Ilunda Chalo not for PF

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 16:54:58 +0000

Ilunda Chalo Investments Limited does not belong to the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) but to President Michael Sata, Wynter Kabimba and an Indian national Imran Merchant.

And PF members have challenged President Michael Sata and Secretary General Wynter Kabimba to explain why they still insist that Ilunda Chalo was owned by the PF and why there were no consultations with the Central Committee when the company was being registered.

The members, including some senior Cabinet Ministers have also questioned the inclusion Imran Merchant, an Indian national, into a company that was supposed to belong to a political party.

The party members questioned why Mr Kabimba has continued to mislead the nation and the party that Ilunda Chalo belonged to the PF when no  senior party members had been informed about who the real share holders in the company were.

“It is very unfortunate that Mr Kabimba could still insist that the company belonged to the PF when no party members were consulted and informed when decisions were being made to form the company.

“I am a central committee member, Kabimba should not cheat Zambians about this company as no one was told about it. Which central committee sat to decided on who should be the share holders of the company?

“We only knew about this company when the issue first appeared in the paper. We did not know who the shareholders were until this scam was exposed. No information has been passed on to the party members about the company and that is why we are demanding for an explanation before this issue backfires,” said one Cabinet Minister.

The members also wondered why the formation and registration of the company was done secretly alleging that President Sata and Mr Kabimba wanted to hoodwink Zambians into believing that the company belonged to the party.  “Why didn’t they ask Zambians to invest in the company? We want the President to tell us and convince us why he and others went behind other party members’ backs and form a company without the others knowing.” The members said.

Meanwhile information obtained by the Daily Nation have revealed that Mr Imran Merchant first came to Zambia in June 2012 with the help of some Zambians with whom he was to operate business. However the business relationship did not work and they parted company.

Mr Merchant worked for Dharni Sampda Pvt.Ltd in Mumbai India and he came to work for the company known as Taurian Manganese which was incorporated in 2010 and started its operations on November 20th 2010 in Luapula Province.

Mr Merchant has also been accused of having worked with some opposition groups in the government of Ivory Coast before he came to Zambia.

Further investigations by the Nation have revealed that Mr Merchant has since moved from Mambilima Road in Rhodes Park to Mass Media Housing Complex off Thabo Mbeki road in Lusaka.

Mr Merchant had always associated himself with people at the top and for them it was not surprising that he found himself as a foreigner to be one of the shareholders in Ilunda Chalo Ltd.

The source however said this development was sad because the two senior party officials did not tell other party members the truth.