HONOURABLE Lloyd Kaziya, the PF member of parliament for Matero Constituency, says it will be hard for the ruling party to campaign ahead of the 2021 general elections because cadres have been allowed to conduct so many illegalities in the name of the party without facing consequences. The former minister adds that because of his intolerance for illegalities and corruption, he has remained unpopular among PF cadres in his constituency.

“There is this group that has been awarding land to Indians, and foreigners. How much have they eaten? You see, what happened in Emmasdale has now escalated to Kitwe and this is why they have revoked licenses in Lusaka and Kitwe… The problem which is there is that because it is involving cadres, we are concealing these issues. The Njanji railway line is gone! They have cashed in on it. And I am bringing this before the ACC to probe them. The Chunga Roundabout has been sold to Zambeef. Our own PF Constituency team sold that and shared the money… You see, I have been fighting these kinds of illegalities in Matero for a long time and this is why I am not popular among the cadres in Matero. Even the secretariat has joined siding with criminals! We have allowed lawlessness in the country and more especially in Lusaka… Had it not been for that video going viral, you wouldn’t have known about this. And as a party, they have fought me, meaning that they embrace corruption, meaning that they embrace illegalities,” says Kaziya.

We feel sad for the Honourable MP because we know that the path he has taken is a lonely one. Calling out and condemning those who engage in illegalities is not an easy undertaking. Usually, those around you take offence and in this case, we will not be surprised if Honourable Kaziya is punished by his party for pointing out the wrongs involving PF members. We are also not surprised to hear that the MP is not popular among the cadres. Cadres don’t like leaders who hate lawlessness, they like those who embrace corruption because that’s their source of livelihoods.

Our opinion today is that, although Honourable Kaziya himself may not be clean when it comes to accountability and good governance, no one can disagree with the concerns that he is raising about his party. It is not in contention that the Patriotic Front has been tolerating lawlessness from its cadres. In some cases, the leaders send cadres to engage in lawlessness for their superior benefit. This is why when it comes to the fight against corruption, they fight it with their lips while their hands are perpetuating it.

When those in government address the nation on corruption and the ongoing lawlessness, what they say is the work of speech writers. Condemning corruption is not done because they detest it, but because it is a good political statement to make. It is not something that comes from a place of conviction. We say this because leaders in this government preach the opposite of what they do. At no time has this PF government been steadfast in fighting corruption. From the very beginning, their formation of government was premised on corruption. They bought every vote that was available for sale in 2016 and the same trend has continued during by-elections. When corruption has been unearthed, they fight to cover it up instead of eradicating it. This is one reason why they have institutions such as the Financial Intelligence Centre, which has access to places where they hide corruption money.

There is no way that we can expect such a political party to detest corruption. Like Honourable Kaziya says, they are fighting those who speak against illegalities because they embrace corruption. The Patriotic Front is a product of corruption, and people who speak the way Honourable Kaziya came out are perceived as enemies. The Matero MP is right, but they will punish him for speaking the truth because they don’t want anyone questioning the lawlessness in the party. What the PF does best is shielding one another as wrong doers.

Here we are with a self inflicted local government scandal under the civic authorities. They have come out very vibrantly to condemn the corruption and illegal land allocation at the Lusaka City Council and the Kitwe City Council. These are councils which are run by the Patriotic Front, meaning if there is any criminality at play, the culprits must be members of the ruling party at mayor and councillor level. But watch what is going to happen at the end of the so-called investigation. See how many people will be found wanting and who among them will be made to account. It’s nothing but a charade!