Africa-Press – Zambia. President Hakainde Hichilema has challenged those with information on alleged corrupt Ministers in his administration to report them to law enforcement agencies such as the Anti Corruption Commission, Drug Enforcement Commission, and the Financial Intelligence Center (FIC).
The Head of State has reiterated that there will be no sacred cows in the fight against corruption. Speaking to Journalists before departure for the Democratic Republic of Congo for a working visit, President Hichilema says anyone with information on alleged corrupt Ministers should feel free to report to law enforcement agencies.
PF Chairman for Information and Publicity Raphael Nakahinda has alleged that four unnamed Ministers in the new dawn administration have in the last three months amassed wealth through corruption.
But President Hichilema said that corruption both in the previous administration and in his new dawn administration will be fought head-on and squarely without putting a face to it. Information and Media Minister Chushi Kasanda
Meanwhile, the Daily Nation newspaper has been running reports of corruption allegations implicating the Information and Media Minister, Chushi Kasanda, and her husband of failing to deliver fertilizer to Southern Province farmers after allegedly pocketing over $50 million.
According to reports, it is alleged that Ms. Kasanda’s husband, Dr Maurice Jangulo, who owns Alpha Commodities, failed to deliver 50,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer to the farmers in Southern Province despite being paid.
The duo is said to have taken pecuniary advantage and single-sourced to supply fertilizer to the Zambian government at US$1, 000 per tonne. Further, the duo is said to be sourcing fertilizer in Mozambique to deliver the commodity to the farmers.
However, when contacted by the Daily Nation, the Minister said that an Indian-led consortium was trying to hoodwink the government by spreading falsehoods about her, vehemently denying the reports, saying that she had never been involved in her husband’s businesses.
“You can check the records. I have never been involved in my husband’s businesses and for them to insinuate that I was conniving with my husband is not fair and very malicious,” Ms. Kasanda said.
She said she knew the people spreading the lies about her and that it was unfortunate that they were trying to pull her name down the drain. Ms. Kasanda said some known businessmen were working tirelessly to discredit and tarnish her image by lying about her and her husband.
She said they were trying to arm-twist the new dawn government as they allegedly did with the PF government which she claimed had been under capture by the same group.
“Surely, I’m a minister of Information which is very different from the Ministry of Agriculture, and moreover I have only been in office for less than four months,” she said.
Ms. Kasanda said the same syndicate was trying to make the country bleed by sabotaging the government but that the new dawn administration would not allow this to happen.
She said she was incensed because they even published a photo of her disabled brother, claiming that he was her husband. She said the syndicate was trying to fan confusion to protect their interests but that she would ensure that they were put in their place.
Meanwhile, Southern Province Minister Cornelius Mweetwa has said that the government has not hired any company to supply fertilizer to the southern province as purported by some opposition leaders.
Speaking at a media briefing today, Mr. Mweetwa who is also the party’s spokesperson, said that the UPND Administration has extended the contracts of Alfa and Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia to supply fertilizer to the Southern region of the country.
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