Tired Sata Delivers 1-Minute Speech at Labour Day President Michael Sata had hardly opened his mouth to address the workers that had gathered all morning to wait for his address than he bade farewell leaving the sun baked labourers in shock. Pre-Labour Day discourse had hinged on the “to attend or not to to attend question” with the unions urging the workers to attend and use the opportunity to make their plea before the Head of State. A frail looking President who showed how haunted he is by the wage freeze incoherently touched on it and just when workers thought he was ready to hit the matter head on, he was already headed to his motorcade. A minute earlier First Republican president Dr Kenneth Kaunda with admirable effort for his advanced age obliged to be paraded to deliver a one liner atypical of the One Party era, “Your Excellency I want to thank you for leading us in this wonderful way. May God continue guiding you.” Even the ZNBC crew that had been gearing to cover the ceremony was left shell shocked as the President left as they were angling their cameras. Those that encouraged people to march had hoped President Sata will address the issue of the wage freeze, recruitment freeze and dismissal of nurses more purposefully. Below is President Sata’s verbatim: Today there will be no speeches, we should all go back to go and reflect, improve on our workers’ conditions of service. Have you seen, they have come all of them young ones and old ones. You should behave like the government look at the police, look at the army, look at ZNS very impressive dress and all employers should go and look after workers. They do not need to go on strike to ask for more pay just think as if it was you who had nothing to eat. So please these are instructions Mr Shamenda you must make sure that people get paid. They should not go and strike for pay. And when we say wage freeze it is wage freeze for government. But STOP TALKING about wage freeze go and firstly, we have not stopped any employer to say there is a wage freeze. So if you don’t wage freeze, if you are talking about wage freeze we shall freeze you Mr Shamenda. Where are they I am told there are awards to be presented after I have left Mr Shamenda can present the awards because I don’t see why we should be presenting the awards I know how the workers suffer. National anthem please.
Posted on: Fri, 02 May 2014 14:11:40 +0000
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