11 November 2009
PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has called on Zambians to reject political leaders who are promoting tribalism, racism and regional politics because they may plunge the country into chaos.
Mr Banda urged Zambians to guard against any forces aimed at destroying the peace and unity the country had enjoyed for many years.
The president, who was speaking in Lundazi yesterday when he addressed hundreds of MMD cadres at a thanksgiving rally held at the Kaunda Squares grounds, said Zambians must reject people who were preaching hatred.
The president said the MMD was the only true and strong political party that could unite the country because it was built on a strong foundation.
He said the Patriotic Front (PF) and the United Party for National Development (UPND) had formed a pact but the MMD would like to form a pact with the Zambian people.
He urged party members in Lundazi to go flat out and start a massive door-to-door recruitment campaign to strengthen the pact with the Zambian people.
The president said the MMD, with the Zambians, was fortunate because they already had a straight-forward leadership in place while the PF-UPND Pact had two leaders who both wanted to be at the helm of leadership at the same time.
"There lies the secret and the definition of democracy as only one person can be president at a time.
"The person who goes to State House is not the person who wants to do so, but the person the people elect as their leader," he said.
Mr Banda said no one should undermine the Government capability to work on all the dilapidated infrastructure in the country.
He said he made a pledge to the Zambians when he was elected as Republican president that he would work extra hard to ensure that he worked on the roads, bridges, schools and that health infrastructure would be rehabilitated.
"I am very committed to fulfilling the pledges I made to fix the rundown infrastructure in the country. I have assured the pupils at Chama Boarding High School that the Government will soon fix the school.
"I have even instructed my Education Minister, Dora Siliya to send a team of experts within twoweeks to assess the extent of damage at the school," he said.
The president held two separate closed-door meetings with 10 traditional leaders of Lundazi District at Tigone Hotel and another one with the MMD officials before he addressed the rally.
The president later flew back to Chipata where he is expected to spend two nights at his Chasimpa Bwezani Farm before flying to Solwezi to drum up support for MMD candidate in the Solwezi by-election, Albert Chifita.
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