EDGAR IS FAR BETTER THAN HH Fourth President of the Republic of Zambia Rupiah Bwezani Banda has said that PF President Edgar Lungu is far a better candidate to rule Zambia than UPND President Hakainde Hichilema. Mr. Banda who just returned from his Holiday in Cape Town touched down at Chipata Airport and proceeded to have talks with the PF President. He said the approach taken by Hon. Lungu was to coexist with the MMD than poach members as Hichilema was doing. Banda said that he had worked with both leaders and found Lungu more suitable to rule Zambia. Below is the full statement. PEACE AND UNITY WILL DELIVER ZAMBIA HIS EXCELLENCY FORMER PRESIDENT RUPIAH BWEZANI BANDA Sunday, 4th JANUARY 2015, Protea Hotel, Chipata. Members of the press present, Members of the National Executive Committee of the MMD, The The President of the Patriotic Front and Minister of Defence and Justice Mr. Edgar Lungu, Members of the Central Committee of the PF present, Members of the MMD and PF Provincial leadership, District Leadership, Constituency leadership, Members of Parliament, Councilors, my brothers and sisters. As we celebrate the dawn of another new year, may God grant us a moment of reflection. May we not only embrace the joy of the future to come, but also remember the past, and understand the path that has led us to where we are. The tragedies and struggles of the past year have been formidable. We lost our president; we were beset by conflicts, and a poor economy. Many Zambians have had trouble finding affordable food, farmers have suffered delayed payments, and social divisions have come to the surface threatening our unity. But we are still here, and we have proven in the past that we can overcome any adversity. This New Year there is an important opportunity for renewal. Once again we go to the polls to select a new interim president on January 20 to guide us for the next 18 months. As you may know, until very recently I stood as a candidate. I had been called back and nominated by my party, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, to stand for election on the party’s ticket. However the courts have since decided against the party’s nomination, and as such it is a decision that we must all respect. As a result, I am unable to participate in the race. The experience has been disappointing, and the behaviour of some has been regrettable. It has been very sad for us to see people attempt to tear apart a good party through dishonesty, instead of standing out in the open for the party’s members to decide. But nevertheless I stand before you today with no bitterness or agenda. In many ways, my perspective on this election remains unchanged. When I was first approached to respond to the calls for my comeback, I had to think long and hard about why I would commit myself to such an undertaking. The answer then, and the answer now, is that I would do whatever I thought was best for our country. I believe that this election is very important. We have no room for error, and we must focus on genuine healing. It is not a time for egos, arrogance, or personal ambitions. It is a time for humility, cooperation, consultation and unity. This is not about anyone’s personal interests, family, tribe, or party. Rather this election is about pursuing only the interests of all Zambians. So what does that mean? How can we measure this commitment to the national interest? How can we know who truly embraces unity vs. those who only talk about it? The place to begin is to focus on what will be achieved. After much thought and deliberation, I decided to support a candidate that would be in the best position to deliver on the following: 1) Immediately undertake measures to lower costs of basic goods, such as mealie meal, fertiliser, fuel, cement, and other goods that enable our citizens to achieve sustainability. 2) Stabilise the economy by rationalising public debt and expenditures with more transparency, ensure prudent fiscal management, provide an attractive and stable environment for domestic and foreign investment, and guarantee payments to farmers on a timely basis. 3) Directly address issues that may disrupt the country’s peace, allowing us to heal and unify and fulfill our duty to uphold the national mantra of One Zambia, One Nation. 4) Deliver a genuine people-driven constitution that ensures good governance by limiting powers on government officials, holding leadership accountable, and fixes problems such as the Public Order Act and strengthens independence of the judiciary. In the interest of achieving these four objectives among others, and in the interest of doing what is best for Zambia, we must choose our next leader very carefully. We need stability and continuity, not revolution. We must gather behind a new leader who has shown the qualities of humility, commitment, and unity. We must set aside past grievances, and accept and trust one another in order to heal and work together to make Zambia the best it can be. For these reasons, I am appearing before you today to announce my endorsement of the Honourable Minister Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front for President on January 20, 2015. Having had the opportunity to meet with Mr Lungu, to understand his intentions, to recognise the problems which must be addressed, and discuss at length my concerns, I am confident that he possesses the qualities of a leader that can be trusted with the responsibilities of the highest office at such a sensitive time. Most importantly, he understands that the MMD must remain intact, and recognises the importance of its contribution as an institution to the governance of the nation. Meanwhile our members will move on with the party’s programs and build a stronger MMD at all levels. He has shown that he will lead his party, the PF, with dignity and allow co-existence with our party the MMD. It is understood that members of our parties will work together to achieve our desired goal which is to elect Hon. Edgar Chagwa Lungu President of the Republic of Zambia. After much deliberation I came to the conclusion that I could not support any candidate that would seek to eliminate or weaken the MMD. I count many friends among those in the United Party for National Development (UPND), however I cannot agree with the approach they have taken of poaching individual MMD members to defect to their camp, instead of negotiating openly with the whole party. This strategy by the UPND ignores the interests of the rank-and-file MMD membership across the country, and quite clearly does not serve our party’s interests and I fear that this approach is reminiscent of one party fiasco. As we go forward and begin the next chapter of our nation’s history, it is my hope that reason and calm prevail over the passions of the moment, that we remember that we are all brothers and sisters living under One Zambia, One Nation. Peace and unity will deliver Zambia a prosperous and successful future, but it is a peace and unity that we must all work for together. With my warmest New Year’s greetings to all, God bless Zambia and all her children.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 12:48:37 +0000
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