Vice president George Kunda yesterday said the United Party for National Development (UPND) is disintegrating and the MMD will continue hammering on the weakened structures of the opposition party to gain more members.

And former Patriotic Front (PF) Southern Province co-cordinator Opper Hamiyanze has said UPND president Hakainde Hichilema’s desperation for power has killed his party.

Mr Kunda said the UPND had started losing grip of its structures in Southern Province.

Mr Kunda, who was speaking on arrival at Livingstone International Airport said the UPND was rapidly losing its members to the Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD), which was recently formed by former Luena Member of Parliament Charles Milupi.

“The UPND is losing grip in Southern Province. We shall continue pounding on the structures of the UPND in the province. They are now losing their members to the new political party for Mr Charles Milupi.

“But the MMD is growing even stronger and are gaining more members on the Copperbelt going by the recent resignation of senior members of the Patriotic Front,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Kunda has said the Government will not lift the suspension slapped on Livingstone City Council (LCC) until all matters that led to the suspension are resolved.

Mr Kunda said the city of Livingstone was cherished by the MMD Government and it would ensure the local authority in the tourist capital was well run.
[pullquote]“The UPND is losing grip in Southern Province. We shall continue pounding on the structures of the UPND in the province. They are now losing their members to the new political party for Mr Charles Milupi.

“But the MMD is growing even stronger and are gaining more members on the Copperbelt going by the recent resignation of senior members of the Patriotic Front,” he said.[/pullquote]
“In this vein the Livingstone City Council, which was suspended a few months ago will remain suspended until further notice,” he said.

The Government suspended LCC because of its alleged involvement in acts of indiscipline, which had put the Ministry of Local Government and Housing into disrepute.

Mr Kunda said the administrator who had been appointed to run the affairs of the council was doing a good job.

“We need Livingstone council to be a role model because of its tourism potential,” he said.

Mr Kunda was in Livingstone to grace the 27th plenary assembly of the SADC Parliamentary Forum.

Southern Province MMD provincial secretary Emmanuel Siamweela commended Government’s policies aimed at improving agriculture in Zambia.

“The fertiliser support programme has yielded a lot of results and even members in MMD are increasing. We have since set goals and formed clubs to also access these inputs,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Patriotic Front (PF) Southern province co-coordinator Opper Hamiyanze has said UPND president Hakainde Hichilema’s desperation for power has killed his party.

Reacting to President Banda’s revelation that he had information that Mr Hichilema had accepted to be vice-president under the UPND-PF Pact, Mr Hamiyanze said the entire UPND was disappointed with him.

[ Times of Zambia ]

And Dr Chiluba has questioned why former Ministry of Health permanent secretary Simon Miti chartered a faulty plane when he (Dr Chiluba) was evacuated to South Africa for treatment.

Dr Chiluba said he is saddened about the conviction of Dr Kalumba and others because they were his right-hand officials during his tenure of office.

He said it is immoral for some people, who include Kafulafuta member of Parliament George Mpombo and Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata, to mock him over the matter by asking him to celebrate the conviction of Dr Kalumba.

Dr Chiluba said this in an interview with journalists after attending a church service at the Bible Gospel Church in Africa (BIGOCA) in Matero yesterday.

He said contrary to the insinuations, he is not happy or celebrating over the conviction of Dr Kalumba and others because they are his comrades.

“Whether Mr Mpombo or other people commented or not over this matter, I cannot be happy, neither can I smile or dance over the conviction because those were my friends.

“They were not my key advisors but were my comrades and right-hand men and we worked together,” he said.
Dr Chiluba, however, said as a democrat, he is not in the habit of interfering with the work of the courts of law.

He said he cannot argue the case because of security reasons.

“Dr Kalumba and others are my friends and we worked together but now that they have been found in this situation, I do not want to argue the case for security reasons,” he said.

Last week, Mr Sata challenged Dr Chiluba to celebrate the conviction of Dr Kalumba just as he celebrated his acquittal.

Dr Kalumba, who is former Minister of Finance, and three others were last week jailed five years with hard labour for corrupt practices.

