CORRUPTION: EVEN THEIR FRIENDS HAVE REALIZED THEY’RE STEALING BIG-Fred M’membe

CORRUPTION: EVEN THEIR FRIENDS HAVE REALIZED THEY’RE STEALING BIG

The Swedish Ambassador to Zambia has joined the many voices that have raised alarm over the rampant cases of corruption in the country.

We are not surprised that even their friends are also coming to the same conclusions that we have drawn, that corruption is high under Mr Hakainde Hichilema’s puppet and tribal UPND regime.

We have said it before, and we are saying it now that these people are stealing big, and they do not have what it takes to wage a genuine fight against corruption.

This UPND government is corrupt to the core; it is reeking with corruption in every pore. It’s rotten from the bottom to the top, or rather from top to bottom. It’s a very corrupt puppet tribal regime, and they are not even as clever and sophisticated as they seem to think. These are shameless gluttons who don’t even care about the people who voted for them.

Mr Hichilema is fully aware that he is leading a rotten government, and the rot starts with him. No wonder people like Mr Stanley Kakubo can have the luxury of resigning from government instead of being fired. Mr Hichilema shielded the disgraced Mr Kakubo from taking a walk of shame because he knows that he is not the only corrupt person in this administration.

To this day, Mr Kakubo has not been arrested and prosecuted for his suspected involvement in corruption, and nothing has been seized from him as a proceeds of crime.

When it comes to fighting corruption, Mr Hichilema is paralyzed by the fact that he has no moral right to condemn or even take decisive action against his lieutenants in government because everyone is literally involved in some illegal activity in one way or another.

The endless corruption scandals that have rocked this government are a reminder that the country is in corrupt hands and needs a breather. It is clear that this is a government of the thieves, for the thieves, and by the thieves.

So, how can Mr Hichilema be expected to genuinely fight corruption when there is so much grand corruption and looting surrounding him, and involving him?

We have said before that any meaningful fight against corruption in this country has to start with an investigation of Mr Hichilema’s own dealings in almost every sector of our economy like mining, fuel, fertilizer, insurance, grain imports and exports, property and real estate, construction and manufacturing, among many others.

There is a need to investigate Mr Hichilema. He should be able to answer questions about his dealings. Without doing so, the fight against corruption becomes hypocritical, a facade and meaningless.

Any meaningful fight against corruption must start with an investigation of Mr Hichilema’s business interests.

Mr Musa Mwenye, the chairman of the Anti Corruption Commission and the US ambassador to Zambia, Mr Michael Gonzales, have emphatically demanded that Mr Hichilema declares all his assets. Why?

The day Mr Hichilema is made to fully disclose all his business interests, without being able to conceal anything, will mark the beginning of the end of his presidency and the beginning of his journey to prison. Even Mr Hichilema knows this too well no wonder the resistance.

The amount of systemic corruption and plunder that is being facilitated by State House is terrifying and confirms the sad reality that this presidency is a disaster and a failure!

The truth and the reality currently, is that most of the bribery, embezzlement, illicit enrichment, trading influence and all manner of abuses and white- collar financial and economic crimes that we are witnessing are engineered by State House.

The presidency is the command post of grand corruption and looting of public resources. Under this presidency, procurement procedures and regulations have been totally paralyzed and they are going about their daily business with impunity, and without any oversight or regard for the moral, political and economic effects of their actions. This presidency is the most corrupt in the history of this country, and the presidential aides are the most incompetent, shady, and pathetically dishonest and corrupt.

With the presidency organizing and perpetuating this cancerous culture of corruption, it is wishful thinking to expect this regime to wage a relentless campaign against corruption and succeed.

Crooks of all shapes and sizes have been assembled and unleashed on the people and the state coffers by Mr Hichilema.

This is not a way to govern a country.

Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party