A British writer and theologian CS Lewis once said education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil. This saying rings true in Zambian politics today.

We have noticed how clever the PF have been out-manoeuvring the opposition in the lead-up to the Chilubi by-election. From cutting off transport to monopolizing accommodation, they have been two steps ahead of everyone else. It’s clear that they possess some educated people in the party who have come up with strategies that have crippled competition. Clever devils!

It’s been almost humorous to follow the campaigns, especially that at first glance, all that the PF has done seems legal. But a closer look at the happenings on the ground paints a very dark picture of what the ruling party is engaging in.

After wrecking the country and causing a dire economic crisis that has seen prices of goods like fuel and mealie-meal skyrocketing, PF and some government officials have worn the clocks of saviours in Chilubi – donating mealie meal to voters. They are gaining mileage fast, but at what price?

From our observation, most, if not all, of the mealie meal being donated to Chilubi residents comes from Superior Milling, a government owned milling company. To us, this smells of corruption and abuse of power.

Superior Milling is owned by IDC, which is headed by no other than President Edgar Lungu himself, the boss of one of the competing parties in Chilubi. Surely, there is something wrong here and all logic points to corruption and abuse of power.

Our question is who is paying for this mealie meal that the PF is donating to voters? Is Superior Milling donating mealie meal to the ruling party so that they can use it for campaign purposes? If it’s the DMMU making the donation, when did they discover that Chilubi people were starving? Was it after Honourable Rosalia Fundanga died? Where is DMMU getting this mealie meal? Are they getting it for free?

We ask these questions because Superior Milling should be a profit making company for the nation and not a PF campaign tool. And the DMMU should be a Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit, not a campaign wing of the PF.

When government decided to buy Superior Milling, a loss making company, we struggled to understand the logic behind the decision. IDC was set up to enable the country make sound investment decisions that would improve the economy and help the Zambian people with employment opportunities.

We did not find the decision to buy Superior Milling to be sound or wise but today, we realize that someone in the PF had a plan. Some clever devil saw that this loss making company could become very profitable to the ruling party during election time, and it has. That’s why they have proudly written “Not for sale” on the donated bags because they don’t need profit, the profit is in the election victory. Today, the PF is running their pilot programme in Chilubi. More of the same can be expected in 2021.

If loss making companies like Superior Milling were bought by IDC for the sole purpose of providing the ruling party with products to donate during election time like we are seeing now, then the government needs to be taken to task and we will take them to task.

Superior Milling runs on public funds, which means its products are supposed to be enjoyed equally by all Zambian citizens. By allowing a company that is owned and operates under IDC directives to donate mealie meal to the ruling party for campaign purposes, we find that President Lungu, as head of IDC, is in breach of the law. He is clearly abusing his powers and this is clearly a case of corruption.

It is clear that whenever there is a by-electionm, Superior Milling will be used to provide PF with mealie meal so that they can donate to voters and get an edge over their rivals. They are using tax-payers’ money for campaign purposes and that is, without doubt, corruption!

On one hand, PF and its government have failed to bring down mealie meal prices, on the other hand, they are collecting free mealie meal bags from a parastatal and using them to bribe hungry voters. Now, this is not strategy, it is witchcraft; and this witchcraft is not different from that of Seer 1 – of evil powers and killing people. No wonder the two are allies.