STATEMENT BY LEVY PATRICK MWANAWASA, S.C. ON THE OCCASION OF HIS ACCEPTANCE OF THE INVITATION OF SERVE AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE OF THE MOVEMENT FOR MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY (MMD) DURING THE 2001 PRESIDENTIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS
CHAIRMAN of this Press conference, members of national executive committee, honourable ministers and deputy ministers, ladies and gentlemen.
On behalf of my wife and my family I welcome you to our humble home and thank you all for your attendance.
I have called this Press conference in order to reaffirm my already announced acceptance of the nomination by my party, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) to be its candidate for the 2001 presidential, parliamentary and local government elections.
As I make this formal acceptance address I again wish to convey my heartfelt gratitude to the President of the Party, Dr Fredrick Jacob Titus Chiluba, the National Executive Committee and the entire membership of the party for this honour bestowed on me and my family. I shall not let you down.
The decision to accept this invitation has been the most difficult I have had to make in my life. It was arrived at after a lot of soul searching and reflection, praying for God’s guidance.
I have consulted widely and intensely, as a result of which I am fully satisfied the decision I have taken is a correct one, in the national interest.
This decision represents the greatest challenge of my life, second only to when I proposed to my wife. The challenges are plentiful and diverse, comparisons will be made with past and present leadership with candidates from political parties, whether I will adopt the same leadership style.
I would ask that you give me time to establish myself in office and ask that you judge me by my performance.
When I am elected the next President of Zambia I shall have the opportunity to pursue the vision of Zambia which I shared with my colleagues when we formed the MMD in 1990.
I shall certainly consult and draw from the vast experience of the two former presidents. I shall consult extensively with various individuals, traditional leaders, groups, associations, civic society and the Church. The Church has a very important role to play in attending not only to our spiritual needs but also to provide a shoulder to cry on, compassionate and impartial in counselling.
Zambia is a Christian nation and so it shall remain.
When elected as Republican President I will ensure that existing democratic institutions are strengthened. We shall pursue legal and legislative reforms to give further authority and powers of prosecution to the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Permanent Human Rights Commission, the Drug Enforcement Commission, the tribunal created by the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct Act and the Zambia Police Service.
It is not intended that once I am elected President, it will be the purpose of my office to conduct a witch-hunt of transgressions committed in the past, our intention is to provide a clear policy direction and establish a foundation for transparent accountable governance, and to provide an atmosphere for all organs of Government to undertake their responsibilities as required of them by law.
My Government will put top priority to issues of development and programmes aimed at poverty alleviation and job creation in order to ameliorate the high levels of poverty, hunger and unemployment some of which may be a result of the reform programmes implemented to move the economy from nationalisation to a liberalised one.
It is my intention to address this through policies intended to accelerate industrial activity, promote the manufacturing sector and reverse the decline in agriculture. There are many good things that have been under taken by our government so far. I only intend to strengthen certain areas and improve implementation.
I believe that with hardwork and commitment all these things can be achieved. We may not achieve transformation within the first five years, but at the end of the period it should be possible to show significant changes in the economy and standard of living of our people.
When I am elected as Republican President, those who will be appointed into my Government should know that the honey¬moon is over, it will be a period of self discipline, commitment and hardwork. Those who will join my Cabinet shall be expected to make commitment to handwork and selfless service.
I intend to be firm but fair in my tenure of office because this is what the people of Zambia expect.
Countrymen and women, this is not intended to be a campaign speech, but an expression of intent.
I will be in a position to expand on these issues from time to time as I get opportunity to address the various stakeholders.
Allow me to make an observation on the political activities in the country. It seems to me that this country has been bruised sufficiently, largely due to the fact that its leaders have been busy and have devoted all the their time, energy and attention to throwing mud at each other at the expense of the national development.
As a result there is too much tension in the country and this has stifled investment and development. Time has come when all that must stop. Continuing this charade amounts to betrayal of the nation.
I am confident that I shall be elected in the forthcoming elections but even if I were not, I would still call upon all of you, all of us, to say enough is enough. Let us direct our attention to the reconstruction of our country under the leadership in Government.
If you have any suggestion or are aggrieved by anything put it to ministers or even to the President, it will not do good to go on ant hill and shout derogatory remarks and insults. That way you will succeed in only making the Government defensive even if you have a good and valid point.
I want to conclude my remarks by thanking our people and party cadres for the overwhelming support an endorsement with which my selection has been received all over the country. This has given me immense encouragement. It underscores the very high hopes which the people expect of me.
It makes me determined to ensure that I do not let my people down and to double my efforts the bring relief to our long suffering people.
Thank you, God bless you all.
26th August, 2001
Lusaka
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Lifted from Times of Zambia 27th August, 2001 by Kasebamashila KASEBA
