Mundubile accuses Sports Minister, Nkandu of hijacking youth fuel tankers

By BARNABAS ZULU

MPOROKOSO member of Parliament Brian Mundubile has accused Minister of Sports, Youths, and Arts Mr Elvis Nkandu of hijacking fuel tankers originally meant for youth empowerment, claiming the funds are being diverted for use in by-elections.
The comments were made in response to a statement by Minister of Information and Media, Mr Cornelius Mweetwa, who dismissed the formation of the Tonse Alliance.
During a press briefing, Friday, Mr Mundubile charged that the creation of the alliance was driven by dissatisfaction with the current UPND government.
“We have formed an alliance, through which we can have a new government that will offer hope to the Zambian people. The Zambian people have been waiting for the moment when opposition political party members would come together and begin to move in the same direction. That moment is now, and we will give hope to the hopeless,” Mr Mundubile said.
Mr Mundubile also responded directly to Mr Mweetwa’s recent remarks, which criticized members of the Tonse Alliance.

“I saw the Minister of Information yesterday despise our members of Tonse, throwing stones at some of our members. But I want to tell him that when you look at Tonse, it is actually an alliance with the Zambian people. In Tonse, there are a number of political parties, civil society organizations, and religious groups. In sum, Tonse is an alliance with the Zambian people,” he said. The opposition leader went on to highlight the plight of ordinary citizens, particularly those struggling with rising costs of living. “Some of the members of the Tonse Alliance are those people who are going hungry, who can’t afford the price of mealie meal, the price of sugar. Those are the members of Tonse. They are looking for hope, they are looking for a government that will reduce the cost of living,” Mr Mundubile said.

He also took aim at the UPND’s failure to deliver on promises made to farmers.

“For your information, the UPND government promised farmers a price of fertilizer at K250, but now it is K1000. Those farmers are the members of Tonse. Make no mistake about it,” he said.

Mr Mundubile then turned his attention to the issue of fuel tankers, which he claims were initially provided by the previous Patriotic Front (PF) government for youth empowerment. However, he alleged that the UPND government had “repossessed” the tankers and is now using them for political gain.

“The youths were given tankers, but they have benefited nothing. The UPND government, through the Ministry of Sports, is getting money through those fuel tankers and using it to fund by-elections,” Mundubile claimed. He further accused UPND officials of corrupt activities. “The Minister you have seen, walking around with a bunch of money, calling themselves ‘akatuntulu,’ is distributing money stolen from the fuel tankers. This money, collected from the fuel tankers, is being sent to fund by-elections.”