Fri, 07 Sep 2012 14:54:37 +0000
“It is all a pack of lies. I am not worth K365 billion as suggested by President Michael Sata,” UPND president Hakainde Hichilema has said.
“I am worth K45 billion which I submitted at the High Court during the 2011 Presidential and General Elections,” he said.
Mr. Hichilema said that President Sata should have used state security agencies to verify facts instead of concocting and manufacturing falsehoods aimed at denting the image of private citizens.
He said, “The documents distributed at State House by President Sata are a total fabrication and a concoction, a pack of lies aimed at sowing hatred and discontent among the people ofZambia. Those are cheap lies. I am not surprised because that is the way he is,” said Mr. Hichilema in an interview.
Mr. Hichilema said it was sad that the Head of State could publish a statement without verifying facts that, “ he should have used his security system to probe me rather than distribute and publish lies which malign me unfairly.”
By distributing falsehoods President Sata was sowing a seed of discontent against his private citizenry on many issues of less importance when the country was grappling with critical issues such as high unemployment levels.
“President Sata should have used his security system if he was seriously interested in knowing how much I am worth. Those details are not a hidden thing; he should have just gone back to the High Court and verified whatever information he wanted about my assets and the wealth I have rather than publishing lies.
“President Sata’s aim of distributing the document is freezing my assets, but nobody will deter me from reminding the PF government about its failures and broken promises,” he said.
He said the desperation by President Sata to cover his broken promises should be stopped because he would soon start sending people questioning him about his failures to provide a credible leadership to jail.
“He (Sata) should not preoccupy himself with me, let him address high levels of unemployment, let him not manufacture lies about me or anybody. He is sowing hatred in the country against people. What is seditious about having cattle, what is sedition about having assets?” he said.
Mr. Hichilema said President Sata had managed to destroy the country in the 11 months he had been in office because of failure to see evil.
He said if President Sata was not happy with the way the Railway Systems of Zambia (RSZ) was operating he should have raised concerns with the company instead of making public statements.
Mr. Hichilema warned that under the PF Zambia was going back into socialism, adding that PF wanted to plant things at the UPND secretariat to get on him but failed.
He has since warned the PF government that he would not be intimidated by anyone and would continue to speak on critical issues of governance affecting the people ofZambia, adding that the PF government should focus on addressing high levels of poverty and unemployment.
