NDC leader Chishimba Kambwili says if citizens want the opposition alliance to field one presidential candidate in 2021, that is what they will do.

And Kambwili has insisted that Zambia needs a lifestyle audit for ministers.

Speaking when he featured on the Catholic Church-run Radio Lutanda, in Kasama, Saturday, Kambwili said the opposition alliance would field one candidate, if that’s what Zambians wanted.

“On the issue of the alliance, the main reason we have come together as 10 opposition political parties is to ensure that we speak against the abuse of laws by the PF, which they use to deny the opposition permits to conduct their campaigns and other bad things that the PF has been doing against the people of Zambia. We have not discussed anything on whether we shall support one person or not. What meaningful alliances do everywhere in the world in fact is that once you decide to support one person as an alliance candidate, you come up with one name for that alliance and put all your ideologies together. The name is not even formed by taking initials from political parties who are alliance members, it’s formed based on the ideologies that you have formulated and agreed upon. So, the only time we will think about whether to rally behind one candidate or not, is when Zambians tell us to do so. If Zambians say ‘come together and help us to remove these crooks in government,’ we shall do that; we have to listen to voters,” Kambwili said.

And Kambwili said there was need for lifestyle audits for President Lungu and his ministers.

“I have challenged them, and I am still challenging them, that we need to conduct a lifestyle audit where all ministers and the President must explain the source of their excess money. In Kenya and Botswana, the presidents in the two countries have ordered for a lifestyle audit of ministers and themselves; here they have refused despite us making numerous requests,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kambwili said corruption levels had swelled in the country because the Head of State had failed to fight the vice.

“I am talking about theft; myself I have a company called ‘Mwamona’, which develops mines before they could start mining copper or any minerals. I started business a long time ago, in 1993. Now, here is a minister who never even had a bicycle before becoming a minister, but today is able to donate colossal sums of money, just know that such a minister is a thief! I don’t just want to mention their names, but they know themselves. Before we adopted them, they didn’t own even a mere bicycle. Even President Lungu before he became (Republican) President when he was declaring his assets, he declared K2.5 million. After one year of being President, he declared K23 million in 2016, and he never said he had any business. Now, tell me, the President’s annual salary is K450,000, how can he have K23 million in one year? This is what I have been asking him, I have asked him to explain where he got that K23 million, but he has never answered! When a President fails to fight corruption in the country, it means it has become open for all,” said Kambwili.

“The salary for ministers as at now is at K23,000, but a minister can manage to build three fully-furnished churches using that K23,000? Another minister goes and donates K650,000 by purchasing a Marcopolo Bus and donates to his constituency. Where are they getting all this money? If you see the way they are constructing houses in Lusaka, they have gotten all the land! Wherever you go; you will hear people telling you that that’s a minister’s house. This government is focused on self-enrichment of individuals in offices, through blatant theft of public resources! Hence we are saying in 2021, we must work together and remove the PF from government!”