Gideon Thole and Joseph Banda
8 July 2009
DEFENCE Minister George Mpombo has resigned from the Government and the ruling MMD national executive committee (NEC).
Mr Mpombo said at a Press briefing in Ndola yesterday that he had written to President Rupiah Banda asking him to accept his resignation both as Defence minister and MMD chairperson for energy.
He said that he arrived at the decision to leave the Government and the MMD NEC after consulting his family members.
"The decision to resign from the Government is purely personal and I want to state that I will remain a hard coiled spring member of the MMD. I will actively participate in all party activities," he said.
Mr Mpombo said he decided to resign to pursue the promotion of environmental issues, concentrate on his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and doctorate studies, and spend more time with his family.
He said he was confident that he had served the people of Zambia and Kafulafuta constituency faithfully as minister and Member of Parliament.
Answering questions from journalists, Mr Mpombo said although he had no presidential ambitions, he did not support the NEC's decision to adopt Mr Banda as the sole candidate for the MMD national convention.
"The MMD is founded on the bedrock of democracy and while the NEC has its own candidate, other party members who want to stand for the same position should also be allowed to do so.
"The issue of having one presidential candidate during the convention should be addressed so that it does not divide the party," he said.
Mr Mpombo said there was need to see to it that there was unity of purpose, single vision and strategy to lead the nation in one direction.
"The MMD is a beacon of democracy and should always remain a shining city on top of the hill," he said.
He said that since he had been involved in active politics since 1978, it was time to help build young leaders who should take over from him.
Mr Mpombo has served as Southern Province minister, Energy minister, Copperbelt minister and Defence minister between 2001 up to the time he resigned from the Government.
MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba expressed shock at the resignation of Mr Mpombo, describing it as a sad development.
Dr Kalumba said he was disturbed at the news that Mr Mpombo had resigned because he had also quit his party post where he served as chairperson for energy.
"As national secretary, I would have loved him to confide in me before he resigned to see if the reasons were something that could have been worked on," he said in an interview.
He said as chairperson for energy, Mr Mpombo was respected and his decision to move away from public life was shocking.
He, however, said that he respected Mr Mpombo's decision to resign even if he did not know the reasons because every man or woman had a right to make a decision to move away from public life.
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