Africa-Press – Zambia. PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema says he gave a chance to former government officials who stole public resources to return them but that they have not done so and his administration is left with two choices, to get back the money and jail them.
Speaking on arrival at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport in Ndola before departure to Mpongwe for this year’s field day yesterday, President Hichilema took a jibe at his predecessor Edgar Lungu when he said his administration has changed a slogan.
President Hichilema was on the Copperbelt to attend the farmers’ field day in Mpongwe district. “Ifwe natucinja (we have changed the slogan). It’s no longer uubomba mwibala alya mwibala (a field worker should benefit from there), ours is to grow the seed,” he said to a cheering crowd.
President Hichilema described corruption as a thief who is hated by the people, citing the US $33 million which has been revealed to have been spent on the non-existent Frederick Chiluba University in Luapula Province by the previous administration as evidence of how evil corruption and theft of public funds was.
“We will fight corruption day and night. Corruption is a thief. Look at FTJ University, ulupiya lonse balya basheta ati uubomba mwibala (they stole all the money). When we ask them to bring back the money they have stolen, they say he is fighting a tribe. Were you stealing for the tribe? Did you share your loot with your tribesmen?” President Hichilema asked. “It’s a lie. Ubufi bwabalya twanaka nabo (we are tired of their lies). That money belongs to the State, belongs to the people. There was an argument that that $33 million was never paid. The evidence is there. The Ministry of Finance paid the money. Do you understand how big 33 million dollars is? It’s a lot of money and very few people get it. Ati balebomba mwibala nomba balya mwibala (that they were field workers and benefited from there), that money belongs to the people. Corruption is a thief. Do you love a thief?”
President Hichilema assured Copperbelt residents that no matter what his administration would recover the stolen money. “That money is for the people. Tulepoka (we shall recover it). I told them ngamwaliiba leteni ulupiya. Nomba twayalanshyanya tabalefwaya, nomba kubakaka (if you stole bring back the money. We talked but now they don’t want. So we shall jail them). We will not just jail them, it’s two things: jail and returning the money,” he said. President Hichilema said he got elected to serve the people and not to take away from them.
“We got elected to serve our people. We got elected not to get but to give. We sought public office not to divide but to unite. We sought public office not to exclude but include. We took public office not to steal from the people but protect the people’s assets and I want the Copperbelt, like the whole country, to join the new dawn government in protecting people’s habitat: buildings, people’s lives, people’s money, ulupiya lwa bantu, tefyo (people’s money, not so),’’ President Hichilema said further. “Tatulefwaya filya ifyakale umuntu mwamubika mu office ati abombe, nomba atampa ukwiba, ukusenda. Natucinja slogan. Tatulefwaya ati ubomba mwibala alya mwibala; ukulila kumo ne mbuto. Tatulefwaya, we want to grow the seed. (We don’t want those past habits when you put someone in office in order for them to work, then they start stealing. Taking away. We have changed the slogan. We don’t want things like he who ploughs the field eats from there. You consume together with the seeds. We don’t want).”
He said he had already led the foundation of his all-inclusive national development agenda by increasing the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and sharing it equally to all the 156 constituencies.
President Hichilema also announced that world leaders had appointed him as the Cholera Champion, saying he would be accepting the appointment in Geneva later in the year. His announcement sent the crowd into wild cheers.
“I was telling my friends that when you plant pumpkin seeds do not eat all the leaves and flowers, because you need pumpkins because when you have pumpkins, you have seeds…that is the concept of this government. That is different thinking. Paradigm shift,” he said. “Lilya twalemweba (when we were telling you) when we were campaigning and you are seeing now. Germinate the seed that the provincial chairman talked about of free education. Twabyala (we’ve planted), take care of the crop. We harvest then we can distribute. Te (Is it not) free education mulefwaya (you want), te (is it not) CDF mulefwaya (you want)? …clear the garbage, we don’t want cholera. And let me tell you something ba Kopala…the whole world has appointed me Cholera Champion. In eight months, the world has recognised. I will be accepting the appointment later in the year in Geneva.”
On the mines, President Hichilema said unlocking the mining sector on the Copperbelt and North-Western Province remained top of his economic agenda because he wanted to see more people benefit from the mineral proceeds, adding that he wanted Zambians to supply goods and services to the mines and get paid on time.
“We have started unlocking the mines here and North-Western Province, full of minerals. We want the minerals to benefit the people of Zambia. Black mountain is just the beginning. We are legalising mining, licences… we want to unlock Mopani to increase production and employ more people, contracts for goods and services for Zambians and be paid on time. Not what used to happen,” President Hichilema said. “We are looking at KCM day and night. We have not given it to Vedanta, bufi (it’s a lie). We want to remove all court cases so that we talk. You can’t resolve when you have court cases daily. We want a mining company that will invest in Konkola Deep. We want to unlock KCM.”
And speaking when he met all Lamba chiefs before the field day tour at Munkumpu village in Mpongwe, President Hichilema said he would always rely on traditional leaders countrywide for advice to deliver equitable development to the people.
He also thanked Lamba chiefs on the Copperbelt for allowing their subjects to vote freely in the August 12 elections. Meanwhile, chief Nkambo of the Lamba speaking people of Masaiti district showered praises on President Hichilema, saying he had shown leadership and stability in the nation in the short time he has been in office.
“The title of ‘His Excellency’ befits you because there is a touch of excellence to whatever you do. Even when we see you walking on TV we are very happy…there is excitement in the villages because now every child is going to school, thanks to your free education policy just months in office,” said Nkambo who was flanked by other chiefs.
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