LUSAKA Province Minister Bowman Lusambo says Zambians are being unfair when they say President Edgar Lungu has destroyed the country when he is only fixing the damage he found.
Speaking when he addressed a rally in Chingola, Saturday, Lusambo said that it was harder to build something than it was to destroy.
“President Edgar Lungu found things destroyed, what he is doing now is fixing. And as you know, fixing is harder than destroying. Look at this gentleman, if you ask him, you will hear that he was born in 1989 but he can be destroyed in one minute. So what we want is to build our country, Zambia, we don’t want lies. For us as a mobilization committee, we have brought you a message of hope. The way the country was destroyed and the way it is today, there is a difference, we see how development is moving in this country. So lying that President Edgar Lungu is the one who has destroyed the country is unfair of you as Zambians,” Lusambo said.
Lusambo, who spoke in Bemba, urged miners to refrain from being dependent on mining and explore agriculture.
“The other thing the President has sent me to tell you is that let us change our mindset, let us think of farming, minerals get depleted. There are countries that don’t have copper but they are wealthier than us. So we urge you to also venture into agriculture,” he said.
He said the delay in the selling Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) was caused by travel interruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming that the new buyers were unable to travel.
“The President has sent us to tell you the people of Chingola that what keeps us here is the mine, what keeps us is KCM. When you complained, the President heard but he is asking for some time. The liquidator in KCM came and the President did not lie about the promises he made to you. You know, the world was locked down, even as we speak, the world is still locked down. The people who were supposed to come and buy the mine, they can’t travel at the moment. As you can see, everywhere we go we have to be masked up, we can’t even recognise each other. So give him some time, when you do that, he will come and make sure that the KCM transaction is completed. And for those who work for KCM, when the transaction is done, all the workers, before they join the new company, we shall pay them all their benefits. We will pay all of them and there will not be even one employee who will be left out,” said Lusambo.
“The other thing is that, I want to let you know that I have heard you saying that suppliers and contractors at KCM are coming from Lusaka, is that true? For us as the mobilisation committee, we will not allow Lusaka people to and get jobs for the people of Mufulira, for the people of Chingola, for the people of Chililabombwe, we won’t allow that. We will make sure that we speak to our colleague Milingo [Lungu], so that we tell him how we will proceed going forward.”
He further urged Chingola residents to register as voters.
