By Isaac Zulu
NDC leader Saboi Imboela has charged that the UPND is telling its members to form companies so that they could be given the contracts that have been cancelled having been entered into by the previous PF administration.
And Imboela has demanded that the Anti-Corruption Commission should give an update on the case where the National Democratic Congress reported Home Affairs permanent secretary Josephs Akafumba to the ACC.
She said that the UPND government should take into account some repercussions that might arise from the cancellation of contracts that are almost complete.
“Today in the UPND they are telling their party members to form and register companies so that they can be awarded government contracts. And that is the more reason why they have embarked on the cancellation of contracts… they want to give government contracts to their own people. How do you cancel road contracts across the country just because they were initiated by the previous government? And I hear they have cancelled even contracts that are 80 per cent complete. They should also take into account some repercussions such as penalties in form of default payments. People have families, they have obligations and some even get loans for them to execute those contracts,” Imboela said. “Are they telling us that the government that will come after the UPND should come and embark on the cancellation of contracts just because they were initiated during the UPND administration? I am not saying that UPND members should not be empowered because that is African politics. But we should come to a point, as Zambians, where we should separate administration from politics.
Imboela further said that the NDC had reported Akafumba to the Anti-Corruption Commission for alleged corrupt activities aimed at deregistering the NDC and the commission stated that it is a viable case worth pursuing and further indicated that they would institute investigations into the matter, but to date nothing has been done.
She said that failure by the ACC to come out and update the nation on the matter would make the NDC leadership to conclude that President Hakainde Hichilema appointed Akafumba with the sole purpose of “fixing perceived political enemies and to destabilise opposition political parties in the country.”
Imboela charged that the UPND government’s fight against corruption is vindictive and selective, saying a genuine fight against corruption should be based on principle and not on vindictiveness.
“And the ACC told us that they will get back to us after two weeks. After that time frame elapsed they phoned us and told us that it is a viable case worth pursuing. But to date nothing has been done on this particular case and no update has been made on this matter. Therefore we demand that the Anti-Corruption Commission updates the nation on this case,” Imboela said and that people should not buy into the impression that there was no corruption in the UPND. “We have seen the awarding of contracts to supply fertiliser to people that are close friends and associates to the President. And those contracts are in the range of $50 million to $60 million. Are they more Zambians than others for them to be awarded contracts involving such amounts of money? And that is why I am saying that it is wrong for people to create an impression that there’s no corruption taking place in the UPND administration,” said Imboela.
