Letter to the Editor

President Michael Sata

Our president, Michael Sata, has for sure without any doubts manifested high deficiency in both diplomacy and respect for others. For quite some time now, many Zambians have complained over the crude behavior and character exhibited by this President.

To some place where he has gone, diplomacy has never been portrayed and has manifested the behavior which doesn’t befit the president of any country.

I know some Zambians especially some cadres really get amused with such behavior and they see nothing wrong with it.

I have argued with some few individuals in the streets of Kitwe and have expressed some sort of happiness to the way the president talks to other people especially leaders.

Several times the president has humiliated his own ministers publicly by either denouncing them harshly or telling them off. Recently at the state house he humiliated the learned Justice Minister, Sebastian Zulu who couldn’t show up to provide a report on NAPSA commission of inquiry.

Even the Post Newspaper which supports him has denounced his type of non-diplomatic and humiliating behavior.

I quote what the Post Newspaper wrote on Sata’s humiliation of Sebastian Zulu by its columnist Sishuwa Sishuwa on Wed 18 Apr. 2012, he wrote:

“THE relationship between President Michael Sata and his Cabinet ministers is raising serious concern among many people. Last week, the Commission of Inquiry that was set up to investigate former communications and transport minister Dora Siliya’s cancellation of a contract to deliver airport surveillance radar equipment presented its findings to the President.In receiving the report, President Sata publicly condemned it as “useless” and wondered if commission chairperson, Sebastian Zulu, who is also Minister of Justice, was trying to protect Siliya.

“Later, the same week, Sata refused to receive another report from the Napsa Commission of Inquiry that was tasked to investigate possible irregularities in Napsa’s purchase of land from Meanwood Properties for US$98 million.

“The President’s justification was that Commission chairman, Sebastian Zulu, was not present at State House to hand it over to him. Sata deferred the presentation of the report but only after making an off-the-cuff statement that it has ‘a lot of dust which has been swept under the carpet’. What do we make of all this?

“First is that the frequency with which President Sata is making off-the-cuff remarks is unprecedented and a matter of grave concern. The phenomenal rate at which he is issuing needless pronouncements at the official receipt of Commission reports raises serious questions about whether or not the President has advisors, the nature of these advisors and their competence.

“There is no space here to review the President’s many slip-ups in the past seven months, but what is irrefutable is that most of the mistakes that he has authored since his election have resulted from off-the-cuff statements.

“Who really advises Sata? Or is it that it is Sata himself who does not seek and listen to professional advice? Whatever the case, there is urgent need for those who have been tasked with advising our President to tell him that off-the-cuff speeches are reducing his standing and that of his office in the eyes of many.(end of quote)

“Such type of manners are very crude and don’t show that he has any regard for other people’s feelings and status.

“Don’t forget that Mr. Sata humiliated the former inspector general of Police Martin Malama openly right on Public media ZNBC Television like a very small child. The president publicly rebuked the newly-appointed inspector general of police Martin Malama for not quashing the secessionists’ attempts to form “a state within a state”.

“Mr Sata can surely say anything at any time and anywhere.

NOW HE HAS EXTENDED HIS UNDIPLOMATIC BEHAVIOUR TO THE DIASPORA

Whenever, Mr. Sata leaves Zambia to the diaspora, we are always worried of what next will come out from the unpredictable character.

When our president Sata was in Botswana he forgot that he was in a different country and told off the Zambians living in Botswana including demeaning the Botswana government.

Most media organizations reported except the government controlled ones. Even the some media houses in Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa reported the displeasure of many Tswana as a result of Sata’s uncontrolled tongue.

For instance, NewsdzeZimbabwe, 28th March, 2012 reported on how unhappy Botswana MPs were with the Sata’s sentiments to their residents and citizens.

