By Patson Chilemba
PF national chairperson for commerce Sylvia Chalikosa says the PF were disillusioned and expecting to reap the rewards of what those in MMD were doing, saying “when you are not in power you imagine that when you win it’s your turn to enjoy.”
And Chalikosa said PF members were defecting to the Socialist Party (SP) because of money, arguing that “we have developed a culture of paying people to belong.”
Speaking with Daily Revelation on Kantanshi member of parliament Anthony Mumba who has praised UPND achievements and said he would be willing to serve as minister under President Hakainde Hichilema, Chalikosa, the former Works and Supply minister, was asked on that statement and the serious cracks emerging with others defecting to SP.
Responding, Chalikosa said: “Yes only because SP has money or so people believe. We have developed a culture of paying people to belong! It’s first come first serve.”
Put to her that PF was no exeption as they condemned the MMD of doing the same but engaged in the same very things when they took over power from MMD in 2011, and that it was a culture PF actually encouraged instead of stopping, Chalikosa said: “This is what I meant by being disillusioned and expecting to reap the rewards (of what our fiends were doing) for succeeding to vote our party in. When you are not in power you imagine that when you win it’s your turn to enjoy. Ati insansa ku chinjana. Mind you we received many defectors from MMD who helped us lose our way by introducing a lot of immoral things!”
And Chalikosa maintained that the Kwacha was being deliberately manipulated by controlling liquidity, saying there was only money for the few well to do and those receiving salaries and not majority Zambians.
On free education, Chalikosa said the children were going to schools and structures which were built by PF albeit many were still incomplete but the tax payers will have to pay for that and that free education was relative.
She said the teacher/pupil ration will have to be matched because teachers cannot teach for free, arguing that a portion of CDF was already used to sponsor education before, and there was therefore nothing new in that.
Chalikosa said while it was appreciated to have more children in school, the overcrowding is recipe for spreading common colds and other diseases in the absence of conducive learning environment.
