DEMOCRATIC Party (DP) leader Harry Kalaba says PF Cabinet ministers are now competing among themselves to corruptly amass unexplained wealth as evidenced by the frequent call-outs by investigative wings on some individuals suspected of corruption.

And Kalaba says he is going to criminalize tribalism once voted into government in the 2021 general election.

Speaking when he featured on Kwithu Radio in Lusaka, Tuesday, said Cabinet Ministers were now competing among themselves in corruption at the expense of national development.
He said what he had written in a letter at the time of his resignation from government was not clear for all to see.

“I was in PF and I wrote a letter stating that these PF leaders are corrupt and you are now seeing the corruption I was talking about. You are able to see Ministers being arrested and others like Health Minister (Dr Chitalu) Chilufya was recently called at ACC where he went to explain where he got that massive richness because like I said in the beginning, all these PF leaders are now competing in corruption! So, for me, I don’t fear to talk about this. I can’t fear my fellow human being, chibeleshi. Look at the youths in this country. They are just being used by these politicians and during elections; they will just buy them beer and use them,” Kalaba said, and further urged Zambians to teach the PF a lesson next year as they had failed to run the nation.

And the former foreign affairs minister has pledged that a DP administration would criminalize tribalism.
He urged leaders to stop tribal politics because it was dividing the nation.

“DP is going to win elections in 2021. But it is not in my interest for me to talk about tribalism. We, leaders, must be very sensitive because if we begin to talk in that fashion, we are dividing the nation that is united and there is no way we can continue talking about tribal politics. That is why when we win elections, as DP, tribalism will be a criminal offence. Tribalism ikaba ni criminal offence so that all those who will be issuing tribal remarks, will be dealt with. Nobody should tell the other that they can’t be President of this country because they come from a certain province. There is no one in this country who chooses which province he or she should be born from. This nation has culture and you can’t just stand because you are from Northern Province, and you think you…[can]tell the people of Southern Province to forget? You even use such tribal politics to tell the people without shame,” Kalaba said.

“You tell the people that they should vote for you because you come from there? Those bad politics are coming to an end and, unfortunately, we have got leaders in PF who are issuing tribal politics and the President is quiet. I am DP, but it is not in my interest to say, ‘because you are Tonga, then you cannot be President of this nation’. When you come to my place today, my niece is Mapalo and the mother is in Zimba…Now, if those children hear me on radio talking about Tongas, how will those children look at me? Once again, we leaders must be very sensitive.”

He reiterated that the DP would not enter into any pact with other political parties.

“This battle is not about removing one Chagwa Edgar Lungu and replacing him with any other name no, no, no, that is not going to work. We are going to remove Edgar Lungu and replace him with Harry Kalaba because Harry Kalaba is fit for that position. Let’s just be fair. That is how it is going to be because it is the DP, which has a vision. It’s us, the DP, who have said we don’t want politics of insults; it is us who have said we don’t want tribalism. My SG in the party is Precious Ntambu coming from North-Western Province. DP will not enter into any pact with anyone. We shall stand alone,” said Kalaba.

“When I was going round the country last year, I spent the whole of last year going round Zambia. Going all over the provinces and I wanted to listen and know the challenges people have. The people I met did not tell me to go into a pact. Instead, they told me that they want me as [Republican] President so that this nonsense of putting flags in markets, bus stations, this nonsense of corruption, should come to an end. That is what they told me in Southern Province. That is what they told me in Western Province. They told me the same here in Lusaka. They told me the same in North-Western, Luapula, Northern, Muchinga and Central provinces. They never told me to go in a pact. Yes, ama political parties are many and it is just like saying we have so many churches and so let’s just come up with only one church so that we have a smooth baptism.”