by ARNOLD MULENGA
LUSAKA -THE decision by the United States to cut $50 million support in medications and medical supplies support to Zambia has worsened the animosity between the major political players in the Southern African country.
The government of President Donald Trump of America has halted the funding because of the rampant theft of medicines in the public health system.
Michael Gonzales, the US Ambassador to Zambia, stated on Thursday that his country had for more than a year requested tangible action by the government of Zambia to respond to the countrywide, systematic theft of these products.
“In the face of minimal responsive action by the government, the United States is taking necessary steps to safeguard, and ensure the accountability of, American taxpayer funds,” the envoy said.
The Tonse Alliance, a grouping of opposition parties that seeks to challenge for power in 2026, has blamed the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) for the predicament.
“The Tonse Alliance is very saddened by the failure of the UPND Government to prevent theft of donated medicines, as well as failure to take responsibility for these continued thefts,” spokesperson, Sean Tembo, said.
The opposition grouping alleges the main reason the UPND government is failing to fight corruption and theft of medicines is because the majority of the people that have been appointed to senior positions in the entire medical supply chain, are “either friends, relatives or children of friends and relatives to President Hakainde Hichilema or party cadres of the UPND party.”
“Due to these close relations which most of the offending culprits share with President Hakainde Hichilema or his UPND party, they feel untouchable and above the law,” Tembo said.
The UPND has blamed the corruption and theft of medicines on the Patriotic Front (PF), which it defeated in the last elections held in 2021, when Hichilema assumed power.
Elijah Muchima, the Minister of Health, also implicated the predecessors of PF.
“This persistent challenge reflects a deep-rooted problem that took hold long before the current administration assumed office in August 2021, stemming from systemic weaknesses in oversight and supply chain management, under previous governments,” he said.
This episode is the latest chapter in the toxic atmosphere in Zambia ahead of elections in 2026.
