FDD president Edith Nawakwi has challenged Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) Commissioner General Kingley Chanda to explain who is auditing a clearing and forwarding company called Nishati, which she says belongs to him.

And Nawakwi says Zimbabwe will in the next 24 months overtake Zambia in terms of food production in the agriculture sector.

She was speaking when she featured on the “Chat Back” programme on radio Christian Voice on Monday.

“You should see ZRA searching the people on the bus in Chirundu, its a shame, they don’t search these people who are carrying Mukula. And yet the chief executive of ZRA is also in clearing, who is checking him? How about the Commissioner General of ZRA, he is involved in forwarding and clearing, who is auditing him?” Nawakwi asked.

“Nishati clearing belongs to my brother Kingsley Chanda. The point is, its giving him unfair advantage as opposed to the others because others are being impounded purportedly for under-declaring. Now the issue here is the ZRA officer who is enforcing the law cannot impound the vehicles belonging to his boss, bushe sakonda nchito?”

Nawakwi challenged Chanda and Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja to exculpate themselves on how the topical Mukula consignment crossed the boarder points without being scrutinised.

“We think that the police are very corrupt and thats true. And there is a big fish somewhere. That is why last time when the Mukula issue came, I singled out three people. I said Inspector General of Police tell me on earth, to God in heaven, how come these consignment came from Chinsali where Minister of Home Affairs lives? To pass through Kapiri, there are police road blocks. Lets assume that the police have been bought and corrupted, where is the office of the Zambia Revenue Authority? Then I asked and said, ‘ I want answers from Kingsley Chanda and Inspector General of Police Kanganja. If these people are not able to give me answers how can you move Mukula from Mporokoso to the boarder and its almost sneaking out under the escort of a Chinese and some young girls? If these two people are sleeping and are not able to see, then they are colluding with the criminals,” she said.

“I have not been amused by the cover up which they have instituted that this was ZAFFICO contraband. This was a cover up and it should not happen. You know these people are looting. And for me, I have no apologies to make. I don’t know why the Minister of Home Affairs jumped in, is it because some of the wood came from Kwansama? Have you ever seen a truck of Emerald being escorted or a truck of Copper being escorted? For me when the Minister of Home Affairs said the kids have stolen K30 million which was in the escort car, he answered my question that this was a contraband because we know and everybody knows in this country the thieves who are stealing Mukula, they have an escort vehicle and they pay their way through the police check-point. Me this nonsense of Mukula I want it to stop. I want this whole rubbish of Mukula to stop.”

Meanwhile, the FDD president said Zimbabwe would in the next 24 months overtake Zambia in terms of food production.

“Let’s talk about a year from now and if God wills and I am alive, Zimbabwe is going to overtake us. In the next 24 months, I can bet you, Zimbabweans work hard, Zimbabweans are focused. Even in their misery they had said they had collapsed but I can tell you, they are a determined nation. And its simple, its about agriculture. Because you should just see what happened in Zimbabwe when there was land grabbing and agriculture fell. This time they will reorganise it around. Agriculture is everything for a nation. I was shocked to learn that this e-voucher system is just favouring some families. Some families you find that if they are ten members of the family, all of them have got e-vouchers and other have been left. In Chilanga, 30 people who got e-vouchers don’t even exist and the residents are saying how did these people get these names because this one anamwalila (died), this one, anakuka (shifted), where did the government get these names,” asked Nawakwi.

“The whole thing is being controlled from Mulungushi house (Ministry of Agriculture). And if we make statements asking why these monies are being controlled from Mulungushi house, are we going to be accused of pointing fingers? No! And last year, why I don’t have confidence in my Minister of Finance now, is that him and my sister the Minister of Agriculture, and my other sister the Minister of Commerce, they went to Kenya and found that Kenya is in need of maize, what action did they take? Zero. They come here, the only thing is a nice press conference, good English words but Kenya is in need of maize.”