Zambian police are investigating leaks of classified government information after the Post newspaper reported that Zambia had agreed to borrow $193 million from a Chinese weapons manufacturer.
The privately owned Post newspaper on May 9 reported that President Edgar Lungu’s cabinet agreed to the loan from Chinese state-owned Poly Technologies Inc., citing a letter from Secretary to the Cabinet Roland Msiska to Fredson Yamba, the treasury secretary. The funds would pay for security equipment for police, the immigration department, prisons and the Drug Enforcement Commission, the Post said.
“The investigations we’ve commenced are over leakages of classified documents,” Charity Munganga Chanda, a police spokeswoman, said by mobile phone Monday. She wouldn’t give further details.
Poly Technologies, a unit of Beijing-based China Poly Group Corp., supplies national defense and security systems, according to its website. It provides equipment to armies, navies, air forces and police.
Zambia’s debt to China has been growing, with Africa’s second-biggest copper producer arranging $851 million in loans from state-owned Chinese banks in 2013, according to the finance ministry’s annual report for that year. The 2014 report is yet to be published.
Information Minister Chishimba Kambwili told the police Sunday to investigate the leak, according to comments broadcast on state-owned ZNBC TV. Government will “deal with” the person who leaked the document, the Lusaka-based Zambia Daily Mail reported Monday, citing Lungu.
Young African Leaders Initiative Governance advisor Isaac Mwanza called Mr.Kambwili’s statement misplaced. Mr.Mwanza said informing the public that Government has on their behalf acquired a public loan that would be used on Security matters is not disclosing security matters.He said Government must acknowledge that they had wanted to hide the fact that they had acquired such a huge loan from another foreign government which the Zambian people ought to know about because it is the Zambian people and their children who are going to pay these loans.
During the national budget presentation in October 2014,Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda announced that Zambia’s external debt currently stood at $4.7 billion while domestic debt was at a staggering K21.9 billion.
In reaction to this the Former Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Felix Mutati said the high level of borrowing by the PF government has the potential to threaten Zambia’s macroeconomic position.Mr. Mutati said the debt accumulation under the three years of the PF is too huge for a small economy like Zambia’s.
“The foreign debt now stands at US$4.7 billion while domestic debt is now in the region of K21 billion which is almost half of the budget,” Mr Mutati said.
“That level of borrowing threatens the stability of our macroeconomic position and also threatens our growth prospects including our inflation targets and impacts on cost of doing business in Zambia.”
Not interested at all!! Is Fred M’membe who will repay it or not!!so why worry.China gives interest free loans,let PF use China to develop mother Zambia!!Loans cant make us hate PF-never,so people like Mike Mulongoti are wasting their time!!!IFINTU NI LUNGU-2016 AND IT’LL BE KOLOPA.COM RELOADED!!!
How can President Lungu claim to be a humble man when he is clinging to the Defense Minister’s portfolio. Surely after 100 days in office, has he failed to find a suitable Zambian among the 14 million of us for that job or is he waiting for Dora Siliya?
You idiyots. Did UNIP ever tell you about their arms deals? Did MMD ever tell you about their arms deals? These are matters of national security, and there is a reason why they are classified. Mmembe is fighting for survival and is not at all concerned with the well being of the majority of the Zambians, so do not get fooled by this sort of gimmicks. I really do not give a phuck about PF, but matters of national security need to remain a “top secret”, unless something has been done wrongfully.
You really are monkey wanting a banana!
Every developed country publishes its defense spending, you can find out exactly how much money they are allocated. NATO countries have all even signed a public agreement to spend 2% of their GDP on military.
Also if you go to magazines like Janes Defense, they will even publish Zambias defence budget and what it has been spent on!
The only reason to hide it away is because it is being stolen!
Wake up F00L!
FOOLSIH PEOPLE THINK LIKE EDDY…anyway i feel for the next president.. The debts uncured will be too much for our great grand children..
That is the problem when you allow illustrates to run your economy..
