By NOEL IYOMBWA
THE revelation by President Edgar Lungu that Vedanta Resources is funding UPND in exchange for getting back KCM should be taken seriously, Evangelical Youth Alliance president, Moses Lungu has said.
Reverend Lungu said the Head of State gets privileged information, hence the revelations should be taken seriously by citizens.
He said that whatever money the UPND was getting from Vedanta should be paid back to the Zambian people.
Rev Lungu noted that Zambia does not need leaders who would sell the country to foreigners at the expense of the young generation.
He advised Zambians not to vote for politicians who would turn the country into poverty.
He stressed that the UPND leader, Mr Hakainde Hichilema should not be given the mandate to run the country because he has no interest of the mines at heart.
President Lungu at the weekend disclosed that he has received intelligence information that the opposition leader has been secretly soliciting for $300, 000 from Vedanta Resources on condition that he would hand back KCM if he is elected into office on August 12 election.
The PF government has repossessed KCM, one of Africa’s biggest copper producers, saying the Indian investor had breached environmental and financial regulations.
Vedanta, which owned 80 percent of the KCM, claimed that it has invested over $3 billion since 2004, adding that it had enhanced processing capacity and extended the mine life.
Presently, Vedanta Resources has taken the government of Zambia to international arbitration following the seizure of KCM.
Speaking in Kitwe on Saturday, Mr Lungu said arising from the intelligence report, he would revisit the privatisation programme after the August 12 elections because it smacked of corruption.
