Author: Socialist Party ZambiaThe Socialist Party is a political formation whose primary mandate is to promote and entrench socialist values in the Zambian society. Anchored on the principles of Justice, Equity and Peace (JEP), the Socialist Party shall transform the Zambian society from capitalism to socialism, building socialism in three key sectors: Education, Agriculture and Health.

SOURCE: NewsDay Zambia

Socialist Party interim general secretary Dr Cosmas Musumali says the Patriotic Front is the most corrupt government Zambia has ever had.

And social activist Maiko Zulu says Zambians will continuously head nowhere if they get comfortable with the current elitist leadership that is shamelessly siphoning the country’s resources and is in power for the sake of making profits.

Featuring on UNZA Radio, Lusaka Star programme this morning, Dr Musumali said there was urgent need to change the governance system as corruption had become endemic under President Edgar Lungu’s administration.

And responding to a caller identified as Dr Proud, who told him to stop making wild allegations about corruption, Dr Musumali said the current PF administration was the most corrupt the country has ever had.

“But it (MMD) ended up being one of the most corrupt parties, much more corrupt than the party it replaced, UNIP. PF came on the same ticket. It said MMD was very corrupt and that it was going to clean. It came in, now we are saying the PF that we have today is even more corrupt than ever before. It is the most corrupt government that we have ever had. So, as Zambians in our analysis, if we want to make lasting change, we have to go beyond the issue of just taking out individuals. We have to change the entire system,” he said. “And when we are talking of a cancer, you don’t fight cancer just by looking at the symptoms. If you are going to uproot, to amputate it, then amputate the system upon which that cancer is built. It’s important that we bear that in mind, and an issue that will mean honesty as a value of socialism, the issue of humility plays a very big part. Dr Proud was talking about ‘don’t throw wild allegations’. Dr Proud, those wild allegations will always be there under capitalism, under this system.”

Dr Musumali said capitalism was a system that was not truthful.

“It teaches us, as its subjects, to lie from day one. It’s not just the leadership that’s lying; every one of us is lying on daily basis. We don’t have the norms, the values that teach us to be honest. In our homes, we are telling lies to our children vice-versa, and that is replicated even in our politics. Our politics in Zambia are about lying. Capitalist politics is about telling lies every day, every year and every century,” said Dr Musumali.

In sentiments made this morning when he called in on a special program on which Dr Musumali, a socialist and economist, featured on UNZA Radio, Zulu, who contested the Kabwata parliamentary seat in the 2016 general election as an independent, said there was urgent need to revolutionise leadership and make it less commercial if Zambia was to move forward.

“Good morning Dr Musumali. Let me call you comrade, because I think you sound sober enough to be called a comrade…I just want to talk about a few things, you have talked about like access to education and also opportunities, equity, when we talk of equity, not equality but equity. I think it is very important that we understand where we are as a country and where we have been,” he said. “I think at some point in the history of Zambia, we enjoyed some form of equity but when you look at the situation we are in, it is very clear to see that there is an elitist movement in the country that is siphoning the country’s resources and this inner circle is doing this without shame at all.”

Zulu then touched on the recent appointment of Margaret Mwanakatwe as finance minister, a decision which he described as questionable.

“You can see we are appointing a Minister of Finance who is questionable. There is a case concerning her seat…and you go on to appoint [her] as Minister of Finance. I have no problem with Hon Mwanakatwe’s credentials at all. But when you talk of integrity in leadership, these are the things we are talking about. Our institutions have been cheapened, including Parliament itself, because our Parliament does not seem to understand their roles,” Zulu continued. “They (Parliament) are not the watchdogs of the people anymore…As long as we have this elitist movement and we are comfortable with it, we are not going to go anywhere as a country. So, we need to revolutionise leadership, make it become less commercial because leadership now is all about profit. We go into leadership out of profit; what are you going to reap after five years. So, it’s a disaster.”