CHISHIMBA Kambwili says President Edgar Lungu is wasting people’s resources by seeking to appoint a commission of inquiry into the privatisation s of national assets that occurred in the 1990s.
Meanwhile, Jakc Kalala says unless President Lungu is a quack lawyer, he knows the privatisation process that was followed but he is wickedly just manipulating young people to serve his hidden motive.
Addressing journalists at the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court on Friday, the National Democratic Congress leader said everyone knew that President Lungu was targeting main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema.
“I saw President Edgar Lungu on TV last (Thursday) night at 19:00 hours getting a petition from [Andrew] Ntewewe to ask him to set up a commission of inquiry in the privitisation of state companies and state enterprises in the 1990s. I am saying my heart bleeds because all of us, everybody knows that this inquiry is only targeting one particular individual,” Kambwili said. “I think people must not pretend that this petition was crafted by those students and Ntewewe. Those students and Ntewewe are sponsored and we know who is sponsoring them. And to start pretending that you are getting a petition from independent people is the most painful thing.”
He said President Lungu had told people at a rally in Kasama that he would ensure that Hichilema was arrested over the matter.
“President Edgar Lungu is on record in Kasama that we shall arrest HH. PF has been saying that we shall deal with HH. Then you go and take innocent students, you buy them T-shirts, you bus them to State House. And by the way, who gets to State House to protest or present a petition?” Kambwili asked. “Most people who have applied to go to State House and present petitions have been rejected. I went to demonstrate at State House during Rupiah Banda’s time, I was not allowed on the grounds of State House. I did it outside and most Zambians who were there; even workers wanting to go there. Remember the retirees who were camped at Ministry of Justice tried to go there, remember what happened. They called police on them; they were dispersed. But what is so special about those students and Ntewewe being allowed into State House premises and the President addresses them?”
Kambwili warned President Lungu to stop abusing students in championing his cause.
he wondered why it was difficult for police to allow UPND and NDC to have a rally in Lusaka even after being notified in time.
“You see, that the President is fully involved. He is the one who sponsored those students so that he can have a reason to call this commission of inquiry. Mr President, it’s better to be frank and not pretend and when you have a leader who pretends then the country is not in safe hands. I call upon you, Your Excellency, if you want to call for a commission of inquiry just call it. Stop abusing other people’s children, for heaven sake!” said Kambwili.
“What is so special about these students and where can they get money to print those T-shirts? President Edgar Lungu, when you start looking at Zambians as being gullible and stupid, the consequences will be very bad on you. And I want to advise you my President, my dear brother that when you live in glass houses do not throw stones. This precedence you are setting will catch up with you, it will catch up with your ministers.”
In a statement, Kalala, a former special assistant for project implementation and monitoring at State House, said President Lungu was wasting people’s time and resources by setting up an inquiry into privatisation of public assets.
He further called on the Head of State to ‘’stop the illogical rubbish he is doing of sponsoring PF surrogates, students and unemployed youth to march over the stale and dead issue of privatisation that happened decades ago when the country is currently grappling with various grave social and economic issues.’’
“If he has no capacity to lead the country and to deal with the calamities besetting the nation, he should immediately step down and allow the Vice-President, madam Inonge Wina to take over until the next elections. What President Lungu is doing is sheer rubbish and total nonsense and it points to irresponsibility, immaturity and a failed leadership,” he said.
“I challenge him to investigate the cases reported in the [Financial Intelligence Centre] FIC reports. I challenge him to investigate his ministers and permanent secretaries who have become instant billionaires while the majority of Zambians are wallowing in abject poverty and without jobs, and while the hospitals are in deplorable state lacking basic necessities. I challenge him to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the astronomical costs of roads in Lusaka done by Chinese companies,”
Kalala wondered what value the inquiry would bring to the economy where even large mining companies were struggling to survive.
“The largest mining companies, Mopani and KCM, are in a crisis and in urgent need of attention from the leaders. What value will the inquiry add to resolving the severe calamities the nation is facing today?’’ Kalala asked. “He knows very well that it was a government programme, which had adequate and rigorous terms and conditions to follow to ensure transparency. Unless he is a quack lawyer, he knows the process that was followed. Now he is just manipulating young people to serve his hidden motive. This is wickedness and evil.”
Kalala added that if President Lungu was serious about fighting corruption, he should investigate the corrupt purchases of fire tenders and ambulances.
He said people wanted to know who burned the markets and gassed innocent lives around the country.
“We should not accept to be taken for a ride by this President who has proved to be a disaster to our country. He should tell us whether he is going to bring to book the Cabinet of president [Frederick] Chiluba that presided over the privatisation programme. Will he bring to book the people who worked at the Zambia Privatisation Agency (ZPA)?” asked Kalala. “Will he arrest all the consultants and lawyers, including him, who were contracted by the government to help with the privatisation process? Will he resuscitate the companies that were liquidated like Zambia Airways, Contract Haulage, UBZ, and many others? Finally, I wish to appeal to the American Embassy to protest to the PF secretary general against the abuse of their flag – which stands for noble democratic values – by the PF rogues.”