Govt won’t distribute stolen money as PF was doing, HH tells UPND members

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HH

Govt won’t distribute stolen money as
PF was doing, HH tells UPND members

By Kombe Chimpinde Mataka

UPND members have told President Hakainde Hichilema they want jobs and contracts because they are suffering at the expense of opposition PF.


But in responding to party members who raised the concerns on National Votes Protection WhatsApp Platform while in the US where he attended the 77th session of the UN Gneral Assembly, President Hichilema said what his government would not do is to distribute stolen money as PF was doing.


He said the PF corruption destroyed “our country and UPND should not go that direction”.
UPND member Trevor Mwiinde wrote, “In the circle of (UPND) leadership there lies segments. The field we chose Politics has thinkers and cadres nobody must feel abandoned completely. The learned Elite must not totally control all. There are sectors which we helped by the little toils and sweat of our hands. The Methodical approach is costing us comrades we struggled to build on grassroots, the method has openly almost displaced all contacts in sensitive places.”


“Ideally a neat nice approach to consider political distribution of CDF (Constituency Development Fund) ,whereby you pay councils five million and let twenty million be a contact project by the President sealing remarkable landmark projects across country. This fund leaving it in hands of PF MPs is suicidal in our life time. We have heard and seen money, however the Zambians have not appreciated money distribution without proper inclusive measures. The cooperatives and CDF committees have left a lot of scars on the worse side in areas we have strong opposition .The rest will submit to NMC (National Management Committee). I submit Trevor Mwiinde.”


One message from unnamed member read, “My take on this is that yes we have achieved a number of things for the Zambian people but statement of saying PF is still in charge is as a result of us members not benefiting from what we fought for.”
Another read, “Thank you very much your excellence we want contracts both for supplying and construction. We have all the documents required we have the equipment for construction. All we need your excellence are contracts. And please your excellence remove these people from the procurement the just giving contracts to PF.


Morgun Kalembwe also drew the President’s attention to what he said was a gap between party and government and the need for him to always find time for politics.


“Mr President your (our ) supporters expected something so different when in opposition from what is happening now,” he wrote. “We need to share the vision to the grassroots “Tantameni “has spoiled the minds of Zambian hence we are called a government/party ya KASO (Party for the stingy). Let’s find alternatives to make people benefit off course beyond CDF. Mr President the party is not in good form, some are frustrated, some were appointed in government and some lost direction immediately no caderism was declared. Work on that because people are being deceived. Mr President those PF caderism in government offices are remitting six percent of their salaries to PF and hence the stubbornness. Please change the system or else it will change you.”


But President Hichilema said through the many things government was doing, Zambians and UPND members alike had begun getting empowered.
“Please list the specific benefits you as members of UPND are expecting which are not part of those your Government is delivering. Examples of what your Government is doing include freedom from the PF violence, free education, school desks, more classrooms in schools, teacher’s houses, provision of water and sanitation, more clinics, 30,000 teachers, 11,000 medical staff, payment of retirees, freedom in bus stops, markets to use and to trade in, freedom of speech, employment of DCs (District Commissioners) and others in government, councils, quasi-government institutions, improved kwacha against dollar, some prices of commodities going down (cement, sugar, cooking oil, Mealie meal, soap, fuel, access to increased social cash, women and youth funds in the much increased CDF, availing fertiliser and seed fairly across the country,” President Hichilema responded. “The list is long of what your government has done and continues to do (in one year). The IMF programme and restructuring of the huge debt acquired by the PF will bring more relief to the economy and will make it easier for Government to support you the people. When we re-open mining licences soon, we will give you citizens licences to mine on your own or in partnership with others. We are working on a programme to make more land available to you the citizens. Many more benefits are on the way, so please tell your servant, HH, what other things do you want your government to do for you and we will look at them if they are within reach. What your Government will not do is to distribute stolen money (tantameni, ka ‘somefing’) as PF was doing. The PF corruption destroyed our country and we should not go that direction.”


President Hichilema said the government was trying hard to clean the mess “so we can improve people’s lives”.
“Your Government will support you within what is possible and over time things will continue to get better. More jobs and small businesses are coming as we bring more investments from our marketing efforts and as we continue rebuilding the economy ravaged by PF,” he said. “Soon we will be recruiting more of our citizens in the Police, Army, ZAF, Correctional Services, National Service, etc. As we bring more investments, private companies will also be employing more people. Let us correctly read the positive direction the country is going in.”
President Hichilema said the party needs to pull in one direction to rebuild the country.


“Shouting at your Government every day and fighting among yourselves is not the way you rebuild a rundown country. We need to all pull in one direction. Do not feed from the PF propaganda table,” warned President Hichilema.
Another member wrote, “ Mr President you have well listed many things that we are all seeing that this government is doing for the Zambian people, nevertheless I must mention that I’m one the applicants and UPND member who was left out in this year’s massive recruitment of health workers, hence my write up.”


Other UPND members called on President Hichilema to empower the media teams so that they could work effectively carrying out our duties and counter react to all the PF propaganda to “make you govern peacefully”.
In reference to Mwiinde, President Hichilema wrote that “you cannot run or manage anything without a system or order, nothing at all. Chipantepante is what led to the PF destruction of our country. Let us not go that way.”


“Any successful country in the world today is run in a methodical and orderly manner, China, Singapore, Malaysia, USA, Norway, etc. In Botswana next door there is order, you poach wild animals you are shot at sight, you steal you are jailed, you are corrupt you go to jail, throwing litter all over is a crime, you beat someone innocent you go to jail, no illegal mining, you are employed because you qualify,” he responded.


On the need to strengthen the media team President Hichilema said, “Let someone provide me with what they need. Alternatively, arrange for them to come to the Community House for us to agree what is needed.”
But when another member said the party needed branding of their attire and facilities, President Hichilema’s response was, “Are you saying that HH should buy them clothing?”

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