Former President Edgar Lungu says Zambians should not entirely blame President Hakainde Hichilema over the mealie-meal crisis.

He says the President may not even know what could have caused the shortage of mealie-meal.

Dr. Lungu says the President meant well when he asked the Food Reserve Agency to export maize but the executors may have taken advantage of the Presidential directive by exporting more than what was sanctioned.

He says through his experience, people usually take advantage of the Presidential directives by pushing their own agendas.

The former President says the President may not even be in a position to really understand what could have transpired.

He says unscrupulous people usually take advantage of the Presidency by lying to people that they are well connected.

He says people use mare photos taken with the President to threaten people or push their own agendas.

The former Head of State cited the example of the gold scandle in Zimbabwe where some named clergy claimed to have been connected to that country’s President and was using that to make deals.

He said President Hichilema could have directed the sale of just a few maize exports but to later discover more was sold than what he sanctioned.

The former President said this during a meeting with one of his critics during his Presidency, Berdnner Changala.

Meanwhile, President Lungu advised Mr. Hichilema to be careful with the criminality that is slowly growing in his party.

And Mr. Changala said he was grateful that the former President allowed him to meet and have lunch together, despite him being critical to the former President at the time.