PF ROBBED ZAMBIANS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT WITHOUT SHAME – PRESIDENT HICHILEMA
Republican President Hakainde Hichilema has disclosed how the Patriot Front (PF) government engaged in daylight robbery of taxpayers’ money by inflating prices in public procurement.
President Hichilema disclosed that, for instance, when the price of fertilizer was fetching $450 per ton at the world market, the PF government inflated price of the farming inputs to $1,200 per ton.
The Head of State explained that the UPND administration came to know about overpricing of fertilizer because of the methodical way it was handling national affairs.
“Underweight fertilizer… I don’t think you knew about all these things. Ourselves we came to know about all this because of our methodical approach. When the world price of fertilizer was at $450 per ton, our colleagues (opposition PF), deliberately (and) consciously, were buying fertilizer at $1,200 per ton using taxpayers’ money,” the President continued. “If you multiply 1,200 by 300,000 metric tons, you know your numbers. How can you grow an economy like that?”
President Hichilema further disclosed that the PF government only procured 63 percent of fertilizer for the 2021-2022 farming season, contrary to what they used to tell the Zambian people in the run up to the August 12 general election.
“We come to the next item; undersupply, under delivery (of fertilizer) … Only 63 per cent of fertilizer was supplied and yet during campaigns we were told that all the fertilizers were delivered. 37 per cent was not delivered…it wasn’t. And yet $1.2 million was paid in full and in advance. How can you create jobs? How can you pay your workers well? How can create business opportunities? It was the same with fuel. Road contracts…it was worse,” the President explained.