Pemba — CHILUBA was just a petty thief, opposition Pemba UPND member of parliament David Matongo has said. And Matongo said he was ready to lose his parliamentary seat if the people of Pemba were not satisfied with his performance in the last four years he has spent in office.

Addressing a Newsmakers Forum organised by the Press Freedom Committee of The Post at the Catholic Hall on Tuesday in Pemba, Matongo said he did not believe that former

president Frederick Chiluba stole as much money as it was being portrayed.

"These things are just a waste of time to worry about. The man was mainly worried about buying suits in London and television sets for girlfriends," Matongo said. "I don't think he stole as much as it is being portrayed."

However, Matongo said if UPND had come into power in 2001, they would have tried Chiluba through a tribunal that was expected to be chaired by the current works and supply deputy minister Kennedy Shepande.

He said the nation required a discernible leadership that was respected by the people for it to develop. "To replace Mwanawasa for the sake of it is wrong, we want a manager and not a foreman in State House to move the country forward," he said.

Matongo admitted that UPND had lost its influence in Lusaka Province to Patriotic Front (PF) but that he did not believe that PF's leadership had the capacity to provide economic emancipation to the nation.

"I like Sata (PF president), he is a compassionate man. He will give when he has something to give but do people want someone who is going to be worshipped and kick the people around to work?" he asked.

And Matongo said he was ready to lose his parliamentary seat if people felt that he was a non-performer.

"You have a choice either within the UPND or outside to reject me but I can assure you that I will be hurricane David," he said. Matongo warned of a people-driven revolution like it had happened in Madagascar if there was no clear winner with more than 50 per cent majority in this year's elections.

He said the electoral process had been fraudulent since 1973 when it was evident that the first Republican president Dr Kenneth Kaunda was not interested in developing a succession leadership plan.

He said Dr Kaunda was a good President and did very well in developing the country but was made very powerful by the people who surrounded him.

Matongo called for a constitution that gave power to the people instead of individual politicians who should be servants of the electorate.

"We want a constitution that will protect the people from leaders with excessive power. People must be able to call back and remove members of parliament who fail to perform," he said. On the freedom of information Bill that was withdrawn from Parliament by government over two years ago, Matongo said information minister Vernon Mwaanga had no choice but to do what was expected of him.

"I know that VJ is still convincing his master (President Mwanawasa) that the bill is injurious when it's not. I don't think a responsible journalist will want to know what is happening in my bedroom but they should know when public money is being misused," he said.

Matongo was responding to a question by Jansel Phiri who wanted to know why it had taken long to pass the bill so that journalists and the general public should have free access to information.

Pemba Catholic Church parish priest, Father Spencer Nyendwa said 2006 was a wonderful year in that people again had an opportunity of electing leaders who would ensure that their freedoms and rights were respected.

He said the voters' registration in Pemba was impressive with very old and young people turning out for the exercise. Fr Nyendwa called for full participation of the people in the electoral process in order to enhance democracy by voting into positions of leadership credible leaders both at local government and national levels.

"Elections are a huge responsibility and the Church will continue to sensitise the people on the type of leaders they need," he said. Fr Nyendwa said apart from the use of transparent ballot boxes for the sake of transparency, the Electoral Commission of Zambia should set the election date instead of the sitting President because he was an interested party.

He also said it was still possible to have the new constitution before this year's elections if there was political will by the government.

Fr Nyendwa hoped that The Post would consider publishing newspapers in local languages for the rural people in order to enhance political consciousness.

Another discussant, George Mukuni, said candidates for parliamentary elections should be scrutinised by the local people before their adoption by the national leadership of respective parties.

He said the trend of disqualifying candidates elected by various constituencies brought a lot of discontent among the electorate. Bandika Mwiinga attributed voter apathy to government's inability to adequately sensitise people in rural areas.