Mon, 13 Mar 2017 11:22:42 +0000
By CHIKUMBI KATEBE
WE ALL know the President of the Republic of Zambia is Edgar Chagwa Lungu and this is an open secret known even to the international community that President Lungu was the winner of the August 11, 2016, general election, says Chief Government spokesperson Kampamba Mulenga.
Ms Mulenga, who is Minister of Information and Broadcasting, said there was no doubt who the Head of State was in the eyes of well-meaning Zambians that turned up in their thousands to witness the inauguration ceremony of President Lungu.
She said it was sheer malice that some people were trying to damage Zambia’s image abroad by instigating that the international community did not recognise President Lungu as Zambia’s Head of State.
“I would like to advise those people known to be maligning the name of our beloved country that what they are doing is damaging the country’s image to the international community.
“We all know who the President of Zambia is, and that is President Lungu, and he is coming back to address Parliament this Friday in his capacity as Head of State and nothing else.
And Ms Mulenga said there was nothing to hide about the happenings at the Post Newspaper which have led to its closure.
She said the owner of the Post Newspaper (in liquidation) must look at the interest of the Zambian people and pay their taxes because failure to do so has landed the company in its current situation and its problems had nothing to do with the PF government.
She explained that the decision to place the company under liquidation was a court matter which was meant to protect public interest because failure to pay taxes was stealing from the people.
“The issue of the Post Newspaper has nothing to do with Government, but everything to do with the huge debt the company had accrued from unpaid bank loans, non-remittance of taxes to ZRA and moneys owed to its employees.
“Taxpayers’ money does not belong to President Lungu or the PF; that is public money, and it is Government’s mandate through relevant authorities to protect and recover such money,” she said.
And Ms Mulenga has charged that it was malicious to assume that Vice President Inonge Wina failed to provide answers to the Commonwealth on Government’s position on the UPND election petition as well as the Post Newspaper situation. She said Ms Wina was an eloquent speaker and able leader of the House as well as Vice President who represented the country ably without any doubt.
