Hon. Bowman Chilosha Lusambo, former Copperbelt and Lusaka Provinces Minister, has slammed the list of businessmen invited to yesterday’s private sector leaders engagement with President Hakainde Hichilema. The list, which was widely circulated, only included three indigenous Zambian businessmen out of 17 total invited attendees.
Hon Lusambo expressed his disappointment in the prioritization of foreign businessmen over successful and prominent Zambian businessmen. In a statement, he said, “I expected to see the likes of Mbachi Power Tools because the guy has been very successful in the transport sector. We wanted to see James Ndambo and other successful prominent Zambian businessmen. We wanted to see Bokani Soko and Mulenga Mikalile on that list. Those are the people who are 100% aware of the suffering of the people of Zambia.”
He went on to criticize the current regime for prioritizing foreigners at the expense of Zambians. He said, “The problem we have in the country is that the Republican President, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, prioritizes foreigners over the indigenous Zambians.” Hon Lusambo also charged that the country was under state capture and that Zambia did not need the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to their harsh conditions. “The IMF deal under PF did not fail, we gave them conditions, but they kept on telling us to increase fuel, remove FISP…They wanted us to sell ZESCO and to increase the tariffs. The money we have for China is 6 billion dollars only. The money that is bringing confusion is the one for EUROBOND,” he added.
Hon Lusambo went on to say that the country was facing a very difficult period and that “Apa tufikile, Ifintu nafikosa. Chibudula Chamulemena umwana… this is the stage the current regime has reached. We are not happy when things are not going well, no wonder I said we will advise the President.”
Hon Lusambo also spoke about the future of the Patriotic Front (PF) party, saying, “The PF cannot die because it is a party for the people and not for one person.” He emphasized that the party believes in pro-poor policies and that even though the country was facing a period of hunger, it would be easier for the PF to end it because they understand what the people are going through.
He went on to say that the fact that no one was leaving the party despite losing power in 2021 was an indication of no room for disintegration. “If you check how the country has been governed from 1964, a party that loses power, mostly the people leave the party. But the PF is intact, and the Zambian people are the ones telling us to be united,” he said.
On the issue of helping the youth, Hon Lusambo said there was nothing wrong with aiding people with food and other helpful means. He said, “The PF were able to help people because they have well-wishers and not that they stole money from the coffers. There is no one who can touch money from the government because it is audited.” He also criticized the UPND for failing to provide for the youth, saying, “I tell the UPND, you can’t keep the youths like that. You can’t fail to buy nshima for the youths because of Akaso.