By Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone
BOWMAN Lusambo’s whining is not about toilets but allegations of corruption, says Joseph Moyo.
“I tried to understand what his problems are but I am struggling to find any. Except that I was left shocked,” he said. “…Now we can understand why this country was destroyed. It’s because of the calibre of leaders under PF. Leaders who believe fighting corruption is a risk to one’s popularity. What a shame! I hope this helps Zambians understand PF and former leaders.”
The African Woman Foundation (TAWF) president says: “President Hakainde Hichilema was not elected to a beauty or popularity contest, but to search, rescue, clean up and rebuild this country.”
Moyo says Lusambo who says Michael Sata stayed away from fighting corruption to avoid being unpopular is “unfit to be near any corridors of governing or public service.
He said Lusambo’s ignorance is a danger to the nation.
Recently, Lusambo told The Mast that the UPND is damaging the PF integrity through its purported fight against corruption.
“We do not award contracts. My job was ceremonial. You go to open [commission] toilets. You go to inspect fields and rescuing people from floods in Kanyama and Kuku compound,” the former Lusaka Province minister in Edgar Lungu’s government said.
Lusambo said the fight against corrupt was tarnishing the names of former ministers like him when his role in government was merely ceremonial.
“Mr (Michael) Sata was not brutal, he allowed us [MMD] to offer checks and balances. Mr Sata would speak in the morning and I would respond in the afternoon. The only thing which was there was the clash with Mr Sata’s cadres in City Market where a gun was pointed to my head,” he said.
“The brutality we are seeing is taking Bowman Lusambo and other former ministers to the ACC (Anti-Corruption Commission) on allegations that I own 49 houses. This is brutal because they are playing with our integrity. They are tarnishing our names. We are arrested today and being made to stay in suspense as we wait to be taken to court.”
Lusambo said people should be investigated and prosecuted while in office.
“What authority can Bowman use in Lusaka as provincial minister? What programmes were in Lusaka Province, which Bowman had authority over? From cleaning garbage, are you telling me there are any advantages? We do not award contracts,” he said.
“My job was ceremonial. You go to open [commission] toilets. You go to inspect fields and rescuing people from floods in Kanyama and Kuku compound.”
And Lusambo said UPND ministers should also realise that their time to account would come.
“I have sat with my colleagues in the UPND. I have told them ‘now you have entered government, next day, they will call you criminals as we are being called now’,” he said.
Lusambo said the fight against corruption would make President Hichilema unpopular.
“We have gone through this. Do you know why Mr Sata stopped the fight against corruption? His popularity was going down. Even him [President Hichilema] his popularity has dropped. He came at 90 per cent. President Hakainde is now operating at 50 per cent today,” claimed Lusambo.
But Moyo said reading the Sunday edition of The Mast lead story, he was left struggling to understand what Lusambo’s problem was.
“The whining of Mr Lusambo as reported in your paper is very shocking. I tried to understand what his problems are but I am struggling to find any. Except that I was left shocked. His comments are equally bizarre for the following reasons. He says ‘people should be investigated while in office not after leaving’. He is totally correct as we believe any crime regardless of who commits it should be dealt with without exception,” he said.
“But the reason why these matters are being investigated and dealt with now is that they were not dealt with or investigated during the time PF was in government. We know the reasons are that our law enforcement agencies were captured by Lusambo and his fellow government officials. That’s where the problem was.”
Moyo added Lusambo’s warning to the current government leaders that they would one day be investigated was implying that they should tell our law enforcement agencies to stop investigating former leaders as a future insurance policy.
“That is shameful and low level talk by Mr Lusambo. He and his fellow former leaders are daily making mocking statements to the effect that if they did any wrong why were they not arrested while in government? How can a thief say he or she can’t be arrested at home because he was not arrested at the crime scene?” he asked. “The PF suspects disabled all national CCTV cameras to avoid being caught. But this government has a backup. They (PF) disabled all law enforcement agencies without exception and in some cases bought wine for them. They drunk it and failed to investigate crimes perpetrated by PF leaders. Now Lusambo says they should have been arrested knowing too well that they had intoxicated our law enforcement agencies.”
Moyo said Lusambo’s statements that President Hakainde’s popularity was falling was what he described as a none existent scale.
“He warns President Hichilema about the dangers according to him of a risk of unpopularity in fighting corruption and even uses a none existent scale and grades HH of having come in with the scale of 90 per cent and says now he is at 50 per cent due to fighting corruption. This is a shocking statement from Lusambo. He goes on to say Michael Sata stayed away from fighting corruption to avoid being unpopular. I think Lusambo is unfit to be near any corridors of governing or public service. His ignorance is a danger to the nation,” he said.
“Lusambo should know HH was not elected in a beauty or popularity contest. He was elected to lead this country’s search, rescue, clean up and rebuild the mess left by Lusambo and his fellow PF leaders. That’s what this government led by HH is here for.”
Moyo noted that Lusambo wants President Hichilema to worry about losing popularity by fighting corruption. He urged Lusambo and his fellow PF leaders never to be near any positions of authority.
“Now we can understand why this country was destroyed. It’s because of the calibre of leaders under PF. Leaders who believe fighting corruption is a risk to one’s popularity. What a shame! I hope this helps Zambians understand PF and former leaders. Never again should they ever find themselves in positions of trust,” said Moyo.