By Patson Chilemba
Economic Front (EF) leader Wynter Kabimba says he does not expect President Hakainde Hichilema to honestly address the Milingo Lungu issue because it is not only embarrassing but scandalous for him to do so, and that Zambians should not expect him to be remorseful over his failures “going by his nature and character.”
And former Defence minister Davies Chama said President Hichilema “must for once tell the truth” and start fulfilling jobs to his youths who fought running battles with the police in Lusaka this morning.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Kabimba said it was welcome that the President has indicated that he will hold a press briefing next Monday, having gone against his own pledge to interact with Zambians regularly, but that people should not expect any message of hope from the President.
He said several events and concerns have arisen during the period the President has been absent from answering questions from the public, saying on top of the list was the economy which is continuing to meltdown and getting out of control “despite the number of economists that they told the nation were qualified to manage the economy, including the President himself.”
He said despite promises that caderism ended with PF, the nation today saw running battles between the UPND cadres and police, which he said was reminiscent of the PF days which citizens thought were matters of the past.
Kabimba said the shortage of drugs has continued in clinics and hospitals despite the President’s visit to the Ministry of Health and assurances that things would improve.
He said there has also been a rise in allegations of corrupt practices against the President’s ministers, with the one in respect of the minister of Foreign Affairs Stanley Kakubo being the most recent.
Kabimba said he did not expect the President to address the issue raised by Milingo Lungu that he met President Hichilema and the other senior government officials and was assured of immunity from prosecution, describing the matter as embarrassing for him.
“It’s a scandal for him. And that is not the first scandal in which the President’s name has actually been associated with,” Kabimba said, highlighting another issue involving a phone conversation involving Home Affairs permanent secretary Josephs Akafumba and presidential political advisor Levy Ngoma, where they were purportedly plotting against Harry Kalaba’s Democratic Party (DP). “The fact he has jumped to try to launder himself in this Milingo Lungu saga means he will still maintain his denial.”
Kabimba said he did not expect a lawyer like Milingo to fabricate a story that he met the President and the other senior government officials, including the Vice-President, Finance minister, Attorney General and Solicitor General among others.
“He will keep denying because it’s not only embarrassing but it’s actually a scandal, which in the western world where people have integrity would be calling for his resignation and would quietly exit that office,” Kabimba said, adding that it was just that African politicians have no sense of public shame that the President was still in office today.
But put to him that he too was an African politician and was in essence including himself in that description, Kabimba argued that he was trying to be different but had not yet reached the stage where he had been tested as president, saying he was being magnanimous about the whole principle.
However, President Hichilema has said he did not meet anyone to give them immunity and has called for a press briefing next Monday.
But Kabimba said he expected President Hichilema to have resigned a long time ago going by the scandals and the unfulfilled promises.
“If he had a sense of public shame and remorse he would have apologized to the people of Zambia a long time ago. But he doesn’t. What he has maintained about his position over unfulfilled promises has been that things will have to get worse before they get better, and has sold that mantra to his Vice-President who keeps regurgitating it in Parliament,” Kabimba said. “You don’t expect him to render an apology to the Zambian people, and you do not expect him to be remorseful about his failures. That is his nature and that is his character.”
Kabimba said he expected the President to move along with “his monotonous mantra” about free education, CDF, empowering youths and employment of teachers and doctors.
But put to him that employing people was an achievement anywhere, Kabimba argued that if the levels had been raised after realizing that over 110,000 had applied against the promised employment of only 11,200 health workers, he would have described that as an achievement.
He said he expected the President to turn his negatives into positives, but that “what he will do he will be justifying negatives and denying issues like Milingo Lungu, in which web he’s been caught up.”
“There is no message of hope you are going to hear coming from him going by his character. This is about the man’s character more than anything else. He’s going to tell us why he’s not moving into Nkwazi House, after his press aide has told us that the man is a super human being who can’t live in Nkwazi House,” said Kabimba. “He needs a presidential property which has never been occupied by anybody. He should be the first one to occupy, and if it has been occupied by somebody else then it’s not fit for him to occupy it.”
