No, construction of new Mulungushi International Conference Centre is not funded by a loan acquired by PF, but is funded by a Chinese grant to Zambia.

Rating Justification

The fact checking process has determined as false the claim that the new Mulungushi International Conference Center under construction in Lusaka is being constructed with money borrowed by the former ruling Patriotic Front government . iVerify consulted the official website of the National Assembly of Zambia and obtained a Parliamentary Hansard of Tuesday, 18th June 2019, on the Questions for Oral answer; Conference Facilities Rehabilitation, number 364 in which then Member of Parliament for Chipili Constituency, Mr. Jewis Chabi, asked the Minister of Finance at the time, Margaret Mwanakatwe, when the loan for the rehabilitation of the Mulungushi Conference Center for the hosting of the 2022 African Union Heads of State Summit was contracted. In the Hansard , Mrs. Mwanakatwe, clarified that the support of the People’s Republic of China for the construction of a modern and multi-purpose conference facility for the hosting of the 2022 African heads of state Summit is a grant, and not a loan. Mrs. Mwanakatwe further reiterated that the People’s Republic of China’s decision to extend this support followed the Zambian government’s request for assistance and emphasized that as Minister of Finance (then), she was the authority officer who signed notes of exchange and grants, and contract loans on behalf of government, and assured the House that she signed the notes of exchange for the grant of the construction of the new Mulungushi Conference Center. Therefore, the claim by UPND-UK Chapter online Facebook page is false, that construction is being funded from money borrowed by the former ruling Patriotic Front government, when it is rather a grant.