By SIMON MUNTEMBA and ADRIAN MWANZA
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema must immediately fire his Ministers and Permanent Secretaries (PSs) that have been recruited by the so called “Clique” to steal public resources, PF Presidential hopeful Emmanuel Mwamba has said.
In an interview, Mr Mwamba said there was urgent need for President Hichilema to fire his thieving ministers and PSs if he was serious with fighting corruption.
“Ministers and Permanent Secretaries that have been recruited by “the Clique” to learn how to steal public funds as disclosed by the Head of State must be fired immediately. A wrong done under the PF, remains a wrong if repeated by the new government,” he said.
Mr Mwamba however said he was concerned about the continued name calling and labeling people that have not been investigated or subjected to the due process of the law.
He said labeling people as plunderers or cliques of thieves takes away their constitutional and fundamental Right to innocence until proven guilty by a competent court-of-law.
“This prejudices citizens before the Courts of law. Labeling people as plunderers or Cliques takes away their constitutional and fundamental Right to innocence until proven guilty by a competent court-of-law,” he said. On Monday, President Hichilema said the clique of criminals whom law enforcement agencies are currently pursuing have now started teaching his ministers and permanent secretaries how to syphon money meant for the poor. The Head of State said this when he swore in the Teaching Service Commission chairperson Daphne Chimuka and Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) Director General Mary Chirwa.
Meanwhile another PF big wig Chishimba Kambwili echoed Mr Mwamba’s sentiments and said the president needed to fire all those ministers that were siphoning money. Mr Kambwili in an interview said that if indeed the president knew the ministers that were siphoning siphon money, he needed to act because that was tantamount to corruption and that he needed to name and shame the culprits.
He said that the President needed to nip the bud before the cancer spread and that investigative wings needed to be tasked.
“If indeed there is corruption then the President should fire them there are no two ways about it and if an individual is named in corruption then investigative wings should be dispatched so that person is dealt with,” he said.
