By JAMES KUNDA –
THE Government has described as unfounded, claims by the United Party for National Development (UPND) that the Zambia Air Force (ZAF) is impeding its political campaigns by restricting its use of the local airspace.
Defence Minister Richwell Siamunene said the UPND could not accuse ZAF of being biased towards the Patriotic Front (PF), yet the opposition party’s requests for use of airspace were made at inappropriate times.
UPND campaign manager Dipak Patel accused ZAF, in a statement issued on Monday, of interfering with the party’s campaign schedule after it purportedly cancelled a flying permit to Luapula Province at short notice.
“Once again we see the Zambia Air Force interfering with our campaigning schedule after cancelling our flying permit to Luapula at late notice with the sole intention of disrupting our rallies, draining our resources and further fanning the tensions on the ground being felt across Zambia,” Mr Patel said.
However, Mr Siamunene responded in an interview yesterday that ZAF was an impartial institution with the mandate and interest of ensuring that individuals and institutions accessed a safe airspace.
“This country has laws that govern any activity and it is wrong for the UPND to blame ZAF and insinuate that the institution is denying it flight permits to favour the PF.
“Their permit to Luapula could not be granted because that outing coincided with President Edgar Lungu’s trip to the same area. So how could ZAF allow for a simultaneous travel?” he asked.
Mr Siamunene said the Government did not meddle in the operations of any State institution, including ZAF, which was tasked to ensure that the country’s airspace was not porous.
The minister said even outside election time, the institution ensured that flight permits were granted on merit with the safety of the applicants for the service granted.
“Should UPND have been granted the permit and something went wrong, the same people could have taken ZAF to task about its intentions where safety is concerned,” he said.