Former information minister Chishimba Kambwili says government will spend $273 million on digital migration in six provinces when it only spent $9 million in four provinces.

On a special edition of Muvi TV’s The Assignment programme yesterday, Kambwili said he washed his hands when government decided to single source Top Star.

“I did not play a role in the digital migration. In fact, when a decision was made to single source, that’s the time I washed my hands, that’s the time I washed my hands. So those who think I have anything to do with digital migration, I have nothing to do with it. We spent $9 million dollars but to migrate the remaining six provinces, we are going to spend $273 million. That’s all I know,” Kambwili said.

But when prodded further, Kambwili said he did not want to answer any questions on “an agenda he did not push”.

Kambwili also revealed that he was not part of President Edgar Lungu’s entourage to China when the digital migration deal was hatched.

“I will tell you something for nothing, Minister of Information is also Chief Government Spokesperson. When the President is travelling, he usually travels with the Minister of Information, in the one year I was Minister of Information, I never travelled not even one trip with His Excellency the President. Not even one trip did I travel outside the borders of Zambia with the President. And to make matters worse, they went to discuss the digital migration in China and instead of taking me, he took the Director General of ZNBC and the permanent secretary and they went to discuss many other issues concerning other ministries, he took the Ministry of Works, he took the Ministry of Agriculture, he took all the ministers that were involved in the sectors that they were going to discuss, I was the only person who was left and I didn’t complain because I don’t complain usually. So you can see that what has happened emanates from the fact that it is natural, you cannot force someone to like you,” said Kambwili.