Ministers attack Sata over lost health money

Lusaka province minister Lameck Mangani has denied Michael Sata's allegations that the MMD and its presidential candidate Rupiah Banda used Best Homes Lodge owned by Henry Kapoko. The minister says his investigations reveal that the Patriotic front had several meetings at Kapoko's lodge and that K8 million the party owed was written off by Kapoko.

And Works and Supply minister and MMD chairman for elections, Mike Mulongoti has also challenged Sata to produce evidence of how President Banda and the MMD allegedly used funds from the health ministry in its 2008 campaign.

Mulongoti said President Banda and his campaign team never used money from the Ministry of Health as alleged by Sata. He said June 2 that if Sata has evidence on the matter, he should present it to the relevant law enforcement agencies that are carrying out investigations at the Ministry of Health. He wondered why Sata did not present the matter as one of his reasons for petitioning the MMD in the Presidential elections. He said if Mr Sata has evidence that the MMD used money from the ministry for campaigns, he should have revealed that before the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) unearthed the K10 billion scam.

Mulongoti said as an opposition political party leader, Sata should be truthful in his statements. He said opposition political parties and the citizenry in general should allow the investigating wings to complete their work at the Ministry of Health without disruptions.