Those jailed are former Ministry of Finance permanent secretary Stella Chibanda and former defunct Access Financial Services Limited directors Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu.

Dr Kalumba and the three others have, however, been released from prison after the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court granted them K500 million bail each in their own recognisance.

Meanwhile, Dr Chiluba has questioned why Dr Miti chartered a faulty plane when he was evacuated to South Africa for treatment.

Dr Chiluba asked the question during a church service when he gave a testimony of his life and heart problem.

He said the plane, which Dr Miti claimed was a medical airbus, had no toilet or bed.

Dr Chiluba said he does not understand the logic by Dr Miti to have hired an old plane for an emergency, adding that the flight took four hours as opposed to the usual two hours from Lusaka to South Africa.

“Thank God that my wife and I are still alive…it does not make sense to hire an old plane for a person whose heart is running at 12 percent instead of the normal 70-100 percent.

“The little old plane hired by Dr Miti was faulty because barely 30 minutes after departure, one engine blew off and everyone on the plane, including the pilots, started panicking but I was calm because I prayed to God,” Dr Chiluba said.

He said after the plane developed a fault, the nurse on board panicked and confessed that the plane was not a medical airbus.

“I wondered why the plane, which looked like a wheelbarrow was chartered for me but I think this was another attempt by the devil to weaken me. I thank God we arrived safely,” he said.

Dr Chiluba said he is not accusing anyone of attempting to take his life but was questioning the logic of hiring a ‘finished plane’ to evacuate him to South Africa.

He said he has experienced God’s love and goodness as He has seen him through his heart problem.

“It is now five years when the doctors told me I had a heart problem which is incurable and that I was going to die.

“My heart condition was deteriorating everyday and I spent sleepless nights because I had to be in a sitting position because if I had to sleep on the bed, I would have died. But my wife and I prayed even without faith sometimes because we wanted God to hear and he did. That’s why I am still alive,” he said.
Dr Chiluba thanked the church and other members of the public who prayed for his healing.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

Movement for Multi-Party Democracy ,MMD, National Chairman Michael Mabenga has said that the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, will follow the party constitution to decide Dr. Kalumba’s fate in the party this week.

Mr Mabenga told QFM in a telephone interview that the party constitution is clear on the matter and that the decision of the party will be based on the constitution.

Mr Mabenga disclosed that the National Executive Committee will this week meet to discuss the way forward following Dr. Kalumba’s conviction.

Dr Kalumba together with six his co-accused were convicted by a Lusaka Magistrate court last week in a long running corruption trial.

Meanwhile, convicted MMD National Secretary Katele Kalumba has declined to state whether or not he will step-down as the ruling party’s chief executive officer. Asked in an interview with QFM this morning whether he intends to step-down from his position following his conviction by a Lusaka Magistrate court last week on corruption charges, Dr Kalumba said he has restrained himself from issuing statements to the media.

Dr. Kalumba who is also Chiengi Member of Parliament said he could not say anything on the matter because he has chosen to remain quite.

The Former finance minister sentenced to 5-years imprisonment with hard labour for corruption last week said he will not respond to the media until further notice.

QFM

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) says all is set for the voter registration exercise scheduled to commence next month.
ECZ Public Relations Manager Chris Akufuna said preparations for the exercise were progressing well and that the Commission was ready to kick start the exercise.

Mr Akufuna told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka on Monday that all logistics have been put in place to ensure that the exercise is conducted in a free and conducive atmosphere.

He said the Chairperson of the Commission Justice Florence Mumba will soon announce the date in which the exercise will begin.
The ECZ Public Relations Manager has since appealed to politicians not to derail the process by politicising the exercise but to work with the Commission to ensure everything goes well.

The ECZ is this June expected to kick start the voter registration exercise in readiness for the 2011 tripartite elections.

Meanwhile, four political parties have appealed to Zambians who are 18 years old and above to register as voters when the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) starts the voters’ registration exercise to prepare for the 2011 tripartite elections.

