore, he must not throw stones because a lot of wind will go into his house,” he said.

“I want him to tell the court what he knows about what he is saying. For his own information, a lot of people have paid me for talking about things they do not understand.

“He is destroying my name. He should ask Transparency International Zambia and the National Mirror who ended up paying me a lot of money for defaming me”.

“Maybe he (Mr Mulongoti) has amassed a lot of wealth and he wants to share it with me. He is welcome to join the queue,” he said.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

Former Finance and National Planning Minister, N’gandu Magande has been appointed as Interim President of the newly launched National Movement for Progress Party (NMPP).

Mr Magande, who is also former Chilanga member of Parliament, was MMD National Executive Committee (NEC) Chairman for Finance, up until his expulsion from the from the ruling party.

The NMPP’s new Secretary General, Logan Shemena, has since announced the official launch of the party adding that it was registered on 2nd March 2011.

The NMPP is the latest of the newly formed parties, among them the national restoration Party (NAREP), ahead of this year’s general elections

Meanwhile, Political Parties in Zambia have been urged to be seriously pro-active in the anti-corruption crusade.

Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Board Chairperson, Andrew Ntewewe says the country needs selfless political leadership in fighting corruption.

Mr. Ntewewe further says the youth movement will not sit idle on such matters because doing so will plunge the nation further into socio-economic instability.

MUVITV

Chief government spokesperson Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha says government will direct the ministry of local government and housing to investigate and arrest individuals behind the installation of bill boards in Lusaka alerting the public that the world is coming to an end on 21st May, 2011.

General Shikapwasha says government will not condone people who want to cause chaos in the country.

He wonders how the bill boards were put up when they were not authorized by the local council.

And General Shikapwasha has appealed to the general public not to be bothered by the bill boards by Family Radio with a message reading in part, “we are almost there”.

Bill boards have been placed at Manda Hill and along Makishi road, warning the public that the world is coming to an end on 21st May, 2011.

And Former Roman Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo has cautioned citizens to be wary of false prophets as prophesied in the Bible.

Archbishop Milingo has urged the public to remain faithful and stay cautious of many more false prophesies to come.

[QFM]

The United Liberal Party (ULP) has said there is nothing wrong with election monitors conducting the Parallel Voter Tabulation (PVT) in this year’s elections.

ULP president Sakwiba Sikota said the PVT system will ensure transparency in the electoral system as all stakeholders will have an opportunity to tally and compare provisional results with those of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).

Mr. Sikota said results made available through PVT are unofficial as the ECZ is the only body mandated to announce official results.

He said  all that is needed is to ensure that organizations involved in handling the PVT are accurate enough so as not to create panic in the country.

And Kabwata Constituency Member of Parliament Given Lubinda has vowed to continue advocating for Parallel Voter Tabulation adding that the exercise has always been conducted during elections.

Mr. Lubinda wonders why the PVT has become an issue now and when the ruling MMD have been relying on the same exercise to announce their victory in the previous elections even before the ECZ declared final results.

The Parliamentarian has also charged that it is highly irresponsible for Chief Government Spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha to threaten Zambians with arrests over a good cause.

He has since dared Lieutenant General Shikapwasha to order for his arrest adding that he will not relent in supporting the Civil Society Organizations that advocate for the PVT.

Meanwhile, the Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) Executive Director McDonald Chipenzi has called on people issuing negative comments about the PVT to seek clarification from the organization than make uninformed comments.

[ QFM ]