Hichilema, a western puppet, fails to attend Russia – Africa Summit

…as Russia writes off $23bn debt owed to it by some African countries and offers tons of free grain to deserving countries.

Lusaka, July 29 [DRZ] – Economic Front (EF) leader Wynter Kabimba has charged that President Hakainde Hichilema has failed to travel to Russia for the Russia-Africa Summit because he was given a cold shoulder by President Vladimir Putin the last time on account of the image he has established for himself as a puppet of the west.

Daily Revelation reports that Kabimba has since praised African leaders who refused western pressure that they do not attend the Russia-Africa Summit, saying they have shown that they are not stooges of anybody by actually participating in the event.

Also Read: Hichilema erases Zambia’s non-aligned foreign policy image!

He said President Hichilema missing the Russia-Africa Summit has a background to the last visit he took to Russia in the company of other Presidents.

“I mean Putin gave him a cold shoulder. He gave him a cold shoulder and gave him a cold shoulder as a puppet of the west. So he has built his credentials very well that he is actually a puppet of the west. That’s what he has done,” Kabimba said.

“That’s what he has done and so people have come to read him correctly. And he himself now is feeling ashamed to mix with others outside the territory of the west. The west as in terms of European Union and the United States. So the image that he has built is haunting him. It’s not even Putin, it’s his own image which is haunting him,” the EF leader emphasized.

During the ongoing summit, debt write offs in billions of dollars have been announced by Russia for several African countries including promises to provide thousands of tons of grain free of charge, among the other agreements Putin will sign with African leaders, including those bordering on technology, security and humanitarian efforts. Speaking to the same issues, Kabimba said Zambia would have greatly benefited by having representation at the highest level.

“I don’t think that HH is making a difference between his personal interests and the national interest. I don’t think that he has developed that capacity to distinguish the two,” Kabimba said, arguing that the United States for instance has several disagreements with China but they are still trying to find ways of how they can cooperate in the interests of the world.

“They may not like the Chinese as individuals but they know that they can’t wish the Chinese away for the sake of the world. I don’t think that Hichilema has that disposition to create a line between his emotions towards individuals and how he should suppress those emotions in the interest of the nation so that the nation keeps on engaging other people, even those that he doesn’t personally like in the interests of Zambia,” Kabemba lamented.

Kabimba explained that the Oppenheimer family who are western inclined put President Hichilema in power, and therefore he was beholden to them including on which world leaders he should have relations with and which summits he should attend.

“I will not be surprised if they do not dictate to him whom he should meet and whom he should not meet. But he doesn’t realise that for the Oppenheimers this is about corporate interest and that corporate interest for the Oppenheimers can even run against the interests of Zambia. But he doesn’t care about that,” he said.

And Russia’s Vladimir Putin has written off Somalia’s $690m debt to Russia at the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg. This follows the decision by President Putin writing off over $20bn in African countries’ debt. This includes: Angola ($3.5bn), Ethiopia ($5bn), Algeria ($5.7bn) and Libya ($4.5bn).

This follows on the other major agreements signed with African countries in areas of security, technology and humanitarian sectors, including pledging to provide free grain to six other African countries.

Also Read: This is a wrong time to align Zambia with the US with a changing geopolitical landscape.

Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea will each receive 25,000 to 50,000 tons of grain, the Russian leader said. Moscow will also cover the delivery costs of the shipments, he added.

In addition, Zimbabwe’s President Emerson Mnangagwa has received a personal helicopter as a gift from President Putin.

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