By Staff Reporter
Southern Province minister Cornelius Mweetwa says former president Edgar Lungu is now enjoying his peace as no one is pursuing him, despite him having threatened to arrest then opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema if he won the August 2021 general elections.
And Mweetwa said the UPND administration needs to be acknowledged for the work done so far.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Mweetwa said he was surprised with charges from the PF accusing those in the UPND of targeting them with arrests. He said for those that were being pursued of the crimes allegedly committed during the PF reign, there was nowhere where the UPND promised that matters committed by PF leaders would not be followed up.
He dismissed former Defence minister Davies Chama’s assertions that the UPND were targeting those in PF with arrests in order to hide from their failed promises, saying even UPND members who are alleged to have committed crimes like in the death of Justine Kungo and the two PF cadres in Kanyama were currently being prosecuted.
Mweetwa said everyone in the country was desirous that there should be unity, but that that should be in accordance with the law.
He urged the PF to do an introspection of themselves because their own leader, former president Lungu vowed to arrest President Hichilema “once he gave power to himself”, without disclosing the offence he was going to arrest his opponent for.
“As things are now, no one has pursued Mr Lungu. He is enjoying his peace,” Mweetwa said.
He said there was nothing like targeting to arrest people who served in PF, but seeking accountability on the wrongs committed was a matter of the law and not the UPND, and that it should also teach the current leaders in the UPND that those in government should not use the power of incumbency to commit wrongdoing.
Mweetwa said those in PF must “give the new dawn some peace”, saying people were happy with the new government.
“At least those things that do not require investment and time to mature, those that require administrative action based on a leadership that understands, such as the peace that is raining supreme in the country. Everyone is happy. Look at issues to do with free education which all these years they were saying it’s not possible. Here it is,” Mweetwa said. “I think that we cannot yet say we need to be parted on the back, we cannot say we need to be commended. We can just say an acknowledgment must be made that yes the low hanging fruits have been harvested. There is a lot more work to be done.”
He said after so many years, former Zambia Railways workers were recently paid their terminal benefits, including the KCM workers
But pressed on arguments that the PF left fuel prices around K17 but has been increased to over K19 under the UPND, including upcoming increments in electricity tariffs and the cost of living which is going up, Mweetwa said those arguing about increased prices “like PF’s Chama”, should also talk about the mountain of debt they plunged the country into.
He said those in PF did not have the moral high ground to begin to attack the UPND on the removal of subsidies.
“In fixing the economy there will be certain surgical operations that will be performed, some of them will hurt but just to the extent that the disease cures,” Mweetwa said. “It smells corruption that the government was importing electricity from that vessel that was anchored in the shores of Mozambique, you remember, at 21 Cents per kilowatt then when government imports that electricity it comes to sell that electrify at 6 cents per kilowatt to mines. Imagine? Entities that are private and making money, and government is subsidizing electricity bought. So who meets the cost of the 15 cents difference?”
He argued that the government had done well.
“Look at the money retrieved from Faith Musonda, it has gone to direct beneficiaries, the students. Under the previous administration this money they would have used it to build a toll gate for K4.3 million,” said Mweetwa. “They would have used this money to buy ambulances at $250,000 (for) one. They would have used this money to buy fire tenders for $42 million. Those are the wasteful expenditures. And so when people want to do opposition politics they need to do self introspection.”
