Africa-Press – Zambia. As pressure increases on the incompetent and corrupt UPND regime, they have resorted to a desperate smear campaign aimed at peddling malicious lies in order to intimidate and tarnish the reputation of those who are exposing their failures, grand corruption, and abuse of power, such as Socialist Party (SP) President Dr. Fred M’membe.
One such lie is the claim that Dr. M’membe owes the Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) a substantial amount of money in the form of an unpaid loan. This baseless lie is not only laughable but also reflects the mounting pressure that Dr. M’membe’s solid and well-researched checks and balances are placing on the desperate, incompetent, and corrupt puppet regime of Hakainde Hichilema.
However, these kindergarten propaganda tactics targeting Dr. M’membe and the issues surrounding DBZ and Zambian Airways will not succeed. Dr. M’membe does not owe any bank or state-owned company any money in his individual capacity. If that were the case, the increasingly unpopular UPND regime would have wasted no time in hauling him before the courts of law to humiliate him, as it has become their habit. However, there is no record of any such case in any court.
Zambians are not fools; they understand that this is merely part of the ongoing smear campaign against the SP president. For the record, Dr. M’membe was not party to Zambian Airways’ indebtedness to the DBZ. The condition set by DBZ for granting a loan of US$3 million to the airline’s shareholders was to raise equity of US$3 million. The shareholders made a commitment to fulfill this condition, and the airline was consequently advanced the full amount of US$3 million. The plain truth, deliberately hidden by the desperate UPND regime, is that, in an effort to meet this condition, the shareholders of Zambian Airways approached several institutions for investment. The Post Newspapers Limited invested US$3 million, and Seaboard, an American company that owned National Million Plc, contributed US$2 million, bringing the total to US$5 million. This amount exceeded the US$3 million required by DBZ for the loan. As a result of this investment, the Post Newspapers Limited received 25 percent of the airline’s shares, while Seaboard acquired 12 percent.
These records are available at DBZ for anyone who wishes to verify them. Shortly after these transactions were completed, fuel prices dramatically increased, resulting in financial difficulties for many airlines worldwide. Consequently, numerous airlines faced financial challenges, and Zambian Airways was put into receivership by its directors. To be clear, Zambian Airways remains in receivership. In light of these facts, any honest person should ask what wrong Dr. M’membe has committed in this situation. In fact, a Supreme Court judgment has specifically ruled against including Dr. M’membe in Zambian Airways’ indebtedness to DBZ.
Therefore, it is nothing but ignorance and malice to bring up the issue of Zambian Airways’ debt to DBZ against Dr. M’membe at this time. Rather than wasting time and resources peddling such baseless lies, the failed and corrupt UPND regime should address the growing public anger resulting from its failure to fulfill campaign promises and its contribution to the unbearable cost of living for the majority of Zambians.
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