PLEASE EAT QUIETLY…Dr Sishuwa tells ex Minister of Finance’s son after Situmbeko Musokotwane’s child praised his father as “the best finance minister”
Dr Sishuwa writes:
Mwiya, you are too close to this tribal, corrupt, lying, and undemocratic regime to offer an unbiased take on its performance in public office. I read what you regularly write on the performance of this regime, and many are the times that I have had to constrain myself from tearing apart what you present as detached analysis. It is really annoying to see kids of politicians who have messed up the country lecturing the victims about this and that. One of such conversations relates to the way Situmbeko Musokotwane, your father, and his friend Hichilema have mismanaged the mining sector for the benefit of their foreign friends and to Zambia’s loss. I will give three simple examples.
The first relates to lost revenue from the mining industry. On the tax side, the Ministry of Finance publishes what they call “tax expenditure reports”. For the year 2023 alone – and I am only giving this as an example because I am too pressed for time to provide a comprehensive picture of the five years of the UPND rule – Zambia lost HALF A BILLION DOLLARS in potential tax revenue to the mines.
You can read further here: https://idan.africa/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Policy-Brief-5_Chelwa-Kaulule_EN.pdf
This pattern was likely repeated over the next three years, meaning Zambia could have lost at least $2 bn under the watch of Situmbeko Musokotwane. Musokotwane’s policies have been good for his foreign friends, but devastatingly dreadful for the country. Bad policies kill. They produce victims, including many who walk among us and whom you are selling the rubbish that Musokotwane is “the best finance minister”. He has been best to foreigners, not to Zambians. I cannot recall a more unpatriotic Minister of Finance in my lifetime – and even in history of Zambia.
The second issue relates to how Musokotwane has undermined State revenue from the mines for the benefit of foreign commercial interests. In First Quantum Minerals (FQM)’ Kansanshi Mines, for instance, the state-owned Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH’)s 20% shareholding changed under Musokotwane’s watch.
https://zccm-ih.com.zm/2023/04/03/zccm-ih-shareholders-approve-the-kansanshi-royalty-transaction/
Instead of increasing the State’s stake in the mining company, Musokotwane made sure that the shareholding no longer yields dividends, typically tied to profits. ZCCM-IH now receives a guaranteed but paltry royalty payment of THREE present. This arrangement is only advantageous when the company does not generate or declare profits, but it results in huge losses to ZCCM-IH during periods of high copper prices, such as the present. I am aware that the shift arose from longstanding disagreements between ZCCM-IH and FQM: the latter often preferred reinvestment of profits, while ZCCM-IH relied on dividends as its primary income source. The previous model was much better and all that the State needed to do – that is, in addition to increasing its shareholding in the mine – was to fix the under-declarations of profits by mining companies.
Again, this loss of revenue at a time when copper prices are extremely high has happened under the watch of Situmbeko Musokotwane. Remember that this is the same man who in 2009, as Minister of Finance under the Rupiah Banda’s MMD, did away with the windfall tax, one of the best policies enacted by that patriotic duo Levy Mwanawasa and N’gandu Magande. I repeat: Musokotwane’s policies have been good for his foreign friends, but devastatingly dreadful for the country. Bad policies kill. They produce victims, including many who walk among us and whom you are selling the rubbish that Musokotwane is “the best finance minister”. He has been best to foreigners, not to Zambians. I cannot recall a more unpatriotic Minister of Finance in my lifetime – and even in history of Zambia.
The third issue relates to Illicit Financial flaws. The Financial Intelligence Centre, a government body, tells us that Zambia has been losing $3.5bn annually in illicit flaws.
You can read further here: https://diggers.news/local/2025/07/23/fic-records-3-5bn-in-suspected-illicit-financial-transactions-for-2024/
The government knows the politically exposed persons who have been siphoning this money to South East Asia and Canada, but Musokotwane and his friend Hichilema would rather go with begging bowls to the IMF and African Development Bank for loans rather than seeking to seal the loopholes of corruption that facilitate this continuing organised plunder of Zambia’s wealth. You see why I am saying Musokotwane and Hichilema have been terrible viruses for Zambia? you see why I said whoever wins cannot be worse than Musokotwane and Hichielma?
There are many wrong things that Hichilema’s tribal, corrupt, lying, and undemocratic regime has unleashed on Zambia but you are too close to the regime to see this. If you have benefited from the regime in any way, please consider eating quietly as opposed to telling us that a regime that has presided over these dreadful policies can be voted back to power.
Even your attempt at political analysis in this thread rests on an extremely weak and speculative argument rooted in genuine ignorance of the changing dynamics that shape vote behaviour. If I had the time, I would have demonstrated paragraph by paragraph why your opinion is rooted in wishes rather than science. It is a disgusting thing seeing those with access to power or access to those who have access to power posting weak and speculative arguments on social media from a privileged position, informed by the fear of what they are likely to lose should their relatives lose power.
I repeat: please consider staying away from certain topics relating to the performance of this government. You are too close to the regime to offer an unbiased take on its performance in public office.
Source: https://x.com/ssishuwa/status/2077376131909492997?s=20