Chishimba Kambwili says prison facilities will be full of politicians, including President Edgar Lungu after 2021, adding that three quarters of those in the Patriotic Front would be arrested when the party loses power.

And the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party leader says he is dismayed that President Edgar Lungu has not learnt a lesson from former Presidents Frederick Chiluba and Rupiah Banda’s prosecution to stop stealing from public coffers.

In an interview with News Diggers in Luanshya, Sunday, Kambwili narrated an incident that happened at State House where a bag full of dollars which was being delivered to President Lungu’s office by some Chinese accidentally opened and the money started falling down, much to the amusement of onlookers.

“What happened one time at State house was embarrassing. Some people came to State House with a bag, and as they were going towards the Presidents office the bag suddenly opened and US Dollars started falling down. They closed the doors quickly and started picking Dollars. What happens at State House is dirty I’m telling you. Ministers are made to wait for four, five hours. Chinese businesses are busy going in and out with bags full of Dollars. We know everything so don’t thing you are clever. We have reliable informants.”

He said those in the PF were better off looking for where to hide after 2021 because no one would be spared from going to prison.

“I’m very worried with the current leadership in as far as corruption is concerned. They have turned this country into a money-making venture. And you see the whole essence of referring to history is to discard bad practices and keep good practices. What happened to Frederick Chiluba, what happened to Rupiah Banda should have been lesson enough for these PF Ministers including His Excellence the President Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu. The corruption that they are involved in right from the top, to the Presidential aides, the Ministers and by the way, this new financial regulation that they are boosting about that will now improve the corruption status in Zambia does not extend to Ministers. It only ends up on Permanent Secretary going downwards. But more often than not, Permanent Secretaries and directors are given illegal instructions by the ministers when they are doing their corrupt acts. So that one is of no consequences because the biggest corruption is at Ministerial level and at State House,” he said.

“Look at the $4.3 million tollgate, I don’t think that was handled by Permanent Secretaries and below, that was handled by State House. We know that all the contracts that are given to AVIC International are actually given by State House through verbal instructions and you cannot stress the involvement of State House. But what I am trying to say is that these people should have leant lessons on how Chiluba suffered through that prosecution, how Rupiah Banda suffered through that prosecution and how Richard Sakala was sent to prison. Its sad that they cannot learnt and I feel sorry. They seem not to learn but I can tell you that the prisons in 2021 after August will be full of politicians. I can rest assure you. And it will not be business as usual where people are acquitted of their guilty. We will make sure that whoever has dipped money in the public treasury; first and foremost, we will grab all the buildings that they had built using this illegal money. Houses, we know which houses they have built. We know what properties they own in South Africa, Dubai, Uganda, all those will have to account they will have to tell us how you got the money.”

He said those who are dishing out money to the marketeers will also have to explain where they got the money from.

“For the marketeers who are been empowered, but whoever is empowering the marketeers through stolen money will have to go in. the market money they have been saying is from President Edgar Lungu’s pocket, today they are saying they have given over K50 million of market empowerment. Where has President Edgar Lungu gotten the K50 million in two years. Themselves are telling us that he has given out over K50 million worth of market empowerment fund. That boy Tembo who is in the forefront of the empowerment, Permanent Secretary Chanda Kabwe who is the Patron they will all have to account where they are getting the money for market empowerment. That does not mean that we are against market empowerment, I have said it before that let the market empowerment be budgeted for by the state and let an act of parliament prescribe how that money shall be disbursed. We want clean money to be given to our marketeers,” he said.

“We want to know where the K50 million has come from in two years because if you calculate from the salary of President Edgar Lungu with all his allowances, it cannot come to K50 million because President Edgar Lungu is not a business man. So, the question I want to ask President Edgar Lungu before its too late is; tell us where the money for the marketeers is coming from. When I come in, in 2021, it will be a different ball game all together.”

Meanwhile Kambwili said President Edgar Lungu should name the Michael Chilufya Sata toll plaza after himself and instead name the Kitwe Mall after the late president.

“And let me appeal to President Edgar Lungu, if he has any respect for President Michael Sata, any respect at all, he should reverse the naming of the Michael Chilufya Sata toll gate. He should name that mall in Kitwe, the NAPSA mall as Michael Chilufya Sata mall. And let him name that toll gate as Edgar Lungu toll gate. Because Edgar Lungu is synonymous with taxes while Michael Sata is synonymous with Infrastructure development. What he has done is an insult to Mr Sata. And I have never seen an incumbent President naming certain infrastructure after himself. How? How do you say this is the Edgar Lungu mall when you are still in office? People should give names on your behalf. So, for the sake of the Sata family, name the Kitwe mall as Michael Sata mall and not Edgar Lungu mall. If he doesn’t do it, when I come as President, I will swap them,” said Kambwili.