Zambia President, Hakainde Hichilema, has continued to face criticism from citizens to address the corruption crisis gripping his administration with his ministers and other appointees linked to graft under his watch.
The fresh criticism against the President’s silence on the corruption allegations has been made by his predecessor, Edgar Lungu, who accused him of aiding appointees to misappropriate public funds despite promises made before assuming office.
Lungu, who made the allegation through a statement on his social media account, demanded that the president fulfill campaign promises to save the country’s public funds.
While referring his promises to fight corruption during the campaign, the former president emphasized that the Financial Intelligence Centre report, Whistleblowers, and the Parliamentary Accounts Committee Report have revealed alarming evidence of corruption in Zambia.
According to the statement, “Fellow Citizens, this is July 2024. We have heard and seen reports of massive corruption, as evidenced in the Financial Intelligence Centre report, Whistleblowers, and the Parliamentary Accounts Committee Report, involving his ministers and other appointees, and we are anxiously waiting for the President to walk his talk following these revelations.
“What was not good in his eyes then should not be good in the same eyes now”.
In January 2021, President Hakainde Hichilema, then opposition leader, spoke out against corruption in the Zambian government, rebuking Lungu’s administration for not taking action against the Ministry of Health, Chitalu Chilufya, who was accused of corrupt activities at the ministry. Hichilema also demanded that Lungu fire Chilufya and other officials implicated in corruption.
The tables have now turned, and President Hichilema, once a vocal critic of corruption, is now facing allegations of widespread graft within his own administration. Despite these serious revelations, he has yet to take decisive action against the implicated officials. This lack of concrete action has led to growing frustration and disappointment among the Zambian populace, who had expected a new era of transparency and accountability when President Hichilema assumed office.
Nevertheless, the President has reiterated his commitment to combating corruption, assuring that his administration will not relent in preaching against corruption.
