Lusaka Mayor Miles Sampa has denied promising to install free WiFi in all public places in Lusaka within his first 100 days of being in office.
But journalists from various media houses roasted Sampa for this U-turn on his WhatsApp group dubbed: “Lsk Mayor Media Alert.”
On Tuesday, Sampa told journalists who were asking questions on his free WiFi promise that he had up to 2021 to deliver, charging that those who didn’t know this were lazy and did not want to read the contents of his social contract.
“Those who can read from my social contract, they will see that I have up to 2021 to deliver Wi-Fi. Lazy ones who don’t want to read, like those from Diamond TV, can continue journalism gossip based 101 from Evelyn Hone,” Sampa said.
But journalists insisted that the Mayor had promised free Wi-Fi within 100 days of being elected.
“Your Worship, you said in the first 100 days! It’s not journalism gossip,” journalists said.
Sampa, however, claimed he had said he would start the process within 100 days.
“I said “start” the process and we have started! Since I was elected we have had a demo Wi-Fi at the Council. All journalists were invited to come witness. The Wi-Fi contract is going through the procurement stages within the Council tender procedures. I have no powers to just award. Please check from Oxford Dictionary the difference between “start” and “finish” of a project,” the Mayor stated.
But another journalist posted a video of Sampa when he featured at a PF Interactive Forum where he promised free Wi-Fi within 100 days.
“The other thing I will do within 100 days is ensure that in public places starting with the airports, the railway station, the bus station the Intercity and elsewhere, we introduce free Wi-Fi so that when you arrive in Zambia at the airport, immediately, there is free Wi-Fi you log in, when you go to Intercity, there free Wi-Fi; if you are travelling [and] you are delayed, you can at least communicate with your family from there. And the Council itself will put free Wi-Fi so that we encourage you people to come. You know what Wi-Fi is, bundles,” read a verbatim of what Sampa said.
At this point, journalists started mocking the Mayor until he excused himself saying he was going to have lunch.
But journalists continued mocking him in his absence.