ZAMBIA’S Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Malanji faces a moral dilemma over his purchase of a US$1.4 million helicopter, Cosmas Musumali, Socialist Party general secretary and first vice-president says. The Bell 430 twin-engine light-medium helicopter was bought from South Africa.
Dr Musumali said it was in Malanji’s interest to refrain from commenting further on the purchase because, “whatever he says now merely exacerbates the anger and disgust of the suffering masses”.
“His best option is to keep quiet and hope, like with many other issues in our corruption-ridden country, that the dust will soon settle and people will switch over to another topic.”
Dr Musumali said Malanji was well known for his free spending and was “obsessed with branding himself as a rich person who runs luxurious businesses”.
“His exit and entry at Ndola Airport is not seldom accompanied by a ritual of money splashing reminiscent of Mexican drug barons and corrupt Nigerian millionaires,” he said. “Yet the employees of Gibson Hotel, Continental Lodge, and his other businesses have a different story to tell. They struggle and are not part of the feasting that goes on around Malanji.
“In a decent society, and in business practices that encompass equity considerations, the workers in Malanji’s companies should have been the top priority. After all, these are the real creators of the wealth that he splashes around.
“Cash handouts may be seen as a harmless, benevolent act, but is it not shame when the boss splashes cash to outsiders yet the workers behind the wealth creation are unable to send their children to school? When they are unable to pay hospital bills? When they are unable to meet their house rental obligations? In other words, what people see in Malanji is a caricature of a self-indulgent navel-gazing businessman and politician. The sooner he changes his ways the better.”
Dr Musumali said most facts surrounding the helicopter purchase were in the public domain and a one-hour search was all it took to find out most of the details.
“Buying a helicopter is hard to hide,” he said. “There is a whole footprint of the rotorcraft; when it was manufactured, who bought it, who used it, for what business, the maintenance schedules, why it had to be sold, and how much it went for.
“Malanji is correct in his assessment that he can get into the charter business with it. After all, Zambian elections are a period when cost-effectiveness is thrown on the rubbish heap,” Dr Musumali said. “The biggest customers will be his own party, the PF, as it intends to criss-cross the constituencies during the campaign period. Malanji is actually capable of recouping a significant portion of his investment just during these forthcoming elections.”
But Dr Musumali said business logic was not the same as business or political ethics.
“For the employees in Malanji’s companies, the helicopter has been bought at the cost of their welfare. It is their sweat that has made the Foreign Affairs Minister rich. They would rather have seen US$1.4 million ploughed back into the companies that have been struggling under the impact of COVID-19.
“They would rather have seen a part of that money getting back to them in the form of better salaries. Unfortunately, workers will always come last in this rudimentary capitalist system, and Malanji’s businesses are not an exception.”
In a nation badly governed like Zambia ,such wealth is something to be ashamed of especially when the owner is a politician.
The pity is atop the suffering masses , every one in PF is a businessman. Every PF member near lungu is in GRZ or the party to get rich while the country gets poorer.
How can you have these people like lusambo with a roadside kantemba before getting into GRZ are now billionaires ?
Most of them had nothing and are now wealthy beyond your wildest dreams.
The basic question to ask is how come business is booming for lungu and his people yet the country is struggling ???
Typical Zambians. Always bit.ching about other people’s hard work. If a man can afford a helicopter let him have it.
Socialists are idi.ots, rather hypocritical moro.ns.
Voting for them is a waste of vote.
Bamdala ba MUSUMALI, stop preaching to us about morals.
It will be best if you won the European union lottery or the American lotto, then you will have to fund your temptations.
There many things hidden in poverty.
We have mistaken poverty for meek.
STOP BIT*CHING JOIN PF AND OWN YOUR OWN HELICOPTER IN LESS THAN 5 YEARS
He has created employment lol you stealing from the poor is worse preacher man!
Poor analysis. I hear he has taken loans. You do not take a loan to invest in a failing business. Right now lodges are not doing fine due to travel restrictions. Putting more money into a hotel would be poor investment.
Lussmbo is an investment Brocker. Learn how it works before you accuse him of anything.
It creates anger and disgust only in lazy failures like this f00l cosmas. Ati socialist. Very styupid son of a baboon. Work hard and buy your own rather than showing jealousy. Use this as motivation. Myself I am aiming to do better than uncle malanji and one day buy private jet.
There is nothing wrong with Malanji having bought it, and I find it concerning that Cosmas takes issue with this and begins to state that Malanji’s employees are suffering.
Who told him that? He begins to paint an imaginary picture of the economic hardships they are going through, he further advocates that Malanji should have ploughed this money back into the business.
In a contradiction, he admits that it is a sound investment and that it may break even during the general election (if the PF will even pay for using it, they failed to pay Tutwa and ended up making him deputy chief weep).
There is nothing but jealousy in Cosmas.
A stinking Angolan wannabe Zambian masquerading as a minister buys a salaula helicopter in true Pablo Escobar style and you have damn f**cking Zambians of Congolese origin applauding such stinking Mobutuist toilet acrobatically samantics! How gutless could this Kasais really be!
Is Kazier Sulu normal
I think the issue should be whether Joe Malanji has stolen or not, the issues raised here seem to unrelated to the helicopter but are industrial and labor relations matters.
KING SULU IS A TICK AND WILL SOON DROP AWAY TO FIND ANOTHER HOST
PLUS ALL THE FELLOW TICKS BLEEDING HIM SLOWLY WILL FALL AWAY TOO
AND THE KING WILL BE LEFT^ WONDERING WHAT HAVE I DONE
POLITICANS DONT HAVE TRUE FRIENDS THEY HAVE HANGERS ON
Does it imply when you are a leader you cant do things that you want at personal level? It supprises me that when a leader buys something then it means he has stollen. What type of thinking is this kanshi me bantu? Lets leave Hon. Joe to do what he can do at personal level and do your part as well.
Joseph should rent out his helicopter to PF campaign team, maybe that’s his plan.
Jus work hard, you too can book a ticket to mars.
Shoulda n’t politicians get go at it?
Mupashi washani uyu.
Mutsiyeni wine wake.