Focus on load shedding, not Lungu’s body – Kalaba
By Tony Nkhoma
ADDRESS the issue of countrywide power outages and not focus on burying late former president Edgar Lungu, Citizens First (CF) leader Harry Kalaba has urged government.
Speaking on Prime Television, Kalaba accused government of turning a blind ear to the sufferings of majority and ordinary Zambians.
He said poverty levels in the country were alarming and frustrating.
The United Party for National Development (UPND) had sent many poor Zambians into starvation through its mismanagement of national affairs.
“I blame the ruling UPND for widespread power outages, collapsed small businesses and economic stagnation. Sixteen hours without power at salons, butcheries and barbershops remain shuttered,” Kalaba said.
He said people were suffering while government was selling electricity abroad, describing the export policy as reckless.
Instead of fighting for former president Lungu’s remains, those in leadership should focus more on giving Zambians electricity to ease their suffering.
Kalaba said the UPND would do the right thing by dropping the court action halting the funeral proceedings in South Africa as respect for the wishes of Lungu’s family.
“If I were foreign affairs minister today, I would have asked the President to stay away from the funeral entirely and preserve our dignity. Despite his presidential legacy, Lungu deserves a burial chosen by his family, not one stalled by political manoeuvring,” he said.
Kalaba said it was a scandal that to-date Lungu’s body was still marooned in a South African morgue, and described the situation as indignity.
“He led this nation for seven years. His resting place should be dignified and respected. We still have a president in a fridge, unburied. Just like the despair our people feel, his burial is suspended in uncertainty,” Kalaba said.
Lungu died in South Africa on June 5 but his body remains unburied because of a legal battle between his family and the Zambian government over funeral arrangements.
