Moonga fires salvo at HH

UNITED Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema has nothing to offer to Zambians because as we speak right now, he has displaced villagers in Namwala who have stayed there for a long time, Patriotic Front (PF) Member of Central Committee Paul Moonga has charged.

And Vice President Inonge Wina has reminded stakeholders calling for declaration of the hunger situation as national disaster to be mindful that there were many considerations made before making such a declaration.

Mr Moonga who is also Lusaka Province PF chairperson said Mr Hichilema should be the last person to talk about helping Zambians because the displacement of the villagers was a warning that he does not have a heart to help vulnerable people.

He was reacting to sentiments by the opposition leader urging President Edgar Lungu to put differences aside and avert impending hunger in some parts of the country.

Over 600 villages in Namwala were left without grazing land for their animals after some headman gave Mr Hichilema, over 1,500 hectares which had now been fenced off against government orders.

Namwala District Commissioner, Mary Sakala, told the Daily Nation last year that the affected land was not only used for animal grazing but that was also where the locals collect their herbal medicines adding that despite having advised Mr. Hichilema to stop the fencing of the land, she had received complaints from the affected villagers that the area was being fenced off.

But Mr Moonga said Mr Hichilema had left the poor villagers in the cold, therefore, he could not help Zambians to avert the hunger situation.

“Before we talk about other people first look at what you have done to few individuals. There is nothing we can point out which Hichilema has done, the thing we can talk about which he has done is displacing people.

Mr Moonga also said Mr Hichilema was paying his workers peanuts, stating that it was not possible to provide thousands of people.

Ms Wina said concerns from the various stakeholders would be taken into account through the due process and established procedures, stating that the result of which would be done in the national interest.

But the Vice President assured the nation that it was government’s duty to ensure that citizens were protected in good and bad times.

She said President Lungu had constantly assured the nation that no one would die of hunger or starvation because government and its partners were working round the clock to address the situation.

She said Government was fully aware that the current hunger situation required urgent and special attention to address it.