Maravi

Zambia is in the hands of insincere people - Fr Luonde

Zambia is in the hands of insincere people - Fr Luonde
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Fri 05 Mar. 2010, 04:00 CAT

ZAMBIA is on the verge of collapsing because it is in the hands of insincere people, Fr Richard Luonde of St Barnabas Anglican Church in Chingola has said.

Supporting the launch of the red card campaign against the MMD government, Fr Luonde said President Rupiah Banda's government deserved no less than a red card for defending crooks that had swindled the poor. He said the MMD government must not be given another chance to rule the country because it had failed to promote the interests of the people but was instead busy protecting crooks that had swindled the country.

Fr Luonde said after the death of president Levy Mwanawasa, Zambia had terribly lost the battle against corruption because the current government has continued to shield individuals that plundered national resources and brought misery in the lives of many people.

“This country is on the verge of collapse because it is in the hands of people who are not sincere. Look at the case of Chiluba; the man was acquitted when evidence is there that he stole millions from this country and Rupiah is busy protecting him and other crooks,” he said. “Some are still serving in his government. We need people of integrity to run this country. Zambians are not fools.”

Fr Luonde said posterity would judge harshly everybody who had a hand in Chiluba's controversial acquittal and the subsequent refusal to appeal the case by the Director of Pubic Prosecutions Chalwe Mchenga.

He said people had not acquitted Chiluba by their hearts hence the former head of state remained guilty. He said Chuluba's case of plunder of national resources took eight years in the magistrate's court and failure to appeal to the higher court was extremely unfair to the people who were the plaintiff. However, Fr Luonde said justice would one day be done because the MMD government would not be there forever to protect the culprits.

He regretted that Zambia was being run by insensitive people who failed to prioritise the interests of the majority poor who are wallowing in abject poverty due to bad governance and impractical policies.

“There is need for all well-meaning Zambians to support the Red Card Campaign (RCC) that has been initiated by four civil society organisations and denounce decisions by this government that are obstructing justice, frustrating the fight against corruption and the plunder of public resources,” said Fr Luonde.

Change Life Zambia (CLZ), Transparency International Zambia (TIZ), the Citizens Forum and the Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolutions of Disputes (SACCORD) launched the red card campaign against the MMD last weekend.

Labels: MMD, RICHARD LUONDE

posted by MrK @ 5:10 PM