PF Media and Publicity Committee Vice chairperson Sunday Chanda has said it is shocking for FDD leader to question First Lady Esther Lungu,when she never questioned the former First ladies for their charitable work.This is in reference to an article published by the Post newspaper where Ms Nawakwi wondered which resources Esther Lungu was using to campaign for President Edgar Lungu, saying she was not the ‘Santa Claus’ of Zambia.
‘We know that the President is planning early elections, sometime in February or March, and that is why she is all over the country campaigning’.
Ms Nawakwi said Mrs Lungu wants to pretend she is distributing gifts on a charitable exercise when, in fact, her clear motive is to campaign for the President.
“I don’t know if between the President and the first lady, they have agreed that the President will do PR work outside the country and she will fill the vacuum because the work she is doing is what I would love to see the President do; to go to villages and find out how people are doing.
I don’t know if between the President and the first lady, they have agreed that the President will do PR work outside the country and she will go to villages
“It is very clear that the first lady is using money from the social cash transfer window. And I want to tell the donors that the money they gave us as a country, which was supposed to be distributed to the vulnerable groups, through established channels; the churches, community development and all the agreed institutions which were the platforms through which this money was supposed to be delivered, unfortunately, because this government is so desperate, they have diverted money from the social cash transfer and given to the first lady,” she said.
‘Now she is the one who is being seen as the bearer of this message and pretending to the world that she is generous. She is not the Santa Claus of this country. We have no objections to her setting up an NGO, raising money and doing charitable work. But we take great exception for the first lady to use money from community development, for Ministry of Gender and from the social cash transfer window, and I challenge them to say that this money they are using is not government money’.
I challenge them to say that this money they are using is not government money.
But you can’t expect that you can develop this country through charity. When you arrive at a place where there is no hospital, no facilities and you give them 25 bags of mealie-meal and some blankets and say ‘These are gifts from State House’, meanwhile, you have spent so much fuel flying there just to deliver 25 bags of mealie-meal, what is the job of the department of disaster management? I want to see the Vice-President doing the work we gave her,” she said.
The PF media and Publicity vice chairperson however said Ms Nawakwi never condemned other former First ladies including Mrs. Maureen Mwanawasa, Mrs Thandiwe Banda and Dr. Christine Kaseba because there is nothing strange and wrong about the works these mothers did while their respective husbands served as Heads of State.He advised that it will be counter-productive for Ms. Nawakwi to vent her annoyance on another woman who is doing so much to profile the place of women in Zambia and called on the women movement in the country to reinforce what First lady Mrs Lungu is doing for the poor communities in our country.
First Lady Esther Lungu in Mangago
First Lady Esther Lungu in Nalolo
First Lady Esther Lungu in Nalikwanda constituency
First Lady Esther Lungu in Lukulu
First Lady Esther Lungu at Luampa mission hospital
First Lady Esther Lungu in Kaoma
First Lady Esther Lungu in Mwandi
First Lady Esther Lungu at Sioma mission
First Lady Esther Lungu in Senanga
First Lady Esther Lungu in Sesheke
First Lady Esther Lungu in Kalabo
First Lady Esther Lungu at Lewanika hospital
First Lady Esther Lungu in Limulunga
First Lady Esther Lungu in Chipata
When was the last time the president saw his wife? I haven’t seen them together in a long time.Marriage is more important than campaigning mwebantu! The woman is really campaigning.Our tax money at work.First ladies should emulate Mama Betty Kaunda(late). This nonsense of using donor funds for campaigning is getting out of hand.
Poverty is what make people so desperate. This mentality of giving people Gifts is not sustainable. Empower the people to be Financially independent that giving them blankets.
Really stupid approach which is basically bribery to vote for PF.
Don’t worry. people have already decided. Its going to be dont kubeba part 2!
Nawakwi is better off concentrating on sharing George Hambulo with her neighbor Florence Zimba of Stanbic Bank than demeaning the selfless work of a first lady supporting our helpless siblings across Zambia.
