I FEEL lighter, reacted Harry Kalaba, after refunding K60,434.88 to the State yesterday.
Once he had deposited the amount at the Zanaco Premium House branch in Lusaka, Kalaba, the opposition Democratic Party (DP) president, went to the Ministry of Justice headquarters where he left the cash deposit slip in Attorney General Likando Kalaluka’s office.
He hopes the repaid money will not find itself in the: “same pockets of those who are abusing the resources of this country today.”
Asked how he felt after paying back, Kalaba answered: “well, I feel lighter.”
“I feel lighter because there was no need for us to even have taken this route. The very first time in 2017, when the Constitutional Court ruled that we should pay back, we should have paid back without even going to court,” Kalaba said.
“There was no need of taking this protracted route. Honestly speaking, we should have saved ourselves time and resources – instead of doing what we did. We should have just paid that time.”
He continued: “I hope the monies that I have paid today will be put to good use.”
“I hope it will not go back in the same pockets of those who are abusing the resources of this country today. I hope this money will find itself in Chilubi, in Kaoma, in Nkeyema, to help in the health facilities, so that we can ameliorate the challenges of our people,” he said.
On whether or not his keenness to pay back was indicative of him having enough money, Kalaba countered.
“No! No! No! It’s not even about the money [but] it’s about principle. A good name is better than riches! A mistake was made, even though it was not made by myself,” Kalaba said. “But the courts have ruled [and] it’s the same courts that have managed to keep the DP in existence. It’s the same courts that have ruled that we should pay back. So, where good comes from even evil comes from [there].”
He added that he paid back because he had an inescapable responsibility towards Zambia.
“We need to do good, especially as leaders. People should know that if we undermine our own foundations of democracy, then where are we going?” he noted
Meanwhile, Kalaba reiterated that those who are supporting the issue of the third term of office for President Edgar Lungu must be careful.
“We are now learning it the hard way [by refunding the State]. There will be no third term and so, they should be careful in the way they support it, otherwise they will find themselves in the shoes that we are in today,” cautioned Kalaba.
The Constitutional Court has given the 64 ministers and deputies who remained in office ahead of the 2016 general elections to pay back the monies and allowances they got within 30 days.