The United Party for National Development (UPND), United National Independence Party (UNIP) and the National Revolution Party (NRP) told ZANIS in Lusaka that all Zambians who are eligible to vote should register as voters in order for them to exercise their democratic right.

UPND Views

UPND deputy spokesperson, Cornelius Mweetwa said the process of registering voters was of paramount importance to the country hence the need for Zambians to take it seriously. Mr. Mweetwa said the UPND has already started sensitising its members to take advantage of the voters’ registration exercise and register so that they take part in the general elections.
He said voting was one effective way of expressing one’s feelings about the governance of the country hence the need for Zambians to register for next year’s elections.

He has meanwhile, called on the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to ensure that awareness campaigns about the exercise to the electorate were intensified. Mr. Mweetwa also urged the ECZ to involve influential people when advertising the exercise on national television, radio and other forms of media.

“I would also like to encourage the ECZ to sensitise the electorate by picking on people that capture the attention of the public when advertising the registration of voters’ exercise,” he said. He proposed that the ECZ should involve leaders of major political parties in the country to appeal to Zambians to register as voters through the national television and other media. Mr. Mweetwa further proposed that the ECZ should increase the voters’ registration centres in all the districts in the country, especially in rural areas to enable more people register.

UNIP Views

And United National Independence Party (UNIP) Vice President, Njekwa Anamela called on Zambians to register as voters in order for them to help determine the country’s political leadership in next year’s election. Mr. Anamela, who is also Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID) spokesperson, said youths who have just reached 18 years should not miss but register as voters because they were important in the governance of the country. He further prodded the ECZ to involve all political parties and civil society organisations in sensitising their members countrywide.He has also appealed to the Ministry of Home Affairs, particularly the Department of National Registration to accelerate the issuance of National Registration Cards (NRCs) in order to enable youths register as voters when the exercise begins in the next few days.

NRP Views

National Revolution Party (NRP) president, Cosmo Mumba said young people should take the governance of Zambia seriously by registering as voters next month. Dr. Mumba said youths should stop their physical violence during elections but be proactive through their decisions in the ballot. He suggested that for the sensitisation exercise to progress smoothly and effectively, the ECZ should provide financial resources to all political parties so that they can educate their members about the voters’ registration exercise. He said churches should also get involved in sensitising their members to register as voters because an election is a national programme that affects everyone. Dr. Mumba said public places should also be flooded with adverts concerning the voters’ registration exercise.

[pullquote]“Can the ECZ come out clean on the matter and tell us how it will address those concerns. All stakeholders must be satisfied, there must be mutual consensus right from the start up to the end to ensure that the outcome of the election is not disputed,” he said[/pullquote]

PF Views

The opposition Patriotic Front (PF) has urged the ECZ and Government to ensure that all stakeholders in the voters’ registration exercise are satisfied with measures aimed at avoiding disputes after elections next year. PF spokesperson, Given Lubinda said the ECZ should identify and remove from the voters’ roll, names of people who registered as voters before the 2006 general elections but have since died. Mr. Lubinda said this is in order to allay any possible suspicion that there will be ghost voters in the 2011 presidential, parliamentary and local government elections. He said Government and the ECZ should explain how the issue of ghost voters will be avoided in the election.

He said the ECZ should also explain to Zambians how it will handle voters that have since moved from the areas where they voted last time to other places. Mr. Lubinda said this is to ensure that there is no duplication of voters and dual registration in the voters’ roll. “Let ECZ come up with a system that is devoid of duplication of voters register before we continue with the updating the voters register,” he said. He said mere updating of the voters’ register is not full proof but is still open to rigging of elections hence the need to convince all stakeholders that the election will be transparent from the very beginning of process of registering voters

“Can the ECZ come out clean on the matter and tell us how it will address those concerns. All stakeholders must be satisfied, there must be mutual consensus right from the start up to the end to ensure that the outcome of the election is not disputed,” he said. Mr. Lubinda, who is also Kabwata PF Member of Parliament, said the ECZ should devise a system that will ensure that no political party cries foul in the 2011 tripartite election.

