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Socialist Party Deputy Secretary General, Antonio Mwanza, says allegations that the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Union (EU) are financing the ruling party must be interrogated.
On Saturday at a public meeting in Lusaka’s Chawama Township, the United Party National Development (UPND) Secretary General, Batuke Imenda, alleged that President Hakainde Hichilema intends to put at the disposal of the ruling party, UPND, loans and other funds the government was about to receive from the AfDB and the EU.
In his reaction to this news, Mwanza in an interview on Friday advised that the loans the Zambian government is receiving from the AfDB and the EU should be for national development and must not be diverted to finance UPND cadres.
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He argued that it would be a scandal of epic proportion and it must not go unpunished, if confirmed true.
“Zambians must hold Hichilema and his government accountable for this planned abuse of public office.
“With this expose, Zambians are wondering as to how safe their money is, and how deep is the corruption rooted in the UPND government. From sharing proceeds of crime from the theft of Sugilite, fertiliser deals, Gold to now sharing public loans with party cadres,” Mwanza said.
Mwanza urged the AfDB and the EU to review and halt their commitments to Hichilema’s administration and ensure that their funds were protected and accounted for.
He said the AfDB was a regional multilateral development financial institution established to contribute to the economic development and social progress of African countries that were the institution’s regional member countries.
“The bank’s mission is to promote the investment of public and private capital in projects and programmes that are likely to contribute to the economic development of its stakeholders.
“The EU is a long-standing cooperating partner of Zambia. For over 40 years the EU has been supporting Zambia’s development in its social, economic and environmental dimensions through the European Development Fund and a number of other financing instruments,” Mwanza said.
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