Mulyata harasses RDA officers over GBM's bus
Mulyata harasses RDA officers over GBM's busBy Bivan Saluseki
Sunday July 15, 2007 [04:00]
SOUTHERN Province minister Joseph Mulyata on Thursday harassed and insulted Road Development Agency (RDA) officers at Livingstone weighbridge after they impounded an overloaded luxury coach belonging to Lusaka businessman Geoffrey Mwamba popularly known as GBM.
According to intelligence sources, a Germins bus registration number GL 6 was overloaded from Lusaka on its way to Livingstone. At Livingstone weighbridge, the driver of the bus refused to park after weighbridge officers flagged him to do so.
"It was actually a run away bus. He just sped off with the passengers. The officers had to pursue him and impounded it," intelligence sources revealed.
Sources said the officers impounded the bus around 19:00 hours and asked the driver to find another bus for the passengers.
"But the driver was rude. Some of the Germins workers even offered K3 million so that the officers could keep quiet, but the officers refused. The officers had charged the bus driver K7.9 million for overloading," said the source.
The bus is said to have been parked for two to three days until Germins officials sought the help of Mulyata.
The source said the provincial administration summoned the officer-in-charge.
"The officer in charge was summoned by Mulyata so that he could release the bus but the officer-in-charge stuck to his guns saying GBM had to be fined as stipulated by the law. He was following what the President has been preaching about corruption and bribery. The law should be applied fairly. Later, the minister summoned the project manager who also said that the fine must be paid," the source said.
The source further said that last Thursday Mulyata, in the company of regional officers, went to the weighbridge and threatened all the workers and forcibly grabbed the keys for the bus.
The sources said Mulyata openly insulted them and grabbed the keys, which were given to the bus driver.
According to the source, the officers were just left with the charge sheet.
"It's funny. The minister who is supposed to be the custodian of the law is breaking it. If he wants he should have been working at the weighbridge then," said the source.
When contacted, GBM said he was not aware about that incident because he had travelled to Congo and only returned on Wednesday. He said after his return he was admitted to Hill Top Hospital until Friday and he was still going for review. GBM said he needed to get his general manager to brief him.
"I am not aware. I need to ask my general manager to brief me," said GBM.
But when contacted on Friday, Mulyata said GBM had phoned and asked for help to secure the bus saying he would pay later. However, Mulyata denied insulting government workers at the weighbridge.
"That is not true. These people who said that are lying to you. The owner of the bus complained that his bus had been impounded. He asked me to help him," he said.
Mulyata said he spoke to the roads engineer who released the bus.
"These are the people who released the bus. I cannot insult government workers. Those are the people I work with. These boys (government officers) at the weighbridge are conniving with the drivers. Why did the driver by-pass? Why did these chaps (government officers) follow him? It's a syndicate," said Mulyata.
He said the "chaps" at the weighbridge followed the driver so that the owner of the bus pays.
Mulyata wondered why they charged GBM US $2,000 and expected him to pay there and then.
But asked on why GBM had to go through him and not the same government officers since they were merely enforcing the law which he as member of parliament had enacted, Mulyata said GBM had