Lusaka — PATRIOTIC Front president Michael Sata has said Zambia does not owe the People's Republic of China anything. And Sata has said Taiwan was a sovereign state.

Addressing a public rally in Lusaka's Chawama compound on Saturday, Sata said Zambia was free and was not supposed to be aligned to any country.

"When we got independence in 1964, we never enjoyed our independence. KK said we were a frontline state and those countries used our economy and these countries are better off than Zambia," Sata said.

"When there was UDI (Unilateral Declaration of Independence), we gave China to build us a railway line (TAZARA), we paid for it. We gave them (Chinese) to build the road to Luapula (Tuta Road) and we paid for that road. We also gave them the road to Mongu, we paid for it. Zambia does not owe China anything." Sata's comments come in the wake of condemnation of his manoeuvres to solicit funds from Taiwanese businessmen.

Sata said Zambia at the moment should be free to deal with people who would help develop it.

He said Japan had done a lot more in Zambia than the people who were being praised left, right and centre.

"The Indian government has done tremendous work in Zambia. The European governments have also done tremendous work including the US. Therefore if drug dealers owe the people of China, they should go to defend them in China," Sata said.

Sata said it was sad for the Zambian people to attack another sovereign state of Taiwan.

He said big European states were dealing with Taiwan. "Now today people are being killed in Iraq and drug dealers are not talking about it. People are dying in Durfur in Africa and these drug dealers are not saying anything," he said.

Sata said his party was lucky because it had no drug dealers and criminals.

"We are very free people. When you are a drug dealer when you smoke a little bit you don't know what is going on," Sata said. "When you are a drug dealer, you always defend another drug dealer."

Sata charged that some drug dealers in the MMD were defending the status quo so that people would continue suffering. He also said when Dr Kaunda appointed him governor in 1985, he had three projects to build houses in Chawama and Kaunda Square Stages one and two.

He said the World Bank gave him money for the three projects. He also said he started upgrading Kalingalinga Compound. Sata said his father was a kaboyi (servant) and that he knew what suffering was.

He charged that drug dealers want to perpetuate people's suffering so that during elections they would just take foodstuffs in exchange for votes.

"When I come to power, all the land from here to Shantumbu, I want to build houses like the ones in Libala and Chilenje with toilets and shower rooms," Sata told the people. Sata said many people in Chawama were living at the mercy of disrespectful landlords.

He said people would only be paying a small levy to the building society towards the purchase of the houses. Sata said Zambia needed genuine investors.

"We need to support our own local investors. The Post Newspapers, there is no foreigner and you find The Post every morning throughout the country. Radio Phoenix is for Africans. What kind of a country is this where you even fail to manufacture a slasher? asked Sata, who spoke mostly in Bemba.

He said he wanted Zambians to lead dignified lives. "Akachila kambushi kasembula apo kekele ( a goat's tail cleans where it sits)," Sata said.

Sata said President Mwanawasa's league was tough because he was going out of power this year. He said he left President Mwanawasa for five years but had not built even a single toilet in Chawama. "And this Sylvia Masebo was just buying caps like she is going to the show," said Sata.

Sata also announced that on September 29, he would stipulate how much each worker would get and that any worker earning up to one million would not pay tax.

"If you have got twins, no levy and a person with six children will pay reduced tax. A company that employs 500 workers will have tax reduced," said Sata. He also said he would abolish the television licence fees once elected.

And PF secretary general Dr Guy Scott the MMD were panicking. "Dipak Patel and VJ (Vernon Mwaanga) are working together to destroy PF. They are placing adverts in newspapers, ZNBC, Muvi TV to insult PF and its leaders," Dr Scott said. "If MMD want to attack us from below the belt, we also know how to fight back."

Dr Scott said Patel left MMD because of Ester Nakawala who ran demonstrations against him but that now they have become friends. He said Mwaanga was one of the people Patel was very unhappy with but now they were working together to destroy Sata. "Dipak will go to any lengths to destroy PF. He wants to be minister of finance. He is highly qualified even though he's never been to a university," Dr Scott said.