By JAMES KUNDA and STEVEN ZANDE –
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) deputy chairperson for elections Kelvin Bwalya has said the ruling party’s manifesto for the next five years is the guiding light that will lead Zambia to a bright future.
Mr Bwalya said the party’s manifesto for 2016 to 2021 depicted how, if retained in Government, the PF would build on its first five-year term of office to further ease the life of every Zambian.
“I see a future for Zambia through the PF manifesto and this is why the people of Zambia should not hesitate to bring back the PF come August 11, 2016,” Mr Bwalya said.
He said this in Lusaka yesterday when he featured on a Radio Phoenix’s programme dubbed ‘Let the people talk’.
Mr Bwalya, who is a lawyer by profession, said the ruling party had over the past five years in office transformed Zambia into a site to be marveled at by any individual locally and abroad.
“If you have been away for a few years and returned to Zambia today, you could be shocked to see how this country has been turned into a developmental site by the PF.
“Even the same critics from the opposition political parties are enjoying driving on the same roads that they were criticising Government for constructing,” he said.
Mr Bwalya reiterated the ruling party’s stance that the Government had no hand in the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA)’s action on The Post Newspapers.
He recalled that Post editor-in-chief Fred M’membe took anybody who owed him money to task, thus it was surprising that the same individual could complain of persecution at the hands of ZRA.
“Mr M’membe owes Zambians K53 million in unpaid taxes and there have been instances where he has taken Post newspaper vendors to the police for failure to remit money from sales,” Mr Bwalya said.
Mr Bwalya said he had given Mr M’membe free legal advice which was, “go to ZRA, negotiate terms of payment and ensure that the debt is settled”.
Meanwhile, the Christian Theo-democratic Alliance has urged The Post Newspapers to pay the outstanding ZRA debt to avoid losing credibility as a public watchdog.
Alliance chairperson John Mwendapole said The Post would lose the respect it enjoyed from the public if it was defending its failure to pay mandatory taxes to ZRA.
He said at a Press briefing in Lusaka yesterday that the Government could only develop the country if companies paid their taxes.
“The Post should pay the ZRA debt and avoid giving a wrong impression to the international community that it is being persecuted,” Rev Mwendapole said.
He said it was immoral that certain organisations were condemning ZRA for its efforts to collect debt because the Government needed the taxes to fund its operations and programmes.
Reverend Mwendapole said organisations which had criticised ZRA over the matter should re-consider their stance because the Government could not function if it did not collect taxes.
He said the decision by The Post employees to work in an open space did not mean the newspaper was poor but was merely aimed at attracting local and international public sympathy.
Rev Mwendapole said The Post had capacity to conduct their work in formal premises because its proprietor had adequate accommodation space elsewhere which could accommodate the staff.