Sata promises miners and public shares in mines

By MUKULA MUKULA and RABECCA CHIWALA

PATROTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata has promised that he would give 20 per cent of the shares in the mines to mine workers and other 29 per cent would be given to the public.

Addressing a rally at Freedom park in Kitwe, yesterday, Mr Sata alleged that Zambians were not benefiting from copper proceeds despite the rise in copper prices on the international market.

He said once in power, his government would re-negotiate the sale of the mines within 90 days to ensure that maximum benefits accrued to Zambians.

Mr Sata said he would make it compulsory for mine owners to bank with the Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZNCB) to ensure that money from the mines was used within the country.

He alleged that the current arrangement gave a lot of leeway for the externalisation of the money realised from the mines.

Mr Sata said he would scrap the positions of provincial deputy minister and district commissioner so that money saved goes towards improving conditions of service for civil servants and security agencies.

He also promised to scrap basic schools and increase the number of secondary schools so that pupils who attended basic schools were not discriminated against.

Mr Sata said nurses and teachers in colleges would be given jobs a year before graduating to avoid keeping trained personal out of employment.

Mr Sata said his government would chase all foreigners that had taken up space in markets that could have otherwise been taken up by Zambians.

He named the Congolese, Senegalese and Lebanese as nationals that would be forced to leave the country if his party got into government.

On opposition alliances, Mr Sata said they would not succeed because their different policies would make it difficult to govern the grassroots.

Mr Sata said PF was a popular party that could not form alliances with small parties but would rather welcome them if they dissolved to join his party.

Meanwhile, CHRISTINE CHISHA reports that MMD youths in Luapula Province have dismissed claims by some Members of Parliament that the party was facing serious problems in the province which could affect their performance in the forth-coming elections.

Provincial youth secretary Davis Chitwaka, said it was wrong for some sitting MPs to claim that things were not well in Luapula just because they had failed the "test".

In apparent reaction to media reports that the MMD and President Mwanawasa's popularity was threatened due to an alleged divisive activities of provincial chairperson, Kennedy Sakeni, Mr Chitwaka said it was wrong for some sitting MPs to come with such a declaration.

"It was wrong for the Honourable MPs to assume that the provincial executive committee (PEC) was creating problems in the province just because they suspect they have slim chances of being picked by  national executive committee (NEC)," he said.

Mr Chitwaka who claimed, he had recently accompanied MMD national chairperson, Michael Mabenga and national youth chairperson, Patrick Musonda on a tour of Luapula province, said people had a more pronounced voice in the adoption process.

And provincial minister, Maybin Mubanga appealed to the MPs in the area to be calm and wait for the NEC to decide on who would be adopted.

And Mambilima MP  Patrick Kalifungwa urged Mr Sakeni to stop being the spokesperson for the people in Luapula.

He said Mr Sakeni should let the people of Luapula pick who they wanted.