Does she understand the pain of being disabled in the village? She was minister of finance, other than offloading our mines in crooked deals and scamming the treasury to pay Carlington Maize crooks of Canada for none delivered maize, what did she do for our people?
The money is coming from all the meet the President fund raisers like the one that will be in New York. Stop hating!
Nawakwi is wrong this time.
I respect Bana Dalitso Ester, she can be humble at times, even though she is been misused so much by PF, just same her step-daughter Tamisha (Whatever she is called). PF & Lungu are abusing humble women.
@Nubian Princess? The money is coming from fundraisers like the one which will be in New York? Which has not yet taken place? So how is the money coming from there? Nawaki is asking legitimate questions. Where is the money comning from? Has it been audited?
Nawakwi is right and I am also asking the same question. Where is Esther getting the money from? That won’t help PF anyway.
Nawakwi is the wrong person to ask indeed because she bought three houses within six months of being minister in Chiluba’s govt when all of us who were with her at Campus knew her as a broke woman. However the questions are valid. Where is Mrs Lungu getting all this money from? We should warn her because Lungu wont be president forever and the trend in Zambia is for the next leader to persecute the former leader
I knew Nawakwi in London when she came to do her Masters degree and I visited her house when she returned to Zambia before she joined politics. All I saw was poverty stricken children in her house. She joined politics and became rich of a sudden. So can only deceive those who do not know her. She is just as crooked as the rest of the thieves.
Go Edith Go! These are the checks and balances that the separation of powers calls for!
Sunday Chanda you have got it all wrong as it should never be business as usual when something is suspect in an environment where accountability and transparency are a big challenge! Evolution is a science that believes species/environment do not stay the same they undergo some transformation of some sort as time goes on, the same goes for advances in human development spreading over to politics! Maybe its time that Ms Nawakwi has seen the need to raise the issue than keeping it in hibernation. Not very long ago during Obama’s visit to the continent and addressing African readers he observed that citizens in most African countries choose to remain mute fearful of questioning things arising before…
Contd…….their eyes as how all of a sudden the elected leaders get to amass wealth and flaunt it! Let Ms Nawakwi exercise her curiousness for better as it is shared with many others in the nation. I too have interest in knowing or should I just conclude that Mrs Lungu has now taken over the Kaseba budget line that the PF had specifically created for under her husband’s leadership? At least Maureen and Thandiwe had some form of NGO’s and all we know about Mrs Lungu is the report which once appeared in the media of her telling some women in some remote area that she couldn’t help pantu “Nshilaikata laini ukwakufumya impiya!”
Edith is right. Are they saying that even the ZAF helicopters she is using to nation trot are part of social cash transfers funds.
Sunday Chanda is just an educated illiterate. Bwana sunday there is no way a monkey can teach a baboon monkey tricks. We are watching and waiting
She is like the Interior Minister – hubby is Foreign Minister. Zed is something.
There is a useless D/minister at MCDMCH who is a conduit for syphoning funds. She does not know or recognise an govt procedure. Ester in her desperation is in the abuse of both human and material resources. Shame.
Is this the same Past that did not condemn Kaseba’s unconstitutional slash fund or the fact that she was conducting gynecological operations on poor vulnerable women with the full glare of cameras and a big fake smile on her face?
I have nothing meaningful to contribute, my preoccupation shall be to just read the article.
Well said. I wish that Jackass Chanda did the same
Iyee abena Zambia, naumfwa uluse mwandini! Kumudyelani masuku pa mutu so!
Where is my comment naiwe ka Lusaka times. Imisango ububi tula fwayo kulanda nomba mwachila mo nama censorship naimwe.
