THIEVES DRAWING ZAMBIA BACKWARDS – SAUNDERS

By Sandra Machima

POLITICIANS and people stealing national resources are drawing the country back and subjecting Zambians to suffering, says political activist Dante Saunders.

And Mr. Saunders has proposed the creation of a tribunal court to deal with all the plunderers of national resources to quickly deal with cases of corruption and prevent recurrence.

Speaking to The Scoop yesterday, Mr. Saunders said it was disheartening to see how the people of Zambia were made to suffer because of a few greedy individuals who wanted to benefit from the national cake at their expense.

He said all the plunders must face the law without adding that as much as Zambia was a democratic nation, democracy should not be used for people to steal so that they hide in the name of being victimised for answering to their deeds.

He said those stealing from the national resources were a drawback to the country’s development as they were depriving Zambians of the much-needed service delivery.

“We are in this debt restructuring because of the individuals who stole from the Zambian people and these are the same people who are busy misleading this country and wanting to appear as if they are being victimised.

“l feel we should have military tribunal courts to deal with all those who are looting the country’s resources because we cannot have a situation where some politicians want to hide in the name of democracy to steal from people day in and out and when they are made to account for their wrongdoings, they claim they are being victimised on account of tribe as if they stole for their tribesmen and women,” Mr. Saunders said.

“Zambia is a rich country with resources that can change the livelihood of its people, but the situation is different because people want to use shortcuts to get rich at the expense of the citizens,” he said.

He has since called on Zambians to stop defending people who were a source of their suffering, but instead help the Government to report all forms of corruption regardless of political affiliation.

Meanwhile, Mr. Saunders has commended the Government for taking a bold step in reprimanding those leaders who were alleged to be found in corrupt practices, without shielding anyone.

He rubbished sentiments by the members of the opposition who claimed that the corruption fight was merely targeting some people and a witch-hunt ploy to frustrate the opponents.

“Everyone is answerable to their deeds and moreover it is up to the courts of law to determine whether they are guilty or not, and they should not even intimidate the law enforcers for doing their job.

“I also want to commend the Zambia police for showing a good example by wanting to set a tribunal for those police officers who were allegedly involved in the sugilite scandal. This is the way to go when having individuals answering to their deeds without being represented by lawyers, but appearing in their own capacity. Doing so will deter those who may be found wanting,” he said.