By Isaac Zulu
The Zambian people are hungry and are now angry with the UPND administration, says Howard Kunda.
And Kunda has said that the UPND administration’s fight against corruption is a witch hunt, only meant to silence leaders of opposition political parties.
In an interview, Kunda, who is the leader of the newly formed Zambia Wake up Party (ZAWAPA), said that, while in opposition, the UPND promised to reduce the price of mealie meal, reduce fuel pump prices and reduce the price of fertilizer, including the cost of living; but what is obtaining on the ground is the opposite.
He said that the UPND administration has failed to address the numerous challenges facing the people in communities has disappointed and angered Zambians to an extent of even regretting voting for the UPND government.
“The price of mealie meal has gone up, fuel pump prices are high and, generally; the cost of living is high. When people complain about the high mealie meal prices, the minister even has the audacity to say that it’s better the price goes up than not having the commodity. You cannot have a government that changes goal posts like that. So the Zambian people are hungry and are now angry with the UPND administration,” Kunda explained. “And as an opposition political party, we are resolved to addressing the challenges that the Zambian people are facing. We have offered ourselves to Zambians live better than what we are seeing.”
And Kunda, who is former Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee chairperson, has charged that the UPND administration’s fight against corruption is a witch hunt, only meant to silence leaders of opposition political parties.
The former Muchinga lawmaker said that, if the UPND administration and President Hakainde Hichilema were serious about fighting corruption, they would have not taken the Anti-Corruption Commission to State House.
“For starters, you cannot attach the Anti-Corruption Commission office to State House. The moment you link these offices that are involved in the fight against corruption to State House, then the President becomes the controlling arm. And now the fight against corruption by the UPND administration is a witch hunt, only meant to silence leaders of opposition political parties, especially those from the former ruling party.”
He also wondered why the Head of State was responding to the issue of the K65 million that is alleged to have gone missing, when the minister who is at the “centre of the whole thing can easily speak for himself.”
“They are only concentrating on fighting past corruption, and yet there are corruption allegations against their own ministers. And we saw how the President decided to respond to this issue of K65 million. One wonders why the Head of State opted to respond when the minister who is at the centre of the whole thing can speak for himself,” said Kunda.
