…over revelations that they are bankrolling UPND activities meant to support members of the ruling party as Brebner Changala says Zambia’s sovereignty is under threat
By NATION REPORTER
BREBNER Changala has challenged the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Union (EU) to tell Zambians when and how they started bankrolling the activities and operations of the UPND as a private political organisation instead of the country’s development agenda.
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Mr Changala, the civil and political activist says revelations that the AfDB and the EU are financing President Hakainde Hichilema and that through the head of State, the activities of the UPND should be a serious cause for worry about the security and sovereignty of the country.
Batuke Imenda, the UPND secretary general on Saturday in Chawama told the nation that President Hichilema had received a lot of support from the AfDB and pledges from the EU and with such resources, the head of State would be able to look after the UPND members comfortably.
But Mr Changala said if it was true that the AfDB and the EU were financing the UPND through President Hichilema, then it had become clear that the two institutions were meddling in Zambia’s political activities.
He said the UPND had let the cat out of the bag by disclosing publicly that it was being financed by the AfDB and the EU, the institutions which were known for pursuing developmental agendas rather than serving the interest of individual political parties.
Mr Changala said it was the UPND that had dragged the Patriotic Front (PF) to court over its source of funding during the 2021 general elections and yet the ruling party was receiving money from institutions which were expected to promote good governance and not political parties.
“It is interesting how the UPND is laying traps for itself while it is fixing the PF over its source of funding. Batuke Imenda (the UPND secretary general) has highly incriminated President Hichilema and the UPND. That the UPND is financially being supported by the AfDB and the EU is a source of serious concern. When did the AfDB and the EU start financing political parties?’
We have never known that the AfDB and the EU were bankrolling political parties and particularly the UPND for that matter. It is not done anywhere in the world but even if it was, it is done so secretaly. But for Zambians to be told openly that the AfDB and the EU are funding President Hichilema and through him, the UPND is a recipe for external interference in the management of our country,” Mr Changala said.
Mr Changala said Mr Imenda had become a loose cannon who had been traversing the country inspecting government-funded developmental projects under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) in his capacity as a UPND operative.
He explained that what Mr Imenda along with his appointing authority were doing was to marry the UPND and government so that the country could go back to the dreaded days of the party and its government (PIG).
He said Zambia had since reverted to democracy and it was therefore illegal for Mr Imenda to attempt to revive the dark days of the party and its government.
“It is out of desperation and the realisation that the UPND is losing the favour it was given that Mr Imenda and President Hichilema are resorting to using reputable international organisation to empower their supporters, most of whom are drifting away. The UPND is no longer attractive and most of its members are drifting away because they have been abandoned and forgotten,” Mr Changala said.
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