The other day, Socialist Party leader Dr. Fred M’membe, took to Social media to cast aspersions on President Hichilema for successfully unlocking rigidities surrounding Mopani Copper Mines and finally handing it over to the new equity partner – International Resource Holdings.
“Mr Hichilema has sold 51 per cent shares of the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines-Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH) in Mopani Copper Mines, to Delta Mining Limited (Delta) of Dubai without the approval of Parliament as required by article 210(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Zambia,” noted M’membe.
He further asserted that Hichilema knew very well he didn’t have a two-thirds parliamentary majority required to approve such a sale, hence circumventing the National Assembly to get his way.
“This breach of the constitution by Mr. Hichilema is not without very serious consequences; it is an impeachable offence,” warned M’membe.
However, netizens or habitual users of the internet, if you like, couldn’t take kindly to this. They wasted no time schooling and taking a swipe at M’membe, both on his Facebook page and the Zambia Watchdog, for pouring scorn on such a magnificent milestone which stands to greatly benefit the country.
Zandonda was the first one to pry up the can of worms, “Ubukopo ba M’membe.Bushe balakolwa aba bashikulu? – Utter foolishness from Mr. M’membe. Is this old man acting under the influence of alcohol?)”
Others were very harsh and sarcastic in their contributions: “Bitterness pro max! Ati there are stories flying around……Yes, flying around your bitter and evil soul…Your bitterness is really at another level!” chipped in Zed Kay while Mubanga equally wrote, “There’s one patient with a big head missing from Chainama hospital. He’s about 70 years old, bald headed and heavily armed with an annoyed bitter face and a huge frustrated soul filled to capacity with jealous and hatred of HH7. He has ran amock after HH7 successfully handed over MOPANI COPPER MINE to a NEW EQUITY PARTNER. If seen please ignore him completely!”
Others such as Kapenda suggested that M’membe should, “go kuli ba shimaini and say this transaction must be reversed; takabwele ukwabula ka cap (Let M’membe travel to the Copperbelt and say this transaction will be reversed; he won’t come back with his maze cap…” while Chinyama simply advised M’membe to tone down, ” Your hatred for HH will be your own undoing. Soon many people will realise that you have nothing to offer this country. Your motivation for power is not to serve the Zambian people but to spite one individual in the person of HH.”
Lemmy equally weighed in and remarked that M’membe is now feeling ashamed and he has resorted to playing extremely dirty politics. “This is simply a stupid ploy aimed at gaining political mileage!”
Kashepwa added a comment that left us scratching our heads. He hoped that “the Vaseline president is also reading the comments to weigh his popularity.”
Sobingi was somehow quite prophetic. He suggested that, “what M’membe ought to do first is to travel to Kitwe and tell the residents that he is there to reverse what President Hichilema has done on Mopani and see if he will come back alive!”
On the other hand, Markos dismissed M’membe’s assertions as mere propaganda. He maintained that these are simply Facebook stories fabricated to dent someone’s image. “The truth is; us we don’t care! What we know is that international investors have pumped in $130 million into Mopani Copper Mines. Alot of our citizens will benefit, especially on the Copperbelt; business opportunities will be available, while more job opportunities will be created for the youth. So, get used to it ba opposition and emancipate yourself from bitterness.. HH is working!”
Anonymous observed that M’membe is now feeling ashamed of himself, hence resorting to playing extremely dirty politics! He noted that this was a stupid ploy by M’membe in order to bring president HH into ridicule. “Fred M’membe knows very well the two shareholders of Mopani Mine, but without shame, he has twisted the whole issues in order to paint President HH black. All these stupid maneuvers by tribalist Fred Mmembe are baseless, stupid, foolish, idiotic and will never help him get anywhere near State House.”
“There’s no sale that has happened at MOPANI. That is an acquisition by IRH.
IRH invests $130m for suppliers + $90m to ZCCM-IH + $390m
to Glencore = $610m for the 51%,” explained Kaputula, while Mubita emphasised that, “Glenco who were the investors in MOPANI have been replaced by a better investor buying off 51% of MOPANI.’
Thulani lambasted M’membe for making wild allegations, as usual. “May President HH ignore you. Mopani deal isn’t even new for it to seek parliament approval. The same shares of 51% and 49% existed long before yesterday!”
Musonda wondered how M’membe can even afford to “dream of impeaching HH when he doesn’t have a single MP in Parliament,” while Simon mocked M’membe for what he termed, “umungulu (foolishness).”
Someone recalled that “Bitter Fred M’membe specialised in hate speech and demeaning Presidents like he used to do during his time at the defunct The Post Newspapers.”
“When these transactions were first reported, Parliament knew about the happenings and I believe that one Member of Parliament could have gone to court to push for an injunction. Secondly, we have lawyers in this country with good track records who could have persued this issue until all the suspicions regarding this sale were determined by the courts,” explained Zuland, “Thirdly, any concerned citizen could have gone to court in pursuit of justice. Finally, why have we kept quiet all this time until the deal is finally sealed? Are we merely politicking?”
“Namukaba (You’re panicking) ba so-called Mr president after hearing the Good News!” Quipped Kaoma, “You just want to smear President HH with the hope that you can improve your diminishing fortunes in the eyes of the public.”
Kabaso submitted that “Zambians are wise and they know what is good for them and what’s not. Bitter Fred will go down in history as the world heavyweight champion of hate expression!”
“The last time I checked Fred’s total votes in all the constituencies were less than what HH got in just one constituency,” recalled Mundiah. “You’re better off worrying about how you can afford to have at least a member of Parliament in the National Assembly rather than picking fights with a political giant such as HH.”
As can be seen from the comments above; our citizens are well informed and up-to-date with current affairs. It remains to be seen whether M’membe and his minions will from now onwards elect to remain mute or continue on the destructive path of misleading the general public on this issue.
Prince Bill M. Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst
