Lungu not custodian of Sata legacy, says Pilato
President Edgar Lungu is not a custodian of Michael Sata’s legacy, says Chama Fumba. And National Democratic Congress consultant Chishimba Kambwili says President Lungu’s name was synonymous with taxes and corruption and should thus name the Ndola tollgate after himself.
Fumba, aka Pilato, said President Lungu was after people’s money unlike the founding President of the Patriotic Front whose preoccupation was to empower people financially. Commenting on cries that President Lungu misnamed the Ndola Toll Gate, Pilato said the act was direct sipping on the former president’s grave.
“I would want to address those that think and believe that President Sata had a disciple in President Lungu, those that continue thinking like that are living in an elusion and have not allowed themselves to be disturbed by the truth,” Pilato said.
“I would remind you that those that worked with President Michael Sata the late…have been kicked out. So why do you think that if President Lungu had an agenda or programme with interest in President Sata’s legacy, he would respectfully name something after him. If he cannot keep people that worked with Mr Sata, why do you think he would keep the legacy of Mr Michal Sata? It doesn’t make sense. If I am going to be called by my father’s name, I have to be willing to keep his name, make sure that my brothers, my sisters are in check because that’s the connection I have with my father.”
Pilato said naming the tollgate after the former President would have gotten closer to what he believed in.r
“What I am saying is that President Lungu does not share the vision or agenda with the late Mr Michael Sata…that said, the naming of a Tollgate, which is a levy collection point and so many of us know that does not even cost that much is like spitting on his grave. He is rubbishing the things that President Sata stood for…which in any case those that believe and knew President Michael Sata well would object. It doesn’t make sense, why didn’t he name the Mall Michael Sata because that Mall [Edgar Chagwa Lungu mall in Kitwe] would have gotten closer to what President Sata stood for and named the tollgate after himself because he is after the peoples money. He is closer to the business of the Tollgate, to collect money from people, that is what his legacy is about unlike what Sata was about. I feel anyone who is ready to be inconvenienced by the truth should realize that President Edgar Lungu is not a custodian of Michael Sata’s legacy,” said Pilato.
And Kambwili said it was an insult to name a toll plaza after Sata because the man never wanted citizens to be subjected to so many levies.
“The one whose name is synonymous with infrastructure development should be named after the mall and the one with taxes and levies tag after the tollgate…. Edgar is synonymous with taxes and corruption. That tollgate is a form of tax and there is corruption in as far as the pricing is concerned…$4.3 million is too much, so corruption must go to a corrupt man and the building must go to a man who believed in infrastructure,” Kambwili said.
“Strictly that shelter at the most cannot even cost $200,000. It can’t even cost K1 million. That’s a simple shelter but because these people appear to have been born with corruption, uwakalema takaleka, we know some people’s history as far as client money is concerned. That’s their nature, they are pompwes and will die pompwes. My appeal to him, please swap the names, let the tollgate be Edgar Chagwa Lungu tollgate and the Mall be Michael Chilifya Sata Mall. If he doesn’t do it, when I become President I will swap them,” said Kambwili.
Source: The Mast