The illness of Ben Kapita is well catalogued in both the government and private media in Zambia. There is also a general view that Kapita was a very good Minister of Agriculture. However, the man is no longer in a position to discharge his duties as a Minister due to poor health. One would have thought there was a very simple and straight forward way of handling this situation. President would be expected to relieve Mr. Kapita of his duties and appoint a replacement. He has done this before when he relieved Mundia Sikatana of his position in Cabinet. However, dr. Mwanawasa has decided that the best solution is to appoint another Minister of Agriculture to 'help' Mr. Kapita. How can one Ministry have two Ministers? Surely this is a recipe for disaster. Who makes the final decisions? It is normal to have more than one deputy minister but there should be a boss in every institution. Just like there is only one president at any one time. The reason dr. Mwanawasa did not sack his friend is that he wants the state to continue looking after Mr. Kapita. As a minister he has access to perhaps 4 vehicles, free house, free fuels, free bills, free everything! The people of Zambia do not have dip pockets to fund the upkeep of Mr. Kapita. If dr. Mwanawasa is feeling sorry for his friend, he should use his own resources to pay for his up.
The PANEL
Thursday 28 February 2008
Levy explains Siliya's appointment
I was beginning to think sanity has returned to our local politics following the statement from Mrs. Mwanawasa. I then came across the story in which dr. Mwanawasa justifies the appointment of Dora Siliya as Minister of Transport and Communication and realised it was business as usual. One would have thought that the President was appointing Ms. Siliya because she is a highly capable person with the relevant experience to contribute to the running and operation of this important ministry. It was therefore disappointing to learn that the President appointed Ms. Siliya because she is from Eastern province and he wanted to thank the people of Eastern province for their support! In case you think I am making it up here is the story from the Daily Mail.
PRESIDENT Mwanawasa on Friday told people of Eastern Province that he had appointed Dora Siliya as a full cabinet minister in appreciation of their continued support.
Addressing MMD supporters soon after his arrival at Chipata airport, President Mwanawasa said he was proud with the amount of support he was receiving from Eastern Province.
"I was accompanied by Honourable Peter Daka in my apartment and he was telling me that he was now not my only son because I have given him a sister. But I corrected him that you are my only son, I told him that my son I am polygamist and that your mother produced you and Dora Siliya and I have a provincial chairman and deputy ministers who are my children from the other marriage.
I went on to say that I know all of you as my children and you must work hard especially you as the first-born son because if you fail your young sister will succeed you," President Mwanawasa said. "I continue to be very proud with the amount of support that I and MMD is receiving here in Eastern province such that I have decided to give you another cabinet minister. But it will be far much better if you party officials stop quarrelling amongst yourselves."
PRESIDENT Mwanawasa on Friday told people of Eastern Province that he had appointed Dora Siliya as a full cabinet minister in appreciation of their continued support.
Addressing MMD supporters soon after his arrival at Chipata airport, President Mwanawasa said he was proud with the amount of support he was receiving from Eastern Province.
"I was accompanied by Honourable Peter Daka in my apartment and he was telling me that he was now not my only son because I have given him a sister. But I corrected him that you are my only son, I told him that my son I am polygamist and that your mother produced you and Dora Siliya and I have a provincial chairman and deputy ministers who are my children from the other marriage.
I went on to say that I know all of you as my children and you must work hard especially you as the first-born son because if you fail your young sister will succeed you," President Mwanawasa said. "I continue to be very proud with the amount of support that I and MMD is receiving here in Eastern province such that I have decided to give you another cabinet minister. But it will be far much better if you party officials stop quarrelling amongst yourselves."
Maureen responds to calls on her presidency
The first lady has finally come out with the statement outlining her future plans. She has made it very clear that she will not run the president in 2011. However, after reading the interview, one is left with the view that she may consider running for the highest office in the land at a later stage.
Maureen should be commended for coming out in the open and stating her position in a clear and unequivocal manner. This has definitely saved the country a lot of strife and grief. Her statement has effectively fired the starting gun for people within the MMD to come out and state their intentions. Just a word of caution, dr. Mwanawasa has declared that he will fire any minister that starts campaigning for the MMD leadership.
