PRESS STATEMENT
Contact: Mr Obvious Mwaliteta: Lusaka Provincial Chairman +260976423380
INVESTIGATE SOURCE OF PF NOMINATION FEES
October 29th,2022
Luangwa – We would like to commend the former ruling party,The PF for their atrempts at strengthening national democracy as propagated by President Hakainde Hichilema through their intention to hold an intra-party General Assembly to choose a successor to President Edgar Chagwa Lungu slated for next year.
This is how it ought to be and we beseech all other political parties that have never held elections to choose leaders since their formation to do so as that is the hallmark of participatory democracy and in line with our Constitution.
We are however concerned with the huge amounts that have been pegged and already paid as presidential nomination fees by the Pro Poor party. K200,000 is no small amount of money for people that claim to want to lead a party that comprises poor people as envisaged by their founding father Michael Sata MHSRIP.
We have tried to analyze all those that have successfully filed their nominations and we found out that they are all qualified Zambians who can contest any position,but seeing them releasing tht amount of money to fund a political party that will never bounce back to power is not only deceit but heartless.
We are saying heartless because if you went to villages where these contestants come from, you will find their own parents sharing water points with animals.If surely they have that amount of money in their bank accounts and can not release a coin to improve lives of their parents,then what makes them think that they can take care of the millions of Zambians.
The nation is left wondering the source of those huge amounts of money which were being transported in khaki bags and hence our call to the investigative wings such as DEC,ACC,Police as well as FIC to institute investigations into the source of that money.
Help the country establish the source of that money,the banks where those accounts are sitted and any other information that would satisfy the nation because as it stands,we are so sure that there is something fishy and suspect it to be either proceeds of crime or money laundering activities right under our nose.
Actually our call upon the investigative wings of government to follow the source of that money eminates from the gathered information that the money was not withdrawn but just gotten from some known businessman with a view to launder his money which is under investigations.
We know that some of the colleagues who have paid the huge nomination fees have never had such amounts and are on the verge of bankruptcy but seeing them flushing such becomes a source of concern to us and the nation because we might be glaring in the face of illicit financial mischief.
We have no issues with our colleagues in the Patriotic Front provided the money is genuine and we don’t see any reason for their agitation on our call to have their money checked by responsible government wings.
We are just concerned with the levels of money laundering being exihibited in the name of holding party nominations and General Assembly.
We therefore demand and rightly so since its within our rights as citizens to demand that such money be investigated and source established before the Patriotic Front could be allowed to hold its intra-party elections.
Let us not allow a group of plunderers to use legal means in cleaning funds looted from state coffers at the time they had an opportunity to superitend over affairs of this nation while millions of Zambians are living in poverty.
(C) UPND MEDIA TEAM