PF slams UPND empowerment schemes

THE New Dawn govern ment has not been sincere in its programme of empow ering Zambians because it has been denying them big contracts under the guise of not having capacity , while giving small jobs in the name of cooperatives, the Patriotic Front (PF) has said.

And the PF has said the New Dawn government has failed to stop caderism and prove that it is a government of laws because its cadres are always involved in illegal and unruly conduct.

PF Copperbelt Media Director Munalula Moola said the government was trying to create an impression that it was caring about Zambians by giving them cooperatives while denying them big contracts on grounds that they have no capacity whilst those in gov ernment were sharing big contracts with their business partners.

In an interview in Kitwe yesterday, Mr Moola said cooperatives were small jobs which cannot improve peo ple’s lives and it was sad that, in order to gain political mile age, the UPND was bragging that it was addressing youth unemployment through cooperatives.

“This New Dawn govern ment thinks it has addressed youth unemployment by coming up with cooperatives which are just crumbs, which cannot address youth unem ployment and cannot address the poverty and hunger situa tion in the country.

“It is sad that this govern ment is denying Zambians big contracts on grounds of not having capacity while they are sharing big contracts with their business partners. Instead of giving Zambians big contracts, they are giv ing them cooperatives, “Mr Moola said.

And Mr Moola has said the New Dawn government has failed to deal with the cade rism for which it was con demning during the PF government.

Mr Moola said the con duct of the UPND cadres who went to insult the Kitwe Mayor Mpasa Mwaya for proposing that operations at the Black mountain should be suspended to save lives and property, was one of the cases of unruly conduct by the rul ing party cadres.

Mr Moola said if the UPND was genuine in dealing with caderism and unruly conduct, it would have already proved itself.