By PETER SICHALI
CHIEFS in Muchinga Province are furious that their attempts to meet with President Hakainde Hichilema have been repeatedly blocked.
Council of chiefs chairperson, Chief Katyetye has heaped the blame on presidential handlers, whom he said, were blocking his group.
Chief Katyetye said President Hichilema’s handlers will be the source of his downfall if he does not act now.
Chief Katyetye said the President should be careful with his aides who are leading the cartel of those blocking chiefs and other stakeholders wanting to see him.
The chief lamented that there were a lot of issues that the traditional leaders in the province would want to bring to the attention of the President but were being blocked
“We are very worried as traditional leaders in Muchinga with the manner, people surrounding the President are behaving. Why should they make the President we were talking to almost every day while in opposition, be inaccessible to chiefs,” he said.
Chief Katyetye cited plans by some corrupt individuals at the Ministry of Mines to hand over Nkombwa Mine to an investor as compensation for some unfinished business, as one of the burning issues he would like to discuss with President Hichilema.
He said it was unfortunate that the Ministry of Mines would want to give away Nkombwa Hills Mines to an investor without the knowledge of the traditional leadership.
Chief Katyetye has advised the Presidential handlers to open up the Presidency and make it accessible not only to party cadres but traditional leaders who have matters to bring to the attention of the Head of State.
He warned that current happenings at State House where aides were blocking people from accessing the President is a time bomb and a recipe for corruption.
“The situation of blocking people from seeing the President is a time bomb and a recipe for corruption because, some individuals may want to corrupt the aides to see the President,” Chief Katyetye warned.
Efforts to get a comment from State House proved futile by press time.
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