. Chanda

By REBECCA MUSHOTA –
STATE House has expressed disappointment that United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema has continued to cast Zambia negatively to the international community.
President Edgar Lungu’s Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda said it was unfortunate that Mr Hichilema had continued to malign the country in the international media by suggesting that there was tension in Zambia over the 2016 general elections.
This is in light of Mr Hichilema’s meeting with the Commonwealth team that visited Zambia and met various stakeholders last week.
In the meeting with Mr Hichilema, the UPND leader said that there was tension in Zambia following a disputed verdict of the general elections and that his votes were stolen.
According to a statement issued by the UPND last week, Mr Hichilema said he informed the Commonwealth team that the alleged tension could have worsened had his leadership not restrained his supporters from taking to the streets to protest the outcome of the general elections of August last year.
Mr Hichilema alleged that the courts had let the UPND down for allegedly not hearing the party’s petition.
However, Mr Chanda said Mr Hichilema was being delusional by assuming that there was tension in the country.
He said Mr Hichilema was acting unpatriotic by giving a false view of events as well as what was obtaining in Zambia.
There was no dispute over the President’s election and there was no matter in court which was hearing a presidential petition.
It was also impossible, Mr Chanda said, for a candidate in Zambia to win in six provinces like Mr Lungu did and lose an election to someone who won in three provinces.
“We rarely comment on such matters by the opposition, but sometimes we feel the need to clarify the position and facts, especially when we notice that an international agenda has been put in motion.
“It is insincere for someone to say that their votes were stolen. We have asked before which votes were stolen and how many votes,” Mr Chanda said.
He said he was not surprised that the opposition had taken such a route, because they had tried to negotiate a Government of national unity through antagonistic moves before the election results were announced and soon after.
Mr Chanda reiterated that there was no scandal on the side of the Zambian Government officials concerning the alleged corrupt acts in the export of maize to Malawi.
He said the Commission of Inquiry of Malawi’s report in the alleged scam was absurd to suggest that it was concerned about the way the Minister of Agriculture Dora Siliya gave Transglobe, a Malawian company, a permit to transport the maize from Zambia.
Mr Chanda said the Commission should have instead praised Mr Lungu and Ms Siliya for waiving the maize ban to accommodate Malawi get maize from Zambia, and that it had no control over which companies the Malawian authorities purchased the maize from or which transport they used.
He also said former vice-president Nevers Mumba had been exposed after claiming that Moroccan King Mohammed VI was upset over the visit of the Sahwahari’s leader to Zambia and had, therefore, cancelled his visit and yet the king did not only visit Zambia, but extended his stay.
Mr Chanda said Zambia did not take sides over two countries that had differences, but promoted peace and could not be forced by any country to choose it over another one.