NEVERS Mumba has challenged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to tell Zambians the truth about why Moroccan King Muhammed VI has cancelled his visit to Zambia.
And Mumba says Zambians must accept that they are headed for disaster because President Edgar Lungu has no plan on how to govern the country.
Commenting on King Muhammed VI’s cancellation of his visit to Zambia, Mumba, a former High Commissioner to Canada under the MMD government, said double-standards of the Patriotic Front government on its declared support for Morocco had forced that country’s King to cancel his visit to Zambia.
“Last week on Tuesday, Mr Lungu announced that he would be receiving the King of Morocco on a state visit on Saturday 9th December 2016. However, the King did not come and the Zambian government has been mute as to the reason why the trip has been cancelled,” Mumba, the MMD leader, recalled.
“Morocco news [last] Thursday reported that Zambia is double dealing by secretly giving assurance to Sahrawi that Zambia supports their cessation from Morocco. On the other hand, State House has been assuring Morocco of Zambia’s support for a unitary Kingdom of Morocco. This double mindedness and lack of honesty does not augur well in international relations. We have come to learn that the Moroccan King cancelled the trip because of the insincerity of the PF government. Tell the Zambians the truth about what led to the cancellation of the Moroccan King’s visit, don’t lie about it.”
�He said such behaviour was consistent with PF’s insincerity in the manner they cheated their way through the last presidential election.
“This is the nature of the PF. Untruthful, insincere and unreliable. While some Zambians can forgive such behaviour, unfortunately, the international community has no reason to do so,” Mumba said.�“This is the failure of a country’s diplomatic policy and a failure of leadership.”
On July 10 in Morocco, Kalaba announced during a joint press briefing with that country’s foreign affairs minister Nasser Bourita that Zambia had decided to withdraw its recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), a recognised state that controls an area in the Western Sahara region.
“The Government of the Republic of Zambia decided to withdraw its recognition of the self-proclaimed SADR and cut its diplomatic relations with this entity,” said Kalaba.
“The Government of the Republic of Zambia expresses its strong support for the efforts of the United Nations under the auspices of the Security Council and the Secretary General to reach a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution to the Sahara conflict, in line with Security Council resolutions.”
And Mumba said it was likely the cancellation of President Edgar Lungu’s visit to Egypt was on account of that country’s leadership being uncomfortable with the visit given the Morocco situation.
He said it was sad to have a President who thought that the presidency was about gallivanting the world.
“We are all hoping that by visiting Tanzania, he had leant that even when you are in the country, you can still govern the country,” said Lungu.
“I think Zambians should just accept that they are in for it; they are headed for disaster. Today, President Lungu has cancelled his trip to Egypt but rest assured that he is still planning on more trips to other countries.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday evening announced through its public relations officer Dorcas Chileshe that President Lungu had postponed his state visit to Egypt.
President Lungu was scheduled to leave for Egypt on Tuesday for a three-day state visit, after arriving from South Africa on Friday where he had gone for another state visit.
“[Foreign affairs minister] Hon [Harry] Kalaba further wishes to announce that the King of Morocco, His Majesty King Mohammed VI who was scheduled to visit Zambia on 17th December on a two-day State visit will not travel to Zambia but sometime next year,” stated the statement, adding that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would work towards ensuring that President Lungu met the two Heads of State in the coming year.
The Head of State’s frequent foreign travels have come under heavy criticism among Zambians, with Kalaba’s attempt to justify them on his Facebook page on Sunday attracting worse disapproval.
President Lungu has made six foreign trips in 30 days.