By Staff Reporter
Paramount chief of the Ngoni people, Mpezeni recently refused to meet Finance minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane when he attempted to meet him on the third day, having been made to wait for the minister at the palace on two previous occasions without showing up.
And Eastern Province permanent secretary Paul Thole could neither
problem for which an apology was event sent to the paramount chief, something he said Mpezeni accepted.Impeccable sources have told Daily Revelation that the
Mpezeni snubbed Dr Musokotwane during the minister’s recent working visit in
Chipata and other places in Eastern Province.
“What happened was that at first word was sent to the
paramount chief not to leave the palace as the minister was going to pay a
courtesy call on him at the palace. But the minister never showed up on that
day as he was said to be caught up in a busy schedule. Then word was sent a second
time that the minister would pay a courtesy call and the paramount chief should
not leave the palace. But due to scheduling issues, the minister did not show
up again,” the sources said. “But when the minister was now ready to meet him
on the third day, the Mpezeni simply said he was busy as he too had other
businesses to attend to, complaining that nanga ulemu tautaya kuti (where have
we thrown the respect)?”
Permanent secretary Thole when asked that Daily Revelation
had information that Mpezeni snubbed Dr Musokotwane after the minister made the
paramount chief to wait for him on two occasions without showing up, simply
said he had no comment.
“Apparently, I have no comment. I can neither confirm nor
deny,” said Thole.
But his minister Phiri said when Dr Musokotwane arrived in
the province he was scheduled to have a virtual meeting and an apology was sent
to the chief which he accepted.
He insisted that the minister could not meet the chief
because of the scheduling differences, and that that only happened once and not
twice.
Provincial UPND chairperson Johabi Mtonga who is said to have been in the entourage to see the chief, said he could not comment on the matter as Dr Musokotwane was not in the province for political programmes.
