Lusaka — MMD is weak in Western Province, provincial deputy minister Simasiku Namakando told Vice-President Enoch Kavindele yesterday.

Namakando, who is also Western Province MMD chairman, told Vice-President Kavindele at the renewal of party cards in Mongu that three quarters of the province was in the hands of the opposition. "If I say that the party is strong in Mongu, I will be telling lies because for the past 10 years MMD has never won an election," Namakando said. "We are united but the party is not strong."

He appealed to Vice-President Kavindele for support and to have the party motor vehicles repaired so that they could become self-sustaining. Vice-President Kavindele regretted that the MMD only managed four parliamentary seats in the Province but urged the members to work hard to get more members as politics was a game of numbers.

He said if the party was made strong, it would be easy to get rid of the bottlenecks. Vice-President Kavindele urged the MMD members to ignore the opposition advocating early elections saying they did not have anything to tell the people.

He said President Levy Mwanawasa intended to develop Western Province like all other parts of the country that were lagging behind in terms of development. "It does not give me pleasure that Western province is one of the poorest in the country," said Vice-President Kavindele.

And on the intended lease of Liuwa and Sioma Ngwezi national parks in Western Province by government, Vice-President Kavindele said he did not see anything wrong because the investors would bring development to the area through employment and provision of social services.

He said according to the lease agreement, there was no indication that the land in the two national parks would be sold to the investors as earlier portrayed by some people.

"When we want to bring development, some people start politicking, these investors are not only going to bring tourists but development," Vice-President Kavindele said. "Ignore these members of the opposition, the Litunga has not sold the national park."

He said as far as government was concerned the investment project was viable. Vice-President Kavindele warned that if the people rejected the project, there were other provinces with national parks which needed development. He told the MMD cadres that there was enough relief maize in the Province though distribution to outlying areas had been a problem because of the floods.

Vice-President Kavindele assured that government would in the next few weeks send a helicopter to the area to distribute maize to areas that could not be accessed by road. Vice-President Kavindele also appealed to the members of the opposition to work with government for the sake of unity in the country.

Later, Vice-President Kavindele who is accompanied by deputy ministers Appel, George Chulumanda, Lemmy Chipili, Sipula Kabanje and members of parliament Emmanuel Chungu and Fidelis Chisala toured the Mongu Joinery Factory.

He was last evening expected to meet Mongu businessmen. And local and foreign tourists continued arriving in Mongu yesterday for the Kuomboka ceremony to be held this morning.