Former UPND Katuba Member of Parliament Jonas Shakafuswa has charged that some Cabinet ministers have resorted to hiding stolen money in their houses, leaving the masses suffering.

But Shakafuswa, who describes himself as a proponent of non-partisan politics, argues that regime change is not the solution to the problems facing Zambia, saying a new government may prove to be worse than PF.

In an interview, Monday, Shakafuswa who served as deputy finance minister in Mwanawasa’s regime, reminded government leaders that the money they were siphoning and stashing in Bangkok was coming from loans which poor Zambians would be expected to pay.

Earlier, Shakafuswa posted a scathing piece of criticism to government leaders, warning that one day, Zambians would rise against them.

“This Country does not belong to your mother. If it did we would have had no interest in the way you run it as it would have been your inheritance. But then you are running a Country which has owners; all Zambians. You can’t wake up and feel you have absolute powers to decide as you please, choose who is more Zambian than others, stop people from exercising rights and freedom in their mother’s land. That is where you go wrong. You are distributing national wealth in a discriminatory manner as if it is your mother’s, stop!” Shakafuswa wrote on his Facebook page.

“This Country has owners. One day they will raise against you and you will discover you have no powers against them. The power belong to them. You keep their wealth in your homes when they wallow in absolute poverty and you think you are rich, no! You are foolish! When they rise to claim what belongs to them you will remain with nothing. Stop this rot and save yourself. This Country does not belong to your mother.”

And in an interview, Shakafuswa leaders must realise that they get their authority from the people.

“It is reminders that when people are in leadership they have to realise that they get their authority from the people, at no time should they think that they are masters of the people, at no time should they think that the resources of the people belong to them. What is happening now is that some people are thinking that this country belongs to them, they can usurp power and determine how governance should be, which should not be the case.” Shakafuswa said.

“There is a lot of suffering in this country; there is a lot of poverty. Should we really wait and line up in ministers’ houses where they are keeping money for the people of Shangombo to have a clinic, to have education, should we go and line up in their houses? Because that’s where they are keeping money, they are siphoning money and keeping it in their homes. They are living comfortable lives, what about the people who put them there? We have tolerated this enough, we have been very quiet and that’s how we got here where we are today.”

He however said regime change was not a solution, but encouraged people to speak out against bad leadership.

“I don’t think a regime change is a solution because the people who are in the revolution you may find that they are not prepared for change and they may even become worse than the people you are removing. The best thing is to tell these and let them see that the people are annoyed, and if they can, they change. Because I have seen revolutions whereby you bring in a comedian; we don’t need that kind of thing. What we need is to talk so that these people know that we are not scared of them because they are just human beings like ourselves. The power that all those in government have got, including the minster of home affairs, is coming from the people, it can’t be used to suppress us; especially that CK is saying he (Kampyongo) is the one who bought those wheelbarrows called fire tenders. These people should realise that the money which they are siphoning are loans and it is Zambians who will be paying for the money of these leaders that is banked in Bangkok. We cannot just stand by and say ‘because they are leaders we respect them for that. We have to tell them that if that’s what you are doing, you don’t even deserve to be called a leader,” Shakafuswa said.

He stated that he has been off active politics because political party leaders think of themselves as gods who don’t deserve to be challenged.

“I have had a problem with partisan politics where you supposed to follow a certain line even if it’s a foolish line, I have failed to do that and that’s why at the end of the day, I am just watching from the terraces. I have found partisan politics to be actually more harmful to this country than anything. You will find that leaders in partisan politics think of themselves as gods who can’t be challenged, you challenge a leader, tomorrow you are expelled. You will find that dictatorship actually starts from political parties where you have got leaders who take political parties as their own property,” said Shakafuswa.