By Oliver Chisenga
THOSE claiming that the book review is the principal reason President
Hakainde Hichilema has gone to South Africa are just making a storm in a tea cup, says Anthony Bwalya.
Bwalya, President Hicilema’s spokesperson, says the book launch is a by the way engagement.
He was responding to Socialist Party leader Fred M’membe who accuses President Hichilema of spending tax payer’s money on his friend’s business interests.
Dr M’membe said President Hichilema had gone to launch a book authored by his
friend.
“This statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appears to omit the main reason why the President of the Republic of Zambia is travelling to South Africa tomorrow. As the advert alongside this message shows, the purpose of the President’s trip is to go and launch a book written by a private person who happens to be his friend named Greg Mills,” alleged Dr M’membe. “Mills is the CEO of the Brenthurst Foundation, a Johannesburg-based organisation established by the Oppenheimer family, the founders of Anglo American Plc, in 2004.
This Foundation is widely believed to have bankrolled the UPND campaigns in the last few elections. Is the President repaying a little of the favour? The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the President’s visit
is a two-day working visit and that the President will pay a courtesy call on South African President President Cyril Ramaphosa. By definition, a courtesy call is a by the way. It is a call or visit made out of politeness. So, what exactly is the purpose of President
Hichilema’s trip to South Africa if the meeting with President Ramaphosa is only a by the way? Is the meeting with President
Ramaphosa a mere cover up for his private pursuits, especially that SADC leaders only recently met in Malawi to discuss the security
situation in the region?”
But Bwalya said the primary reason President Hichilema is in South Africa is to confer with President Ramaphosa on matters of trade
and investment.
“The primary reason why the President is in South Africa is to confer with President Cyril Ramaphosa on matters of trade and investment, essentially because its only through trade and investment that the two countries can create expanded social and economic opportunities for their respective peoples, there is no other way,” Bwalya said. “And South Africa is by far Zambia’s trade partner across so many fronts, many of the things that we consume in this country come
through from South Africa, you know that… so there is a range of issues relating to trade and investment that the two presidents must
and will continue to engage in, not just in this visit but many visits to come in the future.”
Bwalya said President Hichilema is also engaging his counterpart on issues of regional peace and security.
“You know what has been happening in the northern half of Mozambique…, that is a volatile situation and it is continuously evolving, so the two leaders and many
of their colleagues in the region must and will continue to engage on a regular basis. And you know the President has been on record on
numerous times that when there in instability on one part of the country within the region, and that issue is not sorted out quickly enough it can very quickly spiral out of control and can become our problem before we know it,” he said. “So, even as we look to rebuild and
reconstruct our economy as our friends within the region, we must keep an eye on matters of regional peace and security because those can threaten our ability to continue reconstructing and rebuilding the
economy.”
He added that as one who sits on an international book review panel, President Hichilema will be asked to attend book launches such as the one he will attend on the sidelines of his activities in South Africa.
“Now, the President also indicated that, as part of activities on the sidelines while in South Africa, he is going to attend the book launch. And the President indicated that he sits on the panel, a book review panel, an international book review panel, so from time to time he will
be asked to attend book launches and will be asked to speak on those platforms,” said Bwalya. “That one taking place in South Africa is just one of those book launches to which he has been invited and as one who sits on an
international book review panel, the President has obliged…that is a by the way engagement the President is undertaking, it’s not the principle reason he has gone to South Africa.”