By Daily Revelation Reporter

Former Luapula province permanent secretary major Ben Phiri has advised President Edgar Lungu to use the money earmarked for the institution of the inquiry to adequately stock up on health facilities, schools and other needy areas.

And Maj Phiri says in his understanding the privatization concept was one of the MMD campaign messages prior to the landmark 1991

Speaking with Daily Revelation on President Lungu’s declaration that he will soon institute a commission of inquiry into the privatization of national assets, Phiri said President Lungu could use the money earmarked for the commission of inquiry on more pressing issues.

“In my opinion, we could have used the money earmarked for the commission of inquiry on more pressing issues like adequately stocking health facilities, equipping schools with learning materials, improving the general accommodation crisis faced by multiple government functionaries etc,” Maj Phiri said.

And former permanent secretary said the privatization concept was one of the MMD campaign messages prior to the landmark 1991 elections.

“Specifically, the MMD pledged to privatize all state owned enterprises once voted into office and this included the mining conglomerate (ZCCM) which they promised to dismantle on assuming office,” he said.

Maj Phiri said in keeping with their campaign promise, the MMD then embarked on the privatization process by constituting the Zambia Privatisation Agency (ZPA) through an act of Parliament primarily to oversee the implementation phase of their earlier pledge to run a private sector driven economy with zero participation of government in business save for the creation of what they termed “an enabling environment.”

He recalled that at that time, Emmanuel Kasonde was Finance minister while the Commerce, Trade & Industry portfolio was held by Hon Ronald Penza.

“Additionally, Valentine Chitalu was appointed Chief Executive of the ZPA.The ZPA had its own terms of reference and they are the ones who scrutinized the aptitude of all players in the execution of the privatization concept. So in essence, the entire privatisation thing was to all practical intents and purposes, an MMD idea from conception to implementation,” he said.
“If l announce that on a particular Saturday, l would want some people to slaughter, skin and desecrate my cows at my farm for a fee and they subsequently carry out that which l have stipulated as the owner of the cows, how can l at a later time single out one person and accuse him of having disproportionately benefited from the “slaughter of my cows” when in fact, it’s my family and l who decided to proceed with the idea in the first place?” -Daily Revelation

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