KAMBWILI’S PLOT

Sun, 11 Feb 2018 11:39:51 +0000

…Roan MP, unions plan to stone Chinese

By BENNIE MUNDANDO

A RECORDING of Roan Member of Parliament Chishimba Kambwili conspiring with mine workers union officials to stone the Chinese and create general disaffection against them has emerged.

And State House has described as reckless and a betrayal of national interest by Kambwili to advocate xenophobia against the Chinese.

In the audio, Mr Kambwili is also heard instructing officials from the two mine workers unions to apply for a police permit at which he would address them.

The aim of the exercise ostensibly was to pressure the Chinese to employ former miners instead of recruiting new employees who would accept lower wages.

Speaking in a briefing in Ndola, special assistant for Press Amos Chanda condemned Kambwili for fomenting antagonism and disaffection against the Chinese who were investing in the country.

Xenophobia, he said, has no place in Zambia and hoped that in this regard security authorities would take appropriate action to safeguard law and order.

Kambwili’s scheme was to force Government succumb to his demands of having his supporters employed at Baluba mine as there is growing fear that the investor may not re-engage ex-miners but opt for new employees.

In the audio leaked to the Daily Nation, Mr. Kambwili and the two mine workers’ unions are planning to use the reopening of the Baluba mine as a means through which to destabilise Government by creating acrimony towards the investor using ex-miners who fear that new people might be engaged by the mine while side-lining former employees.

Addressing the group in Luanshya last week, Mr. Kambwili alleged that Luanshya Mayor Nathan Chanda, who is allegedly pushing for the exclusive employment of PF cadres, must be stopped and that the only way to do so was by organising a meeting to be addressed by him.

“You miners have become docile. You no longer react the way your fellow miners used to react some time back. Even if I am speaking for you, you are not showing the courage. The person behind this is this chap in Luanshya (Nathan Chanda) because he wants to put his own people. What we will do is that we will apply for a permit for a meeting with all the ex-miners.

“You NUMAW and MUZ, you go and get a permit under the disguise that the honourable MP wants to meet the ex-miners. Just go there and demand for a permit that we want our MP to address us on Saturday next week. Government will run away and that nonsense will stop because they know that if I talk to the miners, they are gone,” Mr. Kambwili said.

He said he had no kind words for the Chinese who owned the mine because they had “become too much” and that they must be stoned and pushed out of Luanshya.

“If we mean it, we can even stone all those Chinese and they will run away because we don’t want any Chinese national in Zambia. They have become too much. Any Chinese national we will find in Luanshya must be stoned and that is when they will be scared. The problem with you is that you don’t even know how to mount pressure.

“After you get the permit, go to the media and warn the police in advance that you don’t want them to interfere and that you only want to hear from me as your MP because Government has failed. I can tell you that before Saturday, everything will be sorted out because Government is very scared of me and if they hear that I will have an audience with the miners, they will cry like nobody’s business,” he bragged.  He also told ex-miners who attended the meeting that they needed to fight hard to reclaim their jobs as the Chinese were planning to employ new people and reduce salaries.

“These chaps want to either employ new people or give you jobs but reduce your salaries, start giving you lower salaries than what you used to get before. It is divide and rule at play. Let us mount pressure because they know that if Kambwili speaks to the miners in Luanshya, there will be commotion.  “If you become lazy, they will take advantage of you but I can assure you that if that (obtaining a permit) is done, before sunset, they will respond because they will inform President Edgar Lungu just today before he goes to bed. You will even hear that he is coming here,” he said amid laughter from his audience.