Thu, 18 Jan 2018 12:41:50 +0000
By SIMON MUNTEMBA
GEOFFREY Bwalya Mwamba has boasted that he has shifted his commercial empire from Zambia to neighbouring states due to “political gymnastics” which have clamped down on his businesses.
Featuring on Prime TV’s Oxygen of Democracy programme on Monday night, Mr. Mwamba, the UPND vice president for politics, bragged and claimed that he had been forced to invest in Zimbabwe and South Africa where he has created more than 300 jobs for foreigners due to “political gymnastics” in Zambia.
And Mr Mwamba, popularly known as GBM, has maintained that there was a pending election petition in court saying that no matter how long it would take, it would be heard.
“This is not the first time that this has happened to me where a sitting president clamps down on my businesses. I am used to this. I decided to go and invest in Zimbabwe and South Africa because I can’t fight the system, it’s more powerful than me.
“I closed my milling plant, no more GBM mealie meal, no operation and I have another mill which is ready for installation but I can’t install it because of political interference,” Mr Mwamba said.
Mr Mwamba claimed that government made it difficult for him to do business in Zambia to an extent where those who dealt with him were threatened with dismissals.
He claimed that he had challenges to buy maize which the government was selling to millers through FRA last year due to political interference.
“I understand politics of leaders of Africa, it is the same but I don’t care because I have business acumen and I have the capacity to do business anywhere in the world. So to show them that I don’t depend on their economy or country, I decided to invest in South Africa,” he boasted.
Mr Mwamba continued, “South Africa is a huge economy and there is no political interference there even if you are in the opposition no one will interfere with your business.”
He said that it was sad that the much-needed employment had been created in South Africa at the expense of Zambians, adding that the revenue had gone into the coffers of foreign countries due to political victimisation.
Meanwhile, Mr Mwamba, who maintained that the presidential petition was still active, insisted that it must be heard because they had all the evidence.
