By ADRIAN MWANZA
NOBODY in the previous regime has buried stolen money to create the current scarcity of money in circulation as suggested by the Minister of Agriculture Mtolo Phiri, PF aspiring Presidential candidate Chishimba Kambwili has said.
The phenomenon, he said was a result of economic fundamentals that had been mishandled.
Mr Kambwili has also criticised individuals castigating former President Edgar Lungu and the former regime, stating that he had run his race and deserved respect and not derision.
He has asked Mr Phiri to study economic fundamentals to understand money supply issues.
Mr Kambwili said it was a joke and just a sign that the government was not in charge of the economy, to suggest that money had been stolen.
Such matters, he said, were best left to the Minister of Finance and National Planning Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane who understood monetary and fiscal policy.
He said such statements were supposed to come from the likes of Dr Musokotwane who was the Finance Minister.
“Let’s not divert the topic by claiming people are hiding money because as far as I’m concerned no individual has hidden money which has resulted in the shortage of money in circulation,” Mr Kambwili said.
He said the government needed to rise to the occasion and find lasting solutions rather than making lame excuses which Zambians did not buy.
Mr Kambwili said the government had investigative wings at their disposal who could fish out the culprits rather than make such alarming statements.
He challenged the government to approach the people who allegedly hid money so that the economy could be fixed because most Zambians were languishing as prices of essential commodities were skyrocketing.
Mr Kambwili wondered why ministers were making political statements that were meant to sway people’s attention, that it was a sign that they had failed.
