PP candidate accused of theft of iron sheets
People’s Party (PP) aspiring Member of Parliament for Mzimba South has been accused of stealing iron sheets meant for people whose houses were blown off by heavy rains last month.
The accused, Makuenda Chunga, is reported to have diverted 96 iron sheets which were donated by President Joyce Banda through her initiative, Mudzi Transformation Trust.
PP Parliamentarian for Mzimba South, Paul Shaba, claimed Chunga and his accomplice Muhaba Khumalo, who is the constituency chairperson, shared the iron sheets which were remained after distributing to the affected people.
Shaba claimed 13 households were affected by the tragedy and he took it upon himself to write the Disaster Preparedness Management to assist the destitute people.
“The officials came to assess the damage [of the 13 houses] caused by the rains. The victims were asked to state the exact number of iron sheets they would need for easy replacement,” Shaba said.
He said instead of sending the actual number of requested iron sheets, Mudzi Transformation Trust sent more and after distributing to the victims, 96 remained which Chunga and Khumalo shared between them.
The accused could not be reached for their comments but a close associate of the incumbent parliamentarian described the claims as baseless saying Shaba was just bitter because he lost to Chunga in the party’s primary elections.
Shaba lost to Chunga and he has since announced that he would stand as an independent candidate for the area.
“The incumbent MP has done nothing for this area so he is trying his best to tarnish the image of the PP preferred candidate whom the constituents have interest in. He is frustrated because people don’t want him after he failed to fulfil his promises made during his campaign period,” he explained.
