By Patson Chilemba
Petauke women have showered information minister Dora Siliya with insults after she called them for a meeting only to give them K20 each, says ruling PF member Emmanuel Banda, popularly known as Jay Jay.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Banda said husbands of the women Siliya called for the meeting were upset, with the fact that she kept their wives from morning to evening, only to give them K20 each after that meeting.
Banda said Siliya must not repeat calling people’s wives for meetings and pay them peanuts after holding them the whole day.
“It was K20 each and the women were very upset and we told them that we will talk to the MP so that it can’t repeat itself,” Banda said, saying he did not understand exactly why Siliya paid the women those amounts. “I don’t know maybe it’s for missing lunch, I don’t know.”
Banda said the approximate number of the women Siliya organised was around 500, and met them at a place called DIVAS. He said Siliya released the women late and only paid them K20 without providing them transport even when most of them were coming from distant places.
“Me as a leader on that day there was a lot of insults from the same women insulting our MP, so I was encouraging them not to insult the MP but we will advise the MP that next time she shouldn’t do that because she called those women in the morning until around 19 hours. So they were even walking now from where the meeting was to their homes which is about 10 kilometers,” Banda said. “So they just walked without even providing transport, so they were very upset.”
Banda said he appeared on a radio programme in Petauke, where several husbands of women who attended the meeting complained bitterly against Siliya. He said the people wondered what type of leadership Siliya was providing, where instead of following the people in their villages to appreciate the hardships they were experiencing, she was calling them to the boma to address them.
“Because I went on radio I was live, their husbands complained a lot on radio. Yes. They said what type of leadership instead of following the people where they stay to see what kind of water they are drinking, what kind of roads they are using instead of her calling them, why calling them in town and hold a meeting from morning until the evening and then you let them walk which was very dangerous,” Banda said. “So I had a challenge now of convincing them to say no it won’t repeat again.”
Banda confirmed that he is aspiring to challenge Siliya for the Petauke seat.
Asked how he rated his chances, Banda urged this journalist to visit Petauke himself to assess how he was fairing.
“Since you are a journalist when you are ready I will invite you so that you can compare because I am an interested party so I can’t judge for myself. Unless you ask another person,” said Banda. “But since you are a journalist if you can give me time I will invite you with transport, I will give you transport even accommodation so that you can get for yourself even the same insults which were showered towards our MP during the same day. You can come and get them for yourself.”
Efforts to talk to Siliya failed as her mobile phone was off. -Daily Revelation