[pullquote]The Commission, which is targeting to register about 6.4 million voters this year, has since commenced conducting workshops for people that will take part in the exercise.[/pullquote]

But ECZ Public Relations Manager, Chris Akufuna, said the process of removing the names of the deceased people from the register has already been discussed with political parties and other stakeholders.

FODEP Views

On the same issue, Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) president, Stanley Mhango, urged political parties to mobilise their party structures around the country and use them to carry out awareness campaigns about the voters’ registration exercise.

Mr. Mhango said political parties and Zambians in general should take advantage of the exercise and should not politicise it in anyway because it was their civic responsibility to register as voters. He said the voters’ registration was an opportunity for all Zambians to participate in giving the direction to which Zambia should go after the 2011 elections. He urged the ECZ to be responsive and take seriously all the concerns that will be raised by stakeholders that include political parties, civil society organisations and the media before, during and after the exercise. Mr. Mhango observed that transparency was critical in the administration of the electoral process in Zambia.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia has set June as the month to start updating the voters’ register and registering new voters in readiness for the 2011 general elections. The Commission, which is targeting to register about 6.4 million voters this year, has since commenced conducting workshops for people that will take part in the exercise.

ZANIS

Matero Member of Parliament Faustina Sinyangwe has disclosed that she does not intend to remain a member of the Patriotic Front party.

In interview with QFM Ms. Sinyangwe said that she has only resisted from having Parliament declare the Matero seat vacant because she does not want to leave the people in her constituency handicapped.

When queried on which party she was considering joining Ms. Sinyangwe said that she would join any party apart from UPND because it holds a pact with PF. She accused the PF leader Michael Sata of introducing dictatorship tendencies into the Party.

She lamented that she is tired of the dictatorship of the PF leadership and that she does not ever wish to stay in the party.

And Ms. Sinyangwe has said that she has the full support in her constituency and that the people of Matero would re-elect her in 2011 regardless of the party that will adopt her.
[ Q FM]

President Rupiah Banda has disclosed that United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema has now agreed to be vice-president of the UPND/ Patriotic Front Pact.

President Banda said he had information that Mr Hichilema had now agreed to be vice-president of the UPND/PF Pact, allowing the PF leader, Michael Sata to be the presidential candidate in the 2011 general elections.

Mr Banda said in a statement released by his special assistant for Press and public relations, Dickson Jere in Nice, France yesterday that this was contrary to what Mr Hichilema had promised the people of Southern Province.

He advised the UPND leader that the people of Southern Province had the right to choose a leader of their own choice.

He said Mr Hichilema could not, therefore, decide on behalf of the Southern Province and impose his political preference for a president on them.

He said there was nothing wrong with the statement attributed to Parliamentary Chief Whip, Vernon Mwaanga that some districts in Southern Province had resolved to support the ruling MMD.

President Banda said Mr Hichilema was not the spokesperson of the people of Southern Province and should not impose his political views on innocent people.

And President Banda said he was shocked to read comments attributed to Mr Hichilema that president Mwanawasa was a good leader.

He called on politicians to avoid using the name of the late president in order to gain political mileage.

Mr Banda said the late president had asked to work with Mr Hichilema and the UPND when he was alive but the opposition leader refused, saying president Mwanawasa was an incompetent leader.

“Mr Hichilema and his supporters called the late president all sorts of names and refused to work with him when he was alive,” he said.

He said Mr Hichilema abused the late president when he was alive by constantly attacking his performance and personality.

He said it was clear that Mr Hichilema had now become very desperate and power-hungry to the extent that he had forgotten what he used to say about late president Mwanawasa.

“It is, therefore, surprising that Mr Hichilema is now trying to exploit the name of the late president to advance his political career,” he said.

But speaking at the Newsmakers’ Forum yesterday, Mr Hichlema said President Banda was feeling terminally ill because he was worried about the pact, like Vice-President George Kunda himself.

‘‘We have said as a pact, we shall choose the president and his deputy at the right time and for now, that issue has never been discussed,’’ Mr Hichilema said.

He said he did not know the source of information, adding that President Banda’s aides should advise him correctly.
[ Times of Zambia ]