The PF party unfortunately has got the biggest gainers in terms of having the biggest number of *****. By the way that is not an insult, it’s just a mare statement that you ‘NEVER THINK’ before you open your foul smelling mouths. What do you understand by the statement ‘checks and balances’ eh? Ubupuba bati, efintu alechita Nawakwi apa, mwimutuka iyo, asukeni ilipusho ilya kuti, “Kanshi ba mayo bana ECL, ni kwisa balefumya indalama isha bu papa christmas nelyo inshita taila kwana?” She is very right to ask that question, answer now pliiiiiiiiiiiiz
Forgive Nawakwi and blame the script writer Mmembe. Where do you think Nawakwi would get such strength from to speaking daily and speaking loads of ignorant nonsense? Only Mmembe can utter such words, no other human has such hate language.
Sunday,
don’t be too quick to answer..that is a tricky question. You are a smart guy but quick answers make you appear dumb..think boi
Ladies stop wearing those things on your heads which you think is hair. You just look funny. They don’t enhance your looks at all.
Charity is a good thing, so long it is your money you dishing out. A country runs on laws on who should do what with which money, and I think this is what Mama Nawakwi is saying.
Edith Nawakwi, please remenber nothing brings more happiness than to help the most vulnerable people in society. I believe the First Lady has a budget allocation/ vote from the central government.
If the president has a slush fund then that is where the money for Ester is coming from. On the other hand i notice she is accompanied by minister of community mother and child which means the money is coming from that ministry or social cash transfer. If not, then somebody please tell us where this money is coming from since ester once said she does not have any source of income yet to accomplish her missions as it is very critical in her status to account for money she is using.
Nawakwi is a hypocrite like all other Politicians. Former first Ladies did the same and she saw nothing wrong with that then and has seen everything wrong now because it is Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s wife. Her green fangs are very much discernible to everyone.
This attitude has taken away from Nawakwi than adding value to her. She is another egotistical politician taking advantage of ignorant Zambians who may have forgotten her own transgressions when she had a chance to lead in government.
Continue Madam Lungu no one can stop you. Let them yap until their lungs fail them. It is a free country. If Nawakwi wants she can ask her husband Hambulo to traverse he country and do similar deeds and none will bother.
So because zambians did not question chiluba when he was stealing our resource we should not question any one we suspect of abuse??. Edith has the right to question the source of those funds. Instead tell us increased load shedding and the plummeting kwacha instead of trying to muzzle critics.
The First Lady once said ” munjelele ko, nshilaishiba bwino ama corner ayakwikata ndalama” so one can assume that Madam Esther now has found the corners, just like previous First Ladies….go mama go
Vera Chiluba worked thru HOPE Foundation for her charity work. Maureen had Maureen Mwanawasa Community Initiative. Christine had budget allocation. The question is how is Esther Lungu funded for the charity work she is doing? This should be known beforehand so that she is protected. Simple.
Nawakwi is being used by Mmembe to perpetuate his hatred for ECL. She has become so vocal these days and yet when Sata was president she turned a blind eye to most of his wrongs.
Chi Kwacha Chagwa
Everyone without exception should account for public funds. As parents we are burdened, without and with no hope in the near future, of having to find money, and a lot of it, to put our children and keep them in colleges. YET, here is the President’s wife flying all over the shore with a large delegation and no one should question the source of funds!! My foot, that is tax payers money. Nawakwi is more than entitled to question this public wastage of our hard earned tax payers money. In developed countries, things such as the first lady flying around the country with a large delegation at taxpayers expense never ever happen. No wonder they are developed and we shall remain poorer. Those people in pictures do not need those “gifts”. They need good hospitals and college/university…
Si mutima kuipa napa menso pabi napo!…namano aya buhule fye!
people in the villages are really suffering , don’t be selfish with good work, why nawakwi , Gbm, and HH giving poor people things for us to really know they have a heart for the poor? why feeling jelos of unga, blanket and few things given to poor, it becomes a story on the air, ba nawakwi, you even grabbed a husband for someone, thus why you behave like that, kuipa mutima.