Maravi

Chiluba is lying over travel allowances - Chaala

Chiluba is lying over travel allowances - Chaala
By Brighton Phiri and Nomusa Michelo
Monday May 14, 2007 [04:00]

Chiluba is lying over travel allowances, Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia (CSAWUZ) general secretary Darison Chaala has charged. Reacting to former president Frederick Chiluba’s statement during his press conference that civil servants could build houses and send their children abroad to school out of travel allowances, Chaala said civil servants could not amass wealth out of travel allowances.

He said the money involved in the London High Court judgment was too much for a civil servant. Chaala said it was not correct that civil servants could build houses out of their travel allowances.

"As much as we appreciate that civil servants make money out of the travel allowances, that does not warrant anyone to amass so much wealth to the extent of building houses," Chaala said. "The money mentioned in Mr Chiluba's case is too much for the civil servants."

Chaala asked Chiluba to disclose the names of his donors if he wanted Zambians to forgive him.

He said Zambians were interested in knowing who gave Chiluba the money and how the same donors earned it.

"We want to know the donors so that we can determine whether they earned it genuinely. If Frederick wants Zambia to forgive him, let him tell us the names of his donors," he said.

Chaala asked the civil servants to refrain from misappropriating public funds.
"Let the civil servants earn what is due to them," Chaala said.

Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) president Sylvester Tembo said teachers did not have the luxuries of receiving allowances. Tembo said if teachers received allowances as Chiluba suggested, they would be rich people. He said there was so much abuse of public resources in government.

"If the government has got so much money to give out allowances to people, why is it that schools do not have teachers? Why is it that schools don't have the necessary requisites if government had so much money?" he asked.

Tembo wondered how government could manage to pay hefty travel allowances when it even failed to pay decent housing allowances to civil servants. Tembo said if Chiluba was disputing the findings of the London court, he should appeal against the judgment. He said listening to Chiluba's arguments, he did not deny the fact that large sums of money passed through the Zamtrop Account.

"Now the question is can a civil servant go to get money from the Zamtrop Account which is a government account? The answer is no. It is not normal for systems to change when government changes leaders," Tembo said.

Mazabuka UDA member of parliament Garry Nkombo said Chiluba should not try to justify corruption by saying that civil servants get a lot of money from trips abroad. Nkombo said it was not possible for civil servants to build mansions using their travel allowances.

Last week, Chiluba, in defence against the London High Court judgment, which established that he had defrauded Zambia of millions of dollars, said he earned allowances from his travels abroad.

"Doesn't a president have an income? Doesn't a president earn allowances for his travels abroad? Is not the living and other expenses of the president borne by the state?" Chiluba asked. "Many of the houses bought by people do not come from their salaries, they come from travel when they go out. When they come back that's when they buy those houses, some even manage to pay their children's school fees from those allowances. If junior civil servants can be paid by the government to go and buy one or two things, why should it be... judge Peter Smith's contention that I could not afford education for my children?"

And Nkombo also said Chiluba should be the last person to talk about national security concerns.

"Chiluba should be the last person to talk about national security because he is the one who exposed the tunnels under State House in a bid to embarrass former president Dr Kenneth Kaunda," he said. "There is no need to start fooling people."

Nkombo said it was also important for President Mwanawasa to take action against people in his government who have been involved in unlawful activities.

He cited the case of Mulobezi member of parliament Michael Mabenga who abused Constituency Development Funds amounting to K30 million.

"A crime is a crime regardless of the magnitude, all those who are involved in corrupt activities should be brought to justice," Nkombo said.

Pemba member of parliament David Matongo said the government should seize properties belonging to Chiluba should he fail to return the US$41 million he owes.
Matongo said the judgment must be registered in Zambia and that if Chiluba failed to pay the money, the government should seize his properties.

"If the money is not returned we should look into seizing properties from all those that have been found wanting. As for Mr Chiluba, I know that that house he is staying in is not rented, it was built from these same funds, and it can also suffice as his retirement house," Matongo said. "I don't see why he should continue to receive 80 per cent of the President's salary because he has received enough. We in the UPND oppose the construction of houses for billionaire presidents such as Chiluba and President Mwanawasa. They are billionaire presidents because when you look at the assets they have declared, they are in billions."

United Liberal Party (ULP) president Sakwiba Sikota said there was no justification for Chiluba to complain that the judgment was based on foreign laws because the Zambian and British laws were similar.

"We actually inherited the British laws. The standard of judgment is similar," he said. "The jurisdiction doesn't matter because we have similar rules. To say that he has evidence to show that he is not guilty, it is too late because the evidence could have been presented before the London court."

Sikota said the process of recovering the stolen funds from Chiluba was dependent on government's decision to register the case with the High Court of Zambia.

Judge Smith established that Chiluba and others defrauded Zambia a total of US$41 million through the BK Facility and Zamtrop Account in London.

Judge Smith ordered Chiluba and others to pay about 85 per cent of the total sum (US$41 million) within 14 days upon service of the judgment.

This is a case in which the Attorney General of Zambia took out a civil suit against Chiluba and 19 others who were alleged to have siphoned about US$20 million from the state treasury.

Judge Smith said he was satisfied that Chiluba and former Zambia Security Intelligence Service director general Xavier Chungu were major conspirators and were also in breach of their fiduciary duties.

Those co-accused with Chiluba include Cave Malik and Company, Xavier Francis Chungu (XFC), Attan Shansonga, Stella Chibanda, Aaron Chungu, Bimal Thaker, Faustin Kabwe, Francis Kaunda, Boutique Basile, Nebraska Associates Limited, MISSL Associates Limited, Hearnville Estates, Jarban SA, Raphael Soriano Katoto, Belsquare Residence, NV Roland Cracco and Robert Standaert.

However, during a press conference at his Kabulonga residence last Thursday, Chiluba defended himself against the London High Court judgment by accusing President Levy Mwanawasa and British Prime Minister, Tony Blair of corruption and imperialist conspiracy against him.

Dismissing judge Smith's judgment as corrupt, racist and trash, Chiluba accused British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the entire British political and judicial system of trying to impose imperialism on Zambia.

Chiluba also accused President Mwanawasa of championing British imperialism in Zambia.

"It is my opinion that both gentlemen Tony Blair and Mwanawasa advanced the popular slogan of corruption to hide their own skeletons in cupboards," charged Chiluba. "They have not provided the necessary leadership they pontificated."

Labels: CHILUBA, CIVIL SERVANTS, CORRUPTION, CSAWUZ

posted by MrK @ 4:53 AM