National Restoration Party (NAREP) president Elias Chipimo says he is shocked at the silence by senior PF officials on the theft scandal of HIV test kits at Kafue General Hospital.
In an interview with News Diggers!, Chipimo also noted that it was difficult for serial thieves in the PF government to take action against another thief.
“The theft of Anti-Retroviral Viral (ARV) kits or drugs, that was recently reported and highly-publicised provides clear evidence that can be utilised immediately to start investigations and conclude them quickly and hopefully lead to prosecution. It is sad that this scandal has not moved any senior politician within the Patriotic Front administration as can be seen and heard from their silence and lack of action. And this should not surprise anybody [because] when you have theft and corruption taking place at the highest levels within the Patriotic Front, it becomes very difficult for one person that is accused of being a serial thief to take any action against another even when there is clear evidence of such potential theft,” Chipimo lamented.
He also charged that President Edgar Lungu was lazy in addressing critical national issues judging from the way he responded to the 2017 FIC Trends Report.
“We feel the reaction, particularly of our Head of State regarding the Financial Intelligence Centre Report, constantly trying to shift the ground of facade, pretend that he is not aware, generally act very lazy when it comes to addressing these critical issues that are eating away at the limited resources that we have in this country. Right now, austerity measures are being pronounced, projects are going to come to a stand-still because of the reckless expenditure, which is now causing us to shut off support for vital sectors like education and health. And now, we see this scandal and evidence in the health sector and there is nothing but silence from the President himself and his minions,” Chipimo added.
He said he would be surprised to see any vigorous approach towards addressing the Kafue hospital scandal since corruption had become a norm in the PF.
“I will be very surprised if we see a vigorous approach towards addressing this issue, but I still hold out some hope that both the President and those around him will come to their senses. Whether or not they have been participants in the theft that has been going on, they still have an obligation to ensure that where there is evidence, it is acted upon by the law enforcement authorities,” said Chipimo.
