UPND deputy secretary general Patrick Mucheleka has accused Chief Government Spokesperson Dora Siliya of facilitating the downfall of President Edgar Lungu as she did with Rupiah Banda.
On Thursday, chief government spokesperson Dora Siliya said Hichilema, the UPND leader, should take the generator he meant to donate to Chawama Level One Hospital to Bweengwa, which she said was in greater need of electricity as opposed to Chawama.
However, Mucheleka told News Diggers! in an interview that Siliya was doing the opposition party a favour by enabling President Lungu’s destruction ahead of 2021.
“For Dora, we are not surprised because Dora is a person who is only known for facilitating the downfall of presidents. The same way she facilitated the downfall of president Rupiah Banda, she is also very quickly facilitating the downfall of Lungu and we are very grateful for that. We thank her, especially that she is always out of touch with reality and that she doesn’t understand. When you are Minister of Information, you must know that you must always be careful with what you say. Dora Siliya is known to be a very careless minister or human being with regard to her utterances. And for us in the opposition, we can only thank her that she is plotting the downfall of the PF, she doesn’t even know it,” Mucheleka said.
He said it is because of Siliya’s behaviour that president Michael Sata never wanted her in the Patriotic Front.
“Dora Siliya, that is why Mr [Micheal] Sata who knew her so well did not want her anywhere near the PF. These are people that only reap where they did not sow. Today, Dora Siliya and Edgar Lungu, because of ‘wako ni wako’, have been able to punch out everyone who started with Sata , who sacrificed with Sata. Some of the people that they have pushed out are people like [Chishimba] Kambwili, [Harry] Kalaba and [Kelvin Bwalya Fube] KBF. And because she has always lived in her own world where she doesn’t associate with reality, she can today insult the people of Zambia by saying that HH can only donate a genset in Bweengwa. What an insult to the people of Zambia!” Mucheleka said.
He wondered why the government would stop a citizen from making a donation.
“…president Hakainde Hichilema is a very decent human being whose policies on philanthropy are very well known. Not only has he built hospitals, schools outside Bweengwa, he has done it everywhere. When we went to Chongwe, we discovered that Esther Lungu even opened a clinic that was built by HH. In Rufunsa, they have even gone to an extent of opening these clinics sometimes out of desperation, they don’t even know that they are opening clinics [built by] HH,” Mucheleka said.
He said Siliya needed to realise that the power load shedding caused by the electricity deficit is not only affecting the people of Bweengwa but the whole country.
“Now talking about the donation of a generator to Chawama, president HH has extended help to the people of Chawama by way of wanting to donate a generator which they have rejected. The people of Chawama, like every other Zambian, are suffering at the hands of the PF. The factor is the issue of corruption. Dora Siliya today is saying the reality is that we must increase the energy tariffs because the reality is that we are having load shedding. Why are we having load shedding? The reality is that we are having load shedding today because of the PF corruption; it’s only that Zambians forget too easily,” said Mucheleka.
“In 2011 when they came into power, Rupiah Banda and his MMD government had embarked on what is known as Kariba North Bank power extension project. Now when the PF came into power, what did they do? Because of the corruption, they changed the specifications at Kariba North Bank and brought in technology which is not compatible with what had been existing at the time, and today we are suffering from power outages. If the issue is about climate change, lack of sufficient water in the Zambezi river, what do countries do, they plan. The reality is corruption…we are all now feeling the pressure because PF failed to invest sufficiently in energy generation by changing specifications on the Kariba project. They went and brought in turbines which are compromised from China, that is corruption. And today we are paying for corruption because of PF and this is what Dora must know.”
He wondered why Mozambique, which is downstream of the Zambezi River, is not having the same energy crisis if the power shortage in Zambia was genuinely due to climate change.
“You know today, it is possible for you to be able to know what will happen in the next three years with regard whether or not we are going to have sufficient rainfall, it’s very easy. There is that technology, which is what countries do. I want to ask you, Mozambique is on the downstream of the Zambezi, how come there are no power outages in Mozambique? …today, we want to import power from Mozambique, Kaborabasa rapids in particular, which actually is downstream such that if there was a country that could have felt the pressure of lack of sufficient water on the Zambezi river, it’s Mozambique. Why are they not crying today? Because they invested adequately, they put the money where it mattered. Those of us who are upstream, the situation should have been a bit better than our friends who are downstream but today, why are we where we are? It is because of corruption,” said Mucheleka.
5 Responses
On point
Thank you Dora Siliti Siliya very soon will see the down fall of other president. Please I beg the next president not to bring Dora Siliya on board.
The use of irony or satire is not very user friendly in this particular situation. The leading opposition party can not afford the escalation of poor inter-party relations. It is better for the opposition and the ruling party to focus on the pressing national issues instead directing language that is cynical or provocative at each other. To avoid escalation, it is advisable to hire respected consultants and advisers to handle certain sensitive dossiers, including climate change and its impact on power deficit and food security situation. If certain words are annoying, it is better to ignore them and concentrate on priority issues.
Mr mucheleka you are a man of inspiration we honor your brilliant explanation
Dora, the epitomy (and face) of failed government public relations. She is as good as her immediate past government spokespersons, with no sure functional brains (I mean who does that_ chawama hospital, or is it clinic is hampered with the challenges of loadshedding) … or proper training in PR management, is needed for her to effectively execute her role, as government mouthpiece.
As a resident of Chawama, this is so an insult, and as she deems it fit_ let’s say she will never struggle. None the case, Karma is a b*tch! …
Politics aside. Every Zambian person must show concern to our sufferings.