NOTHING FRUITFUL FROM UPND’S CDF – ANTONIO MWANZA
…as he challenges those claiming that there are tangible benefits from the funds to point out any
Lusaka, Wednesday, October 4, 2023 (Smart Eagles)
Socialist Party (SP) Deputy General Secretary Antonio Mwanza has frowned upon the highly praised CDF which is proving be a scam under the UPND government.
Despite the proposed increase in the allocation to the fund in the 2024 national budget, Mr Mwanza predicted that nothing fruitful will come from the CDF.
He challenged those arguing that the CDF works to point out anything that has been done from the fund.
The Deputy General Secretary said this when he featured on United Voice Radio today.
“What are projects are going on here in Kabwata. If we have to go to the youths, can we point out here in Kabwata that these are the youths who have benefited from CDF? They are running this cooperative, they are processing this, they are selling this, they are supplying this, kulibe. Can we go and say these are the mothers that have been given CDF funds, this is the project they are running and they are making so much? Kulibe. Can we go today and point out at any significant building that has been built from CDF in Kabwata, kulibe,” he said.
“So CDF ili pa paper. I have done an interrogation and we have found for instance I can give you Shiwang’andu Constituency for instance, only K6 million has been given, from 2021 to date. This is money that is only meant to build one by three classroom block. That is not development. The aim of CDF was money to be used to deal with simple community projects. But what this government has done is that when they tell you there is K30 million, they have collapsed the budgets of line ministries.”
He explained that the government of “angels” has collapsed the money that was supposed to go to the police, education, health and infrastructure development.
“All these government departments, they have collapsed these budgets and put them under CDF. Now, that creates problems. Why have they done that? It is because they want a figure so that when they announce K30.8 million, Zambians will say boma isebenza. But there is no that K30 million to begin with. Number 2, it means when you go pa Kabwata police palibe vilivonse because ba Police ba pa Kabwata are waiting for K1 million to come from CDF to buy a Land Cruiser,” he said.
“If you go to Kabwata Clinic, there is no medicine because they are waiting for K1 million to come from CDF to buy medicines. So, this CDF has failed. The councils, many of them don’t have the capacity to disbase these monies, the law that governs CDF has not changed, it has not been reviewed, been amended, meaning that even the projects are limited to what can be approved by council authorities.”
In terms of disbursement Mr Mwanza disclosed that he challenged government to show the Zambian people the amounts they have disbursed.
He argued that “the CDF which is being talked about, we cannot see results. I have asked government, show us the cooperatives that have benefited from CDF and they have made it today. Show the Zambian people and say this is the cooperative, it took money from CDF and this is how much they have made, kulibe.”
“Show us the buildings you have built, the furniture you have built, the bridges you have built from CDF, there is nothing. Chiefs’ palaces that have been built from the CDF, kulibe, ni story.”