Africa-Press – Zambia. SPECIAL Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Anthony Bwalya says the collective objective of the UPND government is to ensure that all those who participated in the looting of resources are held accountable.
And Bwalya says the PF should stop insulting the media by suggesting that they are clapping for the UPND administration over the arrests of former government officials.
The State House official was speaking following complaints from former Cabinet Ministers that President Hakainde Hichilema was abusing the police to harass the opposition members.
Bwalya said it was shameless for PF members to cite President Hichilema as they undergo law enforcement scrutiny over alleged involvement in corruption activities.
“It is contemptible and shameless for members of the former ruling Patriotic Front (PF) to cite the name of President Hakainde Hichilema as they undergo law enforcement scrutiny over their alleged involvement in corruption activities while they occupied public office. It must be categorically stated and noted, that the President has nothing to do with the actions or decisions of law enforcement agencies to inquire into reports or allegations of corruption and any other reported transgressions of the law involving members of the former ruling party,” he said.
“It must be indicated, that the culture of lawlessness and criminal wrongdoing at the expense of the Zambian people is long gone and that all individuals who may have leveraged political authority to cross and circumvent the boundaries of the law much to the disadvantage of the people of Zambia must and will account before the law to the fullest extent.
The collective objective of the new administration is to ensure that all those who participated in the looting of public resources must be held accountable and that all proceeds of corruption and crime must be recovered and redirected towards improving the welfare of all our people,” said Bwalya.
And commenting on PF acting secretary general Nickson Chilangwa’s remarks in which he accused the media of praising and clapping for the UPND when the ruling party is destroying democracy, Bwalya described the remarks as an insult to the media.
“I think that is an insult to the media, you colleagues in the media should not take sentiments like that. That is denigrating the good works that you colleagues do. We want to believe that the media are and have always been independent in terms of how they do and conduct themselves. So for members of the opposition party to now begin to insinuate that the media are clapping for the new administration, that is an insult to the work that the media does.
You colleagues should take exception to that. It is as good as he is calling you unprofessional, that is what he is doing. So you are covering him and on the other hand he is calling you unprofessional because he doesn’t like how you are reporting on and around the fight against corruption,” said Bwalya. NEWSDIGGERS
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