Maravi

TIZ challenges Levy to state govt's position on Katumbi

TIZ challenges Levy to state govt's position on Katumbi
By Bivan Saluseki
Sunday April 15, 2007 [04:00]

TRANSPARENCY International Zambia (TIZ) president Reuben Lifuka has asked President Mwanawasa to state clearly government's position on cases involving DRC's Katanga Province governor Moses Katumbi. And Lifuka has expressed disappointment with Speaker Amusaa Mwanamwambwa in the way he handled the issues surrounding former information minister Vernon Mwaanga.

Lifuka said on Friday that while TIZ applauded President Mwanawasa for firing Mwaanga, the government's position was confusing given the numerous and inconsistent statements made so far.

"It is unfortunate that the President in his press statement on the dismissal of Mr. Mwaanga did not take that opportunity to clarify this issue. In fact, the President failed to clearly state whether it was within Mwaanga's remit not only to deliver a letter to President Kabila but also visit Mr Moses Katumbi," he said.

Lifuka said TIZ was concerned that Mwaanga's statement in Parliament seemed to suggest that President Mwanawasa requested that the issue of Katumbi's cases of alleged corruption should be removed from the public domain.

"There is already too much speculation on this matter and we challenge that President Mwanawasa takes the necessary steps to calm the anxieties by the general public on this matter," he said.

Lifuka said even Parliament should remain an unfortified place, which mirrored the democratic aspiration of the Zambian people.

"Parliament should not be allowed to be a sanctuary of dishonest men and women who will abuse parliamentary privileges just to protect their selfish interests," he said.

Lifuka said the Speaker was supposed to shape the institution and make it a revered vehicle for growth and development for Zambia and that could only be done through the provision of objective and impartial leadership.

He said Katumbi was using his powerful political position to avoid facing justice in Zambia Lifuka said Zambia was concerned that the MMD government had allowed a trend referred to as 'state capture by powerful private interests' using embedded networks.

"We are worried at the trend by some powerful private sector entities of using their embedded networks within the government to achieve their personal aspirations," he said.
Lifuka said the government should not commit the country and resources to loans or debts, which simply served narrow and personal interests of a few people.

He said from Mwaanga's statement in the DRC, the US $7 million referred to was not used for national development but instead to facilitate the election of MMD in 2001.

"This in itself was an act of political corruption. As Katumbi himself confirmed in his interview with The Post Newspaper, his company was contracted, using public resources to supply subsidized mealie-meal to MMD candidates in 2001 and it is this same maize that was used to bribe and entice the electorate to vote for the MMD," he said.

Lifuka said President Mwanawasa should not use corruption to fight corruption.
He commended The Post for exposing the issue but wondered what the fight against corruption would have been without a vibrant private media.

He reminded the state media that they had previously been used by corrupt politicians to further their political ambitions.

Labels: CORRUPTION, DRC, Moses Katumbi, TIZ

posted by MrK @ 4:13 AM