PF grills `lying’ Laura Miti

OUTSPOKEN human rights activist Laura Miti must stop being dramatic and losing her sense of shame over the hunger situation in Zambia by spreading lies, PF media director Sunday Chanda has said. On Saturday, Ms. Miti tweeted a statement from the United Nations (UN) in which it expressed solidarity with the people of Zambia over rising food insecurity. Ms. Miti accompanied the statement with a write-up in which she said the world was begging Zambia to declare the hunger situation as a national disaster so that it could save citizens from dying. “The world is begging us to declare our own disaster a disaster so it can help us save Zambians from dying,” Ms. Miti twitted. But Mr. Chanda described Ms. Miti as a liar saying government was very clear on supporting Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to help drought areas with relief food support and that there is no need to be dramatic and lose one’s sense of shame. “We wish to also remind Laura Miti that on August 16, 2019, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said calls to declare the hunger situation in some parts of the country a national disaster are unfounded. “FAO Country representative George Okechi is on record as having said although some parts of Zambia were facing famine, the situation did not warrant the declaration of a national emergency. If the need ever arose, Zambia has a very responsible Government which would not stoop so low as to play politics with people’s lives,” Mr. Chanda said. He said as a matter of fact, NGOs must worry about UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema who wished to take credit for the Zambian Government’s relationship with the United Kingdom (UK) Government. “We shall not get bogged down by remarks of an outgoing High Commissioner who spoke only after the recall and refused to be questioned about real issues such as why declare hunger in Zambia when the country was food secure except for Southern Province.