tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900460698887397063.post9173296115855402449..comments2023-11-02T11:56:00.047+00:00Comments on issues over matters: ‘COBRA’ SATA SPITS VENOMAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02444385043826528068noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900460698887397063.post-53297108152696030482007-12-02T18:04:00.000+00:002007-12-02T18:04:00.000+00:00I think it is rather petty of an aspiring presiden...I think it is rather petty of an aspiring president to accuse a critic of obtaining <I>"mobile talk-time"</I>, of all things. Shouldn't the <B>"Patriotic Front"</B> leader be explaining what is <B>so patriotic</B> about obtaining funding from foreigners and then lobbying for those foreigners on the international stage? <BR/>And while the topic of Political Party funding is <B>hot</B> right now in the UK, it is an opportunity for young democracies like Zambia to learn lessons from it and avoid such pitfalls. Zambia does not have to learn the hard way.<BR/>The current status quo is unacceptable where foreign organisations are freely funding Zambian political parties to influence Zambian politics for their own political ambitions. Complete transparency in political party funding must be sought if the current lunacy we're seeing in Zambia is to be curbed.Zedianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15620459516168720746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900460698887397063.post-49816065624393576522007-12-02T09:49:00.000+00:002007-12-02T09:49:00.000+00:00Gershom,When I resigned I thought people would res...Gershom,<BR/>When I resigned I thought people would respect the fact that I decided to move on. But many felt insulted, and embarked on a mudslinging campaign. They tried to recruit everyone in the media against me. I am surprised you are not one of them.<BR/><BR/>I was not bothered by that until someone physically started tampering with everything I was doing. He pretended to be a friend while behind my back he tried so hard to undo everything I was doing. He became the hitman of a group of state agents that had tasked itself to "disqualify" me from journalism.<BR/><BR/>This is someone who once lifted an an article from the Newsweek about Tony Blair, retyped it and replaced Blair with Sony Mulenga. <BR/><BR/>He did another one where he lifted Thabo Mbeki's "I am an African" speech and replaced the South African "Hills" and "Mountains" that Mbeki was citing with the hills and mountains in Sony Mulenga's constituency. He was trying to please Mulenga in exchange for a sit on a plane taking the Zambian delegation to Cuba during the world youth conference in 1997.<BR/><BR/>It worked. One guy who was picked on merit was removed from the plane at the airport and replaced with the "author" of the stores that were not his. He had no mission in Cuba, not even reporting, he went there to swim and have a feel of what it was like to fly.<BR/><BR/>The good thing is that someone who had seen the Newsweek article photopied the original and the one that appeared in the Times of Zambia and posted it to plagiarizer. Other people would have lost their jobs. But this fella was "well connected," and he still is. He was working for a newspaper as a reporter, but his job had nothing to do with journalism.<BR/><BR/>The same person is today brazen enough to say I am not a journalist. However, nothing really surprises me about some Zambian journalists and the people they work for. This fella worked so hard for his wages at Zamtrop. He worked for everything he picked up from Zamtrop in London. Thank God, I rediscovered my niche in the profession. I know now that next time I go to dinner with such people, I will have to carry by plate to the restroom.<BR/><BR/>If Sata today created a Zamtrop account, or if he became president, they would join him. They, like Sata, are animated by opportunism. No principles, no convictions.<BR/><BR/>However, there are so many people I respect in the media in Zambia, both private, being the Post and the Times. These individuals are true professionals. Thank God for the Post, the nation came to know how rotten Sata and Chiluba were.Nkhulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17746871459158034622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900460698887397063.post-34504329102793396122007-12-02T08:46:00.000+00:002007-12-02T08:46:00.000+00:00Thanks Nkhula.There were a number of journalists a...Thanks Nkhula.<BR/>There were a number of journalists at the Mail who were clearly working for Sata. He himself brought to the Mail two reporters from the Confidential who went on to cause confusion at the paper.<BR/>I know that some of these reporters faxed stories, speeches and statements perceived to be anti-MMD to Sata's office and awaited his reaction which then formed the basis of those stories.<BR/>When Sata left the MMD, he would at his press briefings/conferences public criticize one of the reporters who has since left mainstream journalism.<BR/>At the time I was deputy news editor, I would highlight critical paragraphs in stories in the Post which one journalist would then take to State House, the ministry of information, or indeed, Sata's office. It was such a shame working in an environment like that. i am not surprised that you never went back to the Times after your studies.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02444385043826528068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900460698887397063.post-77512389817639478182007-12-02T05:57:00.000+00:002007-12-02T05:57:00.000+00:00Gershom,I don't know about the Daily Mail, but whe...Gershom,<BR/>I don't know about the Daily Mail, but when Sata was engaged in a dogfight with other MMD leaders for the top position in the late 1990s, he also was allowed to publish stories in the Times of Zambia, under an alias.<BR/><BR/>The articles had no substance but malice aimed at undermining his opponents. One article I clearly remember was about Ben Mwila--one of his fierce rivals--being broke. <BR/><BR/>Sata was not the only "journalist" in the MMD, Chiluba's State House produced a series of aritcles aimed at misleading the nation on various issues. <BR/><BR/>To "give these articles a face", one editor wanted to use the bylines of reporters on the paper, including myself. I refused, others did accepted.<BR/><BR/>What I am trying to say is Sata was at the very center of a sleazy government that did everything to systematically mislead and con the Zambian people. He did everything Chiluba did. He should have gone down with Chiluba.<BR/><BR/>That is not to say Mwanawasa is squeaky clean. He is a product of corruption. If he were above that he would have called for another election soon after being sworn in in 2001.<BR/><BR/>Zambia is still in search of a leader since Kaunda left (He may not have been perfect, but he was clearly a leader). There are alot of brialliant Zambians who can modernize the country, but they are scared, and rightly so, because they may end up like Baldwin Nkumbula, and Dean Mung'omba whose throats were slashed because of their political ambitions.<BR/><BR/>Yes, there might be a problem with the Chinese investment. Zambia needs to attract plum investment from Europe and North America.But we cannot entrust such responsibility with a cadaverous man like Mr Sata.<BR/><BR/>Remember this is the man who was found guilty of stealing money from Mezaff (sp) housing project in Chilenje. He never spent a day in jail. Instead he walked and kept ascending in Chiluba's cabinet until he became the third most powerful man in government.<BR/><BR/>Zambia needs a leader, but not Sata. I hope the nation realizes that.Nkhulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17746871459158034622noreply@blogger.com