UPND CALLS ON WINA TO EXPLAIN THE SOURCE OF MONEY SHE DISTRIBUTED TO SOLWEZI RESIDENTS
United Party for National Development national spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa has called on Vice President Inonge Wina to explain where she got the large sums of money which she was seen distributing to residents of Solwezi over the weekend.
The challenge comes after footage circulated on social media this weekend of the vice president in Solwezi handing out fistfuls of cash to passers-by, while police officers struggled to hold back the crowds.
Mr Mweetwa said that such behaviour by the government was not normal and he raised concerns that the money might have been printed illegally.
“Foreign Affairs Minister Joe Malanji was recently seen giving money to the people of Mwinilunga while former local government Permanent Secretary Eddie Chomba recently gave out huge sums to Marketeers in Mufulira. We want the PF to refute the existence of illicit money in circulation because this is not normal. This is the same money being used in buying off weak UPND souls,” he charged.
The opposition spokesman continued by urging Zambians not to allow the Patriotic Front to buy their votes:
“We want to appeal to the people of Zambia to receive that money, but don’t give them a vote,” he said.
The message echoes the phenomenon of Donchi Kubeba, which saw former MMD President Rupiah Banda kicked out of State House in 2011 despite spending a huge amount on bribing voters.
The UPND has called for a full explanation from both the PF and the Bank of Zambia as to where the money is coming from, saying it suspects the Central Bank of participating in the scam.
Mr Mweetwa concluded his remarks by warning that August’s elections may soon no longer be about manifesto promises but about which party has the deepest pockets, presenting a real and apparent danger to democracy.