SHIWANG’ANDU PF member of parliament Stephen Kampyongo has advised the UPND government to focus on delivering on their campaign promises rather than wasting their energy on investigating matters which were already closed like the procurement of 42 fire trucks.

And Kampyongo says people want to see a single digit exchange rate after President-Elect Hakainde Hichilema is sworn in this Tuesday.

In an interview, Kampyongo said even though the PF lost the presidential elections, they were still represented in large numbers in parliament.

“What I thought we deal with now is this propaganda going around, remember this thing about the fire tenders. This matter is not new to you colleagues in the media, even to the law enforcement officers. This is a matter which was extensively dealt with, it was in public domain, it also came to Parliament. Remember that [Chishimba] Kambwili raised this matter in Parliament. A special committee was set up headed by the Deputy Speaker to investigate this matter. Kambwili was made to apologize, you remember this matter somewhere in 2017,” Kampyongo said.

“So, if they want to open these issues, let them follow the institutions that are mandated to open these issues. But what they are not going to do is to gag us, to cage us from performing our roles as parliamentarians who have just been elected. So, we may have lost the major battle of forming government but we are in large numbers. So they shouldn’t start targeting those of us they think might give them a lot of work, because certainly, they have made a lot of promises.”

And Kampyongo said people wanted to see a single digit exchange rate after President-Elect Hakainde Hichilema is sworn in.

“So, in responding to that, we are just saying let them not waste energy focusing on propaganda and persecuting former leaders. This is a matter which has been in public domain, this is a matter that was extensively dealt with and the records are there. They can go to the law enforcement agencies to go and find out. Let them focus on delivering the promises of K50 mealie meal, which people are waiting for after next week. Let them focus on creating the jobs that they have told the people, the youths who voted in large numbers. Before the end of the year, they want to see jobs, I have seen them polishing CVs and putting NRCs together,” he said.

“People would want to see the single-digit exchange rate next week after the swearing-in. So, let them not start bagging us, the records are there. They don’t have to use propaganda to open those matters and try to get public sympathy. So, focus on a new agenda. Should you want to open those, you don’t use propaganda, just go to the institutions that are mandated to do these matters. FIC gathers intelligence and passes it to law enforcement agencies. I didn’t supervise the Anti-Corruption Commission, nor was I supervising institutions that are mandated to perform their roles.”

Meanwhile, Kampyongo said the UPND should follow President-Elect Hichilema’s stance that he will not embark on a witch hunt.

“Now we want new things, we want to hear new things, these things are not going to put food on the table. If you have committed crimes, let the institutions do the matters. The members of the new government, follow the line of the President-Elect who indicated that he will not embark on a witch hunt of former leaders but he will focus on the developmental agenda. However, we are not shaken by those that think they can use those allegations to gag us. They are chaps who think they can do their own things away from what their leader is saying,” said Kampyongo.