About 1,000 Zambeef employees will lose their jobs after the company came under fire for allegedly supplying harmful meat products in what is believed to be a political smear campaign launched by Patriotic Front chief propagandist Fred M’membe – The Post Newspaper owner. The owners of Zambeef have crossed paths with the Patriotic Front leadership for allegedly funding the opposition. The owners of Zambeef funded President Michael Sata’s campaigns providing a chopper he used during the campaigns in the run up to the 2006 and 2011 elections. According to sources, President Sata is suspecting that some of opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema’s campaign funds were channeled by Zambeef through his own meat business to avert any trace. President Sata strongly believes Zambeef has a huge hand in the opposition campaign funds like they did with his campaigns and that is the reason he has set his media dog M’membe to first launch a smear campaign that will cripple the meat company before the government could react. President Sata is said to be excited that the campaign to dismantle the Zambeef empire is yielding success and hopes this will affect Hichilema’s campaign funds. According to sources, the idea was to create animosity against Zambeef which his ‘dogs at The Post’ have succeed in doing by setting the general populace against the meat company. However, reports from Zambeef obtained by Zambia Reports indicate that more than 1, 000 jobs will be affected as a result of the smear campaign which crippled the operations of various outlets in the country. Zambeef are saddened with the development but say there is nothing they can do to protect the jobs of the youths who President Sata had promised to keep in formal employment. The Post launched a campaign against Zambeef last week claiming that its meat products were laced with chemicals that were used to embalm dead bodies. Although The Post had initially claimed the tests that revealed the presence of chemicals were done at Lusaka City Council, this statement was changed without explanations. Later the general public was informed that the tests were done on the Copperbelt shortly after Lusaka City Council spokesperson Henry Kapata made an appearance on Muvi TV disputing the authority had carried any such tests. At the weekend, the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) at Katima Mulilo border has impounded two Zambeef trucks carrying meat products imported from Ireland. Sesheke District Commissioner Given Muleya, who confirmed this, said the meat products were imported from Ireland through the port of Walvis Bay in Namibia into Zambia’s Western Province. Muleya said the trucks were impounded on instructions from the ministry of Health. According to Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation news monitored last night, Muleya said the two trucks were carrying kidneys and liver. Zambia reports
Posted on: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 12:55:42 +0000
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