By CHILA NAMAIKO –
THE Patriotic Front (PF) has urged the police to investigate a named political party whose members have been masquerading as ruling party and Government officials sent to give loans to marketeers and clergymen.
The said people are reported to be going round markets and churches collecting details from unsuspecting marketeers, clergymen and their members.
Meanwhile, another scam has been unearthed by the PF in which some opposition politicians are holding meetings organised by women-led organisations to criticise President Edgar Lungu.

. BWALYA

PF deputy spokesperson Frank Bwalya said the PF had information that some opposition politicians were collecting details of National Registration Cards (NRCs) from unsuspecting Church members and marketeers to be used as evidence of vote-buying should the PF retain power in August.
“We want to warn these unscrupulous people to leave PF alone, and I am urging police to speed up investigations over this matter,” Mr Bwalya said in an interview yesterday.
When contacted for a comment, Lusaka Province Police commissioner Nelson Phiri and police spokesperson Charity Munganga said they had not yet received the report.
It has, however, been revealed that the loan scheme was aimed at creating an impression by the known opposition party that the Government was stealing from Zambians by selling the registration forms at K100, but failed to give the empowerment funds to applicants and that it would use their names to rig the August 11 general elections.
Scores of clergymen and marketeers in Lusaka have already been swindled out of their hard-earned money after purchasing the forms for the collateral-free funds in categories of K3,000, K5,000 and K10,000.
Meanwhile, PF information committee vice-chairperson Charity Banda said at a media briefing yesterday that some organisations had chosen to be used by politicians to discredit Mr Lungu.
Ms Banda said some opposition politicians had been using meetings by some organisations such as the Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) to castigate Mr Lungu.
“If these NGOs fail to stop the women from a named opposition political party insulting our Head of State (Mr Lungu), we shall be left with no option but to conclude that these NGOs have decided to use money they get from donors to campaign against President Lungu as a way of giving an advantage to their candidate from the opposition,” she said.
However, NGOCC director Engwase Mwale said the organisation was a non-partisan entity which had been inviting political parties and Government officials to its dialogue meetings.
Ms Mwale said in a statement that the NGOCC’s focus was to promote women’s participation across all political parties and would involve all players without bias.
And Mr Bwalya announced that the PF central committee had passed a resolution to start the process of popular adoption of candidates for the August 11 general elections.
He said PF would consider fielding some members of Parliament from MMD and United Party for National Development currently serving in various portfolios in Government because of their willingness to serve the people of Zambia.
Mr Bwalya warned party members to desist from using President Lungu’s name that they had been endorsed to contest the polls.