DON’T DEMONISE ARTISTS – Who benefitted from Presidential Empowerment Funds – ZUPED

By ANDREW MUKOMA

IT is wrong and unfortunate for any person to demonise and label artists that benefited from the Presidential Arts Development and Empowerment Scheme (PADES) as thieves or something equally bad, Zambia for Unity, Peace and Development (ZUPED) has said.

ZUPED president Ronnie Jere has come to the defense of artists that benefitted from the scheme saying, if there is anything that has gone wrong, the people to blame are technocrats and not beneficiaries.

Mr Jere has said people were not being fair to the beneficiaries of the empowerment funds because there is nothing wrong they did other than following procedures in qualifying for the funds.

“I think people are not being fair with the beneficiaries of the Presidential Arts Development Empowerment Scheme, Presidential Empowerment Fund and all these funds that were given by the previous government. In the first place, I don’t think the permanent secretary (Sports and Youth) meant it the way people are putting it on social media when he appeared before the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC),” he said.

“The narrative that is being portrayed on social media is that all those that benefitted from these funds are either corrupt, thieves or they acquired these funds dubiously when it’s not like that,” he said.

He said that the empowerment funds were advertised and people applied as per procedure adding that the jurisdiction was upon the controlling officers who are still in offices.

“Politicians left but controlling officers are still in office so what is happening is that; if there was any corruption that was made, let the law enforcement agencies deal with the people that were giving out those cheques and leave the artists alone,” Mr Jere said.