FRED M’MEMBE DOES NOT OWE ANY BANK ANY MONEY
…It is a malicious falsehood by a desperate, corrupt regime…
Lusaka, Thursday, April 4, 2024
As pressure increases on the incompetent and corrupt UPND regime, they have resorted to a desperate smear campaign aimed at peddling malicious lies in order to intimidate and tarnish the reputation of those who are exposing their failures, grand corruption, and abuse of power, such as Socialist Party (SP) President Dr. Fred M’membe.
One such lie is the claim that Dr. M’membe owes the Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) a substantial amount of money in the form of an unpaid loan. This baseless lie is not only laughable but also reflects the mounting pressure that Dr. M’membe’s solid and well-researched checks and balances are placing on the desperate, incompetent, and corrupt puppet regime of Hakainde Hichilema.
However, these kindergarten propaganda tactics targeting Dr. M’membe and the issues surrounding DBZ and Zambian Airways will not succeed. Dr. M’membe does not owe any bank or state-owned company any money in his individual capacity. If that were the case, the increasingly unpopular UPND regime would have wasted no time in hauling him before the courts of law to humiliate him, as it has become their habit. However, there is no record of any such case in any court.
Zambians are not fools; they understand that this is merely part of the ongoing smear campaign against the SP president. For the record, Dr. M’membe was not party to Zambian Airways’ indebtedness to the DBZ. The condition set by DBZ for granting a loan of US$3 million to the airline’s shareholders was to raise equity of US$3 million. The shareholders made a commitment to fulfill this condition, and the airline was consequently advanced the full amount of US$3 million. The plain truth, deliberately hidden by the desperate UPND regime, is that, in an effort to meet this condition, the shareholders of Zambian Airways approached several institutions for investment. The Post Newspapers Limited invested US$3 million, and Seaboard, an American company that owned National Million Plc, contributed US$2 million, bringing the total to US$5 million. This amount exceeded the US$3 million required by DBZ for the loan. As a result of this investment, the Post Newspapers Limited received 25 percent of the airline’s shares, while Seaboard acquired 12 percent.
These records are available at DBZ for anyone who wishes to verify them. Shortly after these transactions were completed, fuel prices dramatically increased, resulting in financial difficulties for many airlines worldwide. Consequently, numerous airlines faced financial challenges, and Zambian Airways was put into receivership by its directors. To be clear, Zambian Airways remains in receivership. In light of these facts, any honest person should ask what wrong Dr. M’membe has committed in this situation. In fact, a Supreme Court judgment has specifically ruled against including Dr. M’membe in Zambian Airways’ indebtedness to DBZ.
Therefore, it is nothing but ignorance and malice to bring up the issue of Zambian Airways’ debt to DBZ against Dr. M’membe at this time. Rather than wasting time and resources peddling such baseless lies, the failed and corrupt UPND regime should address the growing public anger resulting from its failure to fulfill campaign promises and its contribution to the unbearable cost of living for the majority of Zambians.
Issued by:
Brian HAPUNDA
Media Director, Socialist Party
He’s taking advantage of the corporate shield (veil) because he has found it to be the only way out. But he won’t accept the corporate shield argument in the Mopani Copper Mines transaction.
Hapunda is as dull as he looks but one thing he is rightly saying is zambians are not dull. They know Fred and his cohorts borrowed $3million from DBZ and after that siphoned out that $3 million through legal means such as allowances, salaries, directors pay, expenses etc into their personal pockets thereby rendering the company insolvent and forced into liquidation but of course without personal liability to the directors which include crooked Fred. So legally according to company laws Fred is nor the one owing but the company but we know the one who benefitted from that loan was Fred and not the company.
Hampunda, you can’t write an article refuting what you say is falsehood without using demeaning words? You never learn. One day you will find yourself at UPND but anyway, you people lack shame, it will be business as usual. In journalism you learnt, you can say the same thing politely? It is no wonder you are not growing as a party.
Ba Joze, that is not Brian Hapunda’s writing, you know who wrote that Article!!
Fred Mmembe was a shareholder of Weekly Post/Post. The company that promised to pay the Zambian Airways debt. He was also shareholder of Zambian Airways. While Corporations are entities that can act in their own sted. They have actors in the form of Directors and Shareholders who pull the strings.
It was irresponisible and derelic of the shareholders to expose Zambian Airways and Post to debt that they could not pay. Mmembe was an accountant. Prudencency 101. Remove the corporate veil and go after his personal assets. Too many people hide behide instititions while the institutions take the fall for their reckless behaviour. We can not speak of accountability without holding actors responisible for their actions while holding office.
This will help people realise that Public office or an office of responisibilty is not one where individuals act irresponisible. People must account for their actions. Stop hiding in the name of companies while plundering them. Busy pointing fingers at HH, here we go. Lets see you get out of this one Mmembe. First its was Kabimba who threw the challenge about your homosexual overtures. Now you are trying to “man-splain” yourself out of runing down a bank and skipping the debt?
As for the SP Media person, son stop being used like a tooth brush….have some dignity and self worth. For pieces of silver you have jumped from one party to another. Says alot about you….
Whoever bewitched this kawe kamuntu nkinga Haapunda must be dead and the disease cant be reversed! What’s this hungry man with malnutrition saying now? Haapunda is defending the indefensible surely. He surely can’t defend the stupidity and insults he is spewing on on Zambians .
Is this idyot sure that Mmembe owes noone money? Does Haapunda know anything about the corporate veil through which Fred Mmembe was conducting fraudulent transactions?
Some Zambians like Haapunda are reason why Zambia is what it is as a poor country today. Until such people are no longer living with us, our country will never get out of trouble. Very disappointing and foolish this idyot is. He stands for nothing, has no principles and the reason why he has been changing political parties like underwear.
Again Sir, we can really advise him without insulting him. Our children will pick it as this is the right way to speak to one another. He is off side so we can just point it out