GUEST ARTICLE: Zambia, a country where thieves are celebrated
It’s one thing to blame this government for the social and economic problems Zambians are going through but extremely infuriating to read the latest Auditor General’s report.
It is even more upsetting that those who caused us these problems can have the audacity to call out the government—the very government that is sorting out their mess.
Make me understand how US$13.3 million from the Eurobond given out as loans to SMEs has not been paid back.
According to the report, Zambia Railways received US$120 million of the Eurobond money but did not return US$3.6m for failed deliveries.
The government defaulted on amounts totaling US$830.6 million on Eurobond coupons comprising US$750 million in principal amounts and more than US$80 million in accumulated interest as at 31 December 2022.
Further, the audit report shows that one supplier was given US$70 million to supply uniforms valued at US$4.5 million to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
In other words, the supplier’s ‘profit’ was a mind-blowing US$66.5 million!
How does a single company, honestly, get named in an audit involving a US$402 million contract whose interest was overpriced by US$60 million!
Any which way we look at it, do Zambians realize that while the previous regime indulged in all manner of improprieties, theft, and recklessness, ultimately, the people to pay the price are them?
So, when we complain about some of the country’s economic and social problems, we will do well to recall that they stem from this – the blatant theft of public resources for personal enrichment.
Do Zambians realize how much just a fraction of these amounts can do to change people’s lives in any part of this country?
I remember vividly how parties were thrown when Zambia contracted the Eurobond because of this remarkable achievement—an achievement celebrating nkongole or kaloba, if you like!
Yet in reality, Zambia found love – expensive love that we didn’t know what to do with. Soon, we started hearing stories about how, even after contracting this debt, we didn’t have a plan for the money we went to borrow.
Yes, we didn’t have a plan, and we started looking for any project to throw this money at, including loss-making ventures like Zambia Railways.
Then we were told that part of it was invested in ZESCO to end load shedding yet here we are today, grappling with crippling long hours of no electricity.
Unashamedly, the jackals that put us in this abyss with their potbellies want to come back and grab political power. To loot. And some Zambians who are feeling the pinch of the very problems these people put us in want the fools back.
But I blame the current government and our leaders too. They are proving to be toothless and are just talking heads. That is why thieves can have the audacity to do and say what they are doing and saying.
For all the jaw-dropping revelations in the Auditor General’s report, we will be angry today but move on tomorrow.
Tomorrow, we will forget about it like nothing happened while well-known thieves continue flaunting their wealth and properties like role models.
Kalemba