I quote,

President Michael Sata is said to have said:

‘All of you who are here with fake questions am very disappointed with you and embarrassed, are you not even ashamed of yourselves? You ran away from Zambia and thought we couldn’t find you and now today we have caught you. You are refugees in Botswana being exploited by the Botswana Government. You left Zambia to come and work here for an extra K1?’…end of quote

Definitely what Sata said to those professional is his honest opinion. We argue that he broke all the rules of diplomacy, more so that he was in a foreign land. We expect visiting heads of state to carry themselves in a certain manner, but not the way Sata did when he addressed his countrymen in Gaborone.

How can a sensible person a president for that matter, would say some thing like that to his citizens who excitedly flocked to meet and talk to him, as their president only to be greeted with several insults. So we never knew that Botswana government is exploiting Zambians in Botswana. But then to be factual, the Zambian professionals in Botswana are far much better paid than the Zambians in Zambia.

SATA ON GEORGE BUSH
The latest hit of Sata’s antics fell on the former USA president, George.W.Bush.
The treatment which Mr. Sata. gave the former US president was extremely embarrassing and humiliating to G.Bush, Americans and Zambians.
What picture is being portrayed to the world on the type of new Zambia?

This crude and lack-of-regard behavior by our president is not for this century but for sure befits the stone age era where people saw themselves as enemies.
It is not only that this was George Bush but Mr. Sata has for a long time now has shown a very undiplomatic conduct decorated with filthy words towards other people and leaders.

By today Zambia has the worst and very embarrassing president in the world apart from Mugabe. Despite being bad Mugabe is more diplomatic than this type of character.

Mr. Sata should have just chosen to ignore George Bush instead of inviting him at the State just to humiliate this American.

We know that Sata is a very courageous man, just like the Cobra itself, but he must know when to apply his courage and to which people.
Laing.A.Johanesberg on Telegraph.co.uk 07/07/2012 reports that,

George W. Bush, the former US president, has received a dressing down from Zambia’s Michael Sata over the colonial legacy of Western countries whom he accused of “abandoning” Africa having stripped it of its natural resources.Mr Bush arrived in the southern African country last weekend with his wife Laura to promote the work of their cervical cancer prevention foundation, and paid a courtesy visit to the president at Lusaka’s State House. There, Mr Sata, known as King Cobra for his sharp tongue and quick temper, told the 66-year-old Texan that his charitable efforts represented “payback time for colonialists”. Mr Sata, 75, also complained about “the young man” Mr Bush being late for their meeting, adding that were he not bringing money to Africa, he would not have waited.

Do you call this joking…how about this these Sata’s words as reported by Zambia Reports

President Sata also expressed anger at Bush for keeping him waiting at State House. President Sata walked to the State House main entrance and , holding his hands in the pocket, told United States Embassy public affairs officer Priscilla Hernandez that he did not like being kept waiting.

“I cannot be waiting here. He [Bush] is former president; he is not the current president [of the United States] so I cannot be waiting for him. I’m not an American for me to be waiting for him, and I don’t intend to be an American,” President Sata told Hernandez as Bush’s security kept communicating with their colleagues who were with Bush on their way to State House.

“The young man is lucky that he is the first American leader to have brought money to Africa through his Millennium Challenge [Account]; that’s why I’m standing here. Otherwise if it was somebody else I would have handed him over to one of my ministers to meet him.”(end of Quote).

You can Google in easily and see the rest of the Drama.

Finally, it has become clear that His excellency,Mr.Sata has a serious diplomatic problem which we as Zambians really need to work on. If this guy is left free with his crudeness, it will destroy all that we have worked for, for a long time, which is peace. How can it be if the chap goes outside the country then gets humiliated?

Iam sure with his character of being shameless; he can feel nothing at all.

Let his church mates, Archbishop Mpundu, Frank Bwalya, Mwewa etc who tirelessly campaigned for this non-diplomatic character sit him down advise and pray for him to cast away the evil spirits controlling his life. Otherwise many Zambians when things go bad just as the way we are seeing things, they will rise against you, the catholic clergy who were his campaign managers and advisers.

This is U.Gaga
Concerned Zambian