By Patson Chilemba
What those in the PF did as criminals must be investigated and made answerable for their crimes, says Colonel Panji said.
And Col Panji said in professionalising the civil service, the UPND must recall Zambian ambassadors Emmanuel Mwamba and Anthony Mukwita, whom he said campaigned for the ruling party with reckless abandon.
In an interview with Daily Revelation, Col Panji said he hoped the announcement by President-elect Hakainde Hichilema to unify and reconcile the country did not imply forgiving the criminality committed by those in the outgoing PF administration.
“First and foremost I congratulate President-elect for at long last achieving his aim. He has said if you believe in a cause you must endure until the end,” Col Panji started by saying, upon which he went on to address the President-elect’s message on reconciliation.
He said political reconciliation was very important, and was something every Zambian must embrace, but that that should be differentiated with taking into account crimes committed.
“It’s like they have given you a plot where there was a rotten house with a rotten foundation. So they have to dig the rotten foundation out and start afresh. I am talking about corruption. I hope when he says all is forgiven and therefore those corrupt activities of the 10 years will be forgiven, corruption must be investigated,” Col Panji said, referring to scandals including the fire tenders, expired drugs and condoms and inflated costs on national projects. “Those activities should and must be investigated. We can’t forgive corrupt activities and hope to build a corrupt free country. We want to free our people from this thing. Even the cutting off of internet that too must be investigated. It’s the first time it happened in the country’s history and must never be allowed to happen again.”
Col Panji said investigating genuine corrupt activities was not retribution.
“They are forgiven in terms of what they say but what they did as criminals they must be answerable, including those in the UPND. Please clean the nation, start from bottom up,” he said.
And Col Panji said this unruliness and lawlessness where ambassadors campaign for the ruling party, worse off openly so, must be brought to an end. He was making reference to Zambia’s ambassadors to Ethiopia and Germany, Mwamba and Mukwita respectively.
“Obviously they must go. Whether they were on leave or not, they were still getting our money. They blew that rule about civil servants not being involved in politics. I hope they will be recalled, not for vengeance but for breaking the law,” Col Panji said. “Whoever will be minister of Foreign Affairs, they should be recalled or pay back the money.”
Col Panji further said President-elect Hichilema must stop the culture where Chiefs were being turned into party cadres, or where some where beginning to politically align themselves for brown envelopes or vehicles.
“They literally stopped others from campaigning. They divided the people between parties. Now the people they supported have lost, what do they do?” wondered Col Panji. “They should rebuild the institution of chiefs. He should not fall into that trap. Let him just treat them as chiefs whom he must respect.”
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