From the POST 25/02/2008
First lady Maureen Mwanawasa yesterday said she does not intend to contest the Republican presidency in 2011.In an exclusive interview at State House, Maureen said while she was grateful to all those who thought she had qualities to lead Zambia, she does not intend to contest the presidency because she wants concentrate on running her NGO, the Maureen Mwanawasa Community Initiative (MMCI) besides being a supportive wife to the Head of State.“I want to thank people who have supported my office and I would like people to continue supporting,” Maureen said. “I have told them I am not standing.I would like the vision which we have set out in the MMCI to be supported because it has changed the lives of men and women, the young boys and girls and our children.We have a lot of work which we would like to be attended to.I hope this interview can terminate the discussion on politics so that I can continue being a wife of a Head of State, giving him the right support that is expected from the first lady or a wife so that we can carry on our activities as MMCI.”
Maureen should be commended for coming out in the open and stating her position in a clear and unequivocal manner. This has definitely saved the country a lot of strife and grief. Her statement has effectively fired the starting gun for people within the MMD to come out and state their intentions. Just a word of caution, dr. Mwanawasa has declared that he will fire any minister that starts campaigning for the MMD leadership.
From the POST 25/02/2008
First lady Maureen Mwanawasa yesterday said she does not intend to contest the Republican presidency in 2011.In an exclusive interview at State House, Maureen said while she was grateful to all those who thought she had qualities to lead Zambia, she does not intend to contest the presidency because she wants concentrate on running her NGO, the Maureen Mwanawasa Community Initiative (MMCI) besides being a supportive wife to the Head of State.“I want to thank people who have supported my office and I would like people to continue supporting,” Maureen said. “I have told them I am not standing.I would like the vision which we have set out in the MMCI to be supported because it has changed the lives of men and women, the young boys and girls and our children.We have a lot of work which we would like to be attended to.I hope this interview can terminate the discussion on politics so that I can continue being a wife of a Head of State, giving him the right support that is expected from the first lady or a wife so that we can carry on our activities as MMCI.”
Wednesday 6 February 2008
Maureen for President?
The momentum seems to be gathering for Mrs Mwanawasa to offer herself as a candidate for the MMD leadership and republican presidency. People are using Hillary Clinton as an example of a former first lady running for the highest political office. I think the comparison is wrong. The two situations are totally different and the MMD publicity machine should not mislead the general public. Hillary is not the spouse of an incumbent president. She is a senator. As a result she has no access to the White House machinery and resources to support her candidature. She has had to raise campaign funds independently and has perhaps used her network of contacts from the White House days to drum up support. On the other hand Maureen is married to the current president. If she were to declare her candidature, she would have access to GRZ funds and resources under the guise of first lady. Cast your minds back to the time when Vera Chiluba Tembo was riding high with her "op foundation". Had she remained first lady, she could have easily mounted a challenge for plot 1 with the support of FTJ and won the race. However, after being cast away by FTJ, no one has ever heard of Hope Foundation and Vera has gone on to become an MP and Minister under the New Deal govt. Vera would not even dream of running for presidency now because she knows the chances of her winning are nil.
If Mrs. Mwanawasa thinks she has what it takes to run the country, she should vacate plot one with her husband in 2011 and then mount a challenge 5 years later. If she wins the race in 2016 I will eat my words!
The PANEL.
If Mrs. Mwanawasa thinks she has what it takes to run the country, she should vacate plot one with her husband in 2011 and then mount a challenge 5 years later. If she wins the race in 2016 I will eat my words!
The PANEL.
Corrupt politicians
The last week has seen revelations that a Tory MP (in the UK) has paid considerable amounts of public funds to his two sons. This has lead to the speaker of the House of Commons to launch a wide ranging review of MP's expenses and privileges. For instance under the current system, MPs can claim expenses of up to £250 without showing any receipts! It is outrageous!
For those readers with short memories, last year was dominated by the cash for honours and cash for votes scandals which engulfed the labour party. These episodes have provided further evidence that politicians world over are a corrupt bunch! The western democracies should therefore resist the temptation to portray a whiter than white attitude when dealing with African politicians. By the same token, our African politicians should not justify their corrupt acts just because of these incidents.
The PANEL.
For those readers with short memories, last year was dominated by the cash for honours and cash for votes scandals which engulfed the labour party. These episodes have provided further evidence that politicians world over are a corrupt bunch! The western democracies should therefore resist the temptation to portray a whiter than white attitude when dealing with African politicians. By the same token, our African politicians should not justify their corrupt acts just because of these incidents.
The PANEL.
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