Africa-Press – Zambia. The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe, for the axe was so clever and convinced the trees that because its handle was wood, he was one of them.
This allegory so often repeated to illustrate deceit, surmises the former government’s ruinous path. For every corrupt act and corporate coffers raided, it crafted a deceitful narrative to justify its motives, however nefarious. Think of its reasoning for placing Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) into liquidation as an example, Zambians were conned into believing that the government was acting in their best interest.
This is why it’s disingenuous for the PF leadership and its rank and file to now projecting the fight against corruption as political persecution or a tribal witch-hunt. For the record, the tribal card and fear-mongering battled for traction in the build-up to the recent Presidential elections. It’s likely to fail as a defence once the state begins to ramp up its prosecution of alleged corrupt rogues. And the argument that PF is no longer in power is not a reason to indemnify or absorb its leadership from accountability from alleged wrongs.
This lame argument only lends credence to the bankruptcy of morality in our body politic. Who can forget this statement? Umulandu ta ubola. Is it not former President Edgar Lungu that issued this warning to Hakainde Hichilema (HH) on the eve of the elections – threatening to lock up the then opposition leader for corrupt acts allegedly committed when HH served as a transaction advisor to the Zambia Privatisation Agency during the early 90’s?
Perhaps, let’s pause here for reflection and context. Why is there a repeated media emphasis and reminder of PF’s alleged corrupt reign? Simple, the clamor and stakeholder expectation for the state to move swiftly against alleged perpetrators of corruption is fueling anxiety.
It’s also not helping that the President has tacitly assumed the role of CEO of the Anti Corruption Commission. In fairness, he can’t be a player and a referee in a match in which he has declared a personal interest otherwise we risk creating a perception that his main objective is to fix political opponents using his office. If in doubt, look at how rogues have bn quick to expose this anomaly – a development that now threatens the credibility of what is meant to be a noble fight.
It’s enough that the President has pronounced on his commitment to fight graft precisely the reason that he and party apparatchiks like Cornelius Mweetwa should back-off and leave this matter in the hands of the relevant line cabinet minister. Mweetwa in his role as party spokesperson has no business providing communication updates on the fight against corruption. A case in point, it’s Mweetwa who a few weeks ago raised the political temperature promising the nation that arrests resulting from the fight against corruption were imminent – mpaka lelo, people are anxiously waiting.
And by the way, aren’t both Mweetwa and the Presidency encroaching in the responsibilities of the Justice Minister? Need they be reminded that the fight against corruption is not a UPND vs PF battle but a matter between the state against rogues. And Zambians not the UPND should be the biggest stakeholder in this battle. What the UPND government has on its sleeve and is not effectively utilising is the goodwill and support from well-meaning Zambians emanating from the emphatic mandate it received from the electorate on the 12th of August.
Voters have not forgotten that during PF rule, state pension fund manager, the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) morphed to become a piggy bank for cadrepreneurs. How the state ended up buying a financially distressed Chinese ceramic manufacturing company for a hugely inflated price or the quarter billion Kwacha it splashed on a loss-making hotel chain boggles the mind. And the Gulf stream jet, did the Presidency really need this asset? The Maize gate, inflated road construction tenders and the 48 unclaimed houses are just the tip of an iceberg.
Forget the K760m spent on procuring 42 fire trucks, did we really need these trucks in the first place? Like an axe confessing its love for trees in the forest, former Local Government and Infrastructure Minister Vincent Mwale put up a spirited justification regarding the need for these trucks including the colossal spend. With a straight face, he told parliament that the K18.5m spent per vehicle was worth every penny given the sophistication and build of the trucks. Really sir?
These are just but a few of many scandals, questions, and concerns that the electorate want answered by role players. Surely, these can be answered in a court of law without undue interreference from both the Presidency and the governing party.
About the author: He is an avid reader of political history and philosophy. The only thing he supports is Kabwe Warriors and Liverpool. For feedback, contact: [email protected]
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