The Editor Zambia
The attempt by outgoing Health Minister Dr. Alex Katakwe to sanitise “moderate eating” in public office has deservedly triggered outrage and condemnation from State House because Zambia cannot afford to slide back into the dark culture of corruption that nearly crippled public institutions under the Patriotic Front (PF) regime.
Dr. Katakwe’s comments, suggesting that there is “nothing wrong” with public officials receiving tokens of appreciation after awarding contracts, betray a dangerous misunderstanding of public service ethics. 
Whether disguised as “talk time,” appreciation, thanksgiving, or “a seed,” any benefit linked to a public contract is corruption.
There is no middle ground because public office is not a marketplace for favours, gratitude payments, or hidden inducements.
It is, therefore, reassuring that State House moved swiftly to distance President Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND government from those unfortunate remarks.
The clarification was necessary because the UPND did not rise to power on the promise of “eating moderately” but came into office on a platform of zero-tolerance for corruption, abuse of office, and political impunity.
What Dr. Katakwe described is not the culture of the UPND government but a culture that was normalised during the PF era under former President Edgar Lungu.
Zambians still remember the infamous statement “Ubomba mwibala alya mwibala” — loosely translated as “he who works in the field eats from the field.”
Regardless of later explanations by PF loyalists, the political message that filtered through government ranks was unmistakable: public office had become an opportunity for personal enrichment.
The results were devastating because corruption became institutionalised, with tender processes becoming feeding troughs for politically connected cadres and officials.
Public procurement turned into organised looting while national resources were diverted into private pockets while ordinary citizens suffered collapsing public services, rising debt, and shrinking economic opportunities.
Long before Edgar Lungu’s “Ubomba Mwibala, alya mwibala,” controversial proverb, veteran politician Daniel Munkombwe had already exposed the rotten mentality infecting sections of Zambia’s political culture when he declared that “we all go into politics to eat.”
That philosophy poisoned governance for years and encouraged the dangerous belief that leadership is not about service but accumulation.
The UPND was elected precisely because citizens rejected that corrupt mindset.
President Hichilema built his political career denouncing corruption and demanding accountability, even while in opposition.
He consistently criticised the misuse of public resources, questioned inflated contracts, and challenged reckless borrowing that mortgaged Zambia’s future.
Since taking office, his administration has repeatedly pledged transparency in procurement systems, strengthened anti-corruption institutions, and pursued investigations into suspected abuse of state resources.
This is why Dr. Katakwe’s comments struck such a raw nerve within government and among citizens because they sounded less like the language of reform and more like echoes from the PF years when corruption was casually defended through proverbs, jokes, and political slogans.
Corruption never starts with millions stolen overnight but begins with the normalisation of “small tokens,” “appreciation,” and “moderate eating.”
Once public officials start believing they deserve private rewards for performing duties already paid for by taxpayers, the moral foundation of governance collapses.
Soon, contracts are awarded not on merit but on who gives the biggest “thank you.”
The Health Ministry, of all institutions, should understand the deadly consequences of corruption. Every Kwacha stolen through inflated tenders or bribery translates into drug shortages, broken medical equipment, poor hospital services, and preventable deaths for ordinary Zambians.
Corruption in the health sector is not a victimless offence; it costs lives. That is why State House was correct to decisively reject Dr. Katakwe’s remarks. Silence would have been interpreted as endorsement.
The UPND cannot claim to champion clean governance while senior officials casually justify inducements linked to public contracts.
Zambians voted for change in 2021 because they were exhausted by a political culture that glorified eating from the State.
The country must never return to the era where corruption was explained away with catchy proverbs and clever semantics.
Public office is a trust, not a feeding trough, meaning any official who still believes otherwise belongs to the PF era, not the UPND future Hichilema is building