These guys just wanted to plunder the money. The Post said the loan was 4 security matters. Never did they at any time mention guns n other security equipment. The PF are just scared of their own shadows. Y the secrecy abt the loan? No national security staff ws brot up!!!Leave M’membe alone
…These are a bunch of thieves!!! They intended to steal the money. PF is not taking Zambia anywhere or is that Zambia is not taking PF anywhere.
The faster we ditched this party, the better…I too voted for PF but there are so many inconsistencies and less assuaring leadership
We will wait for a party that will give us hope in 2016
Lungu knows that in defence that’s where there big bribes to make a killing in a very short time. He can’t appoint another person to the position. He will maintain the post so that it’s only himself as defence minister & commander in chief who knows about the intricate issues involving procurement for the defence. He will be rich in the shortest time. He is not about serving but enriching himself.
When a government borrows that big and refuses to tell its citizens, then there is something seriously wrong. Politicians must not think they love Zambia more than we do. We all have a right to know how the debt is accumulated because by the end of the day, all Zambians living in Zambia in regardless of color of skin, tribe, faith, political affiliation etc. will have to pay for this loan. How can a loan be a state secret? How can a normal government run their security on loans? Security is a priority and that is where our local generated money from taxes (income tax, VAT etc) should be going, it is our come good as a country. We don’t borrow for the staged elections, why borrow for our national security?
Government is not telling the truth on this loan.
Maybe Lungu wants to hide this away because this money is not to defend Zambia from enemies (have we got any enemies????), but to defend Lungu and his PF from Zambians!
Africa has civil wars. Maybe he is planning to shoot any Zambian that does not vote for him in 2016.
– Advice from Mugabe how to win elections!!!—-
The money borrowed was to recapitalize PF after 20th Jan election, They meant to steal three quarters of this loans. I wish we had an agency to monitor the use of this money from an independent authority.
193 M dollars is a lot of money for poor govt. to just keep quiet, other govt. would be singing about this loan for the whole but here its hidden. Zambia is not poor for sure the Good Lord has blessed us with so much resources but the problem is stealing, corruption, consumption is very high in Zambia.
@chief its you a f00l bcoz you only support what suits your tribal HH!!we are very learned and studied at western universities so we love PF due to their good works!!its normal for a third world country like Zambia to borrow money for development!!GO AND CHEAT YOUR BANTUSTAN TO HATE PF DUE TO LOANS AND NOT US!!!WE WILL VOTE FOR PF NEXT YEAR 100%!!!
Zambians never cease to amaze me. we always want to vote for liars. as for me i think the best candidate in all the elections is Brigadier Godfrey Miyanda not PF, UPND, FDD and all these re-cycled politicians. all of these guys steal BIG TIME and they use us as collateral meanwhile the money they use to pay back the loans is our PAYE. politicians – they only servant who enjoys beyond his master.
i don’t think that there is a national were there no secrets. classified documents are in every world with civility. even your own home has secrets what of a nation? you are overdoing your democracy because in London such democracy as we see it in Zambia is not there. you want sound very educated than the word itself and yet you are always missing the point. young men and women be reasonable with your democratic rights. rights should not be synonymous to unreasonableness or irresponsibility .
you are always insulting any one who does not agree with you. you always know everything.
please keep to your opinions and stop your bad language .
which tax paying of less than 13 million people can service such amounts and which nation is not heavily indebted. even the states or uk.
what…
A loan is not a classified document. So why hide it? Try to read UK, USA and even South African newspapers and you will see how they take their governments to task. They are not like the mickey mouse Zambian papers.
Keep your “wisdom” to yourself and stop telling people to be docile in the face of rampant corruption. Please improve on your English language and typing skills Mr rev the wise one.
“Poly Technologies, a unit of Beijing-based China Poly Group Corp., supplies national defense and security systems, according to its website”
It is surprising to see the level of anxiety and the quality of debate by some bloggers. Any good debate must be well informed. As far as I can see, neither the post nor the government have given enough detail as regards the kind of this loan, whether in-kind or cash. But if we have to base it on the fact that the source of the loan is a company that supplies security materials we can only assume that it will be security/defense materials that will be supplied and not CASH, unless someone can prove that there has been a cash transfer.
So if there is a timeline for supply of these material we just have to look out for delivery and query if not.