SHANG’OMBO UPND member of parliament Mubika Mubika says government has taken too long to ensure that suspected criminals from the previous regime are prosecuted and as a result, they have hidden their loot.

Debating the President’s address in Parliament, Tuesday, Mubika said Ministers should not be seen dining with corrupt former PF government officials.

“Madam Speaker, the President has set the tone and it is up to our government Ministers to implement what has been advised. Madam Speaker, the advice I want to give to my government Ministers is that they should stay away from the corrupt former government officials of PF. They should not be seen wining and dining with them because the perception outside there is that we are being corrupted, that [is why] we are not prosecuting them. Why am I saying so? Last year and early this year, the Local Government and Rural Development Minister came to this House and told us that what he had found in the Ministry where party officials, former ministers got money, advance payments to work on roads, those roads were not done, the former government used that money for their own personal gain. We are not seeing those people going to fast track courts,” he said.

He said suspected criminals in PF had been given enough time to hide the loot and that’s why they were now daring government.

“So we should not expect the President to come and lead, he has already set the tone. Can we take these people to court, so that we recover, because we have given them enough room, that is why they are even challenging us now that ‘come and arrest us’. We gave them enough time to hide the loot. So, can we please ensure that these corrupt individuals should stop daring government. Take them to court so that the money, whatever is remaining, is recovered. The people in Shang’ombo want feeder roads, we want clinics, we also want electricity, the money that these people are hiding is enough to help this country. So please government Ministers start working,” Mubika said.

He said it was disappointing that the UPND had started receiving defectors from PF who had persecuted party members in the past.

“Madam Speaker, as I am talking, I am very saddened to see when I watched in Western Province, those who persecuted us were being given a red carpet. Dancing, welcoming the people who persecuted us. Speaking for Shang’ombo, Sioma, let me say the entire Western Province, we went through hell. Madam Speaker, if you had seen me last year, I almost died because of PF, a bad government. We were blackmailed when Bill 10 came to this House, but we stood firm. We were enticed with huge sacks of money but we said ‘no’, because we wanted change and we have delivered that change. So to see those people being welcomed in the fashion, what happened in Western Province should not continue in this country anywhere,” said Mubika.

“If I was in Mongu, I am sure those people would not have gone on that stage. So my appeal is to government Ministers [and] senior party officials, stay away from the bad eggs of PF. Madam Speaker, I am burning right here where I am. The PF should never be allowed to roam the streets, that is why they are daring us now. Fake defections, what do you want from them? What we should concentrate on is to maintain our numbers. We don’t need the rotten eggs of PF anywhere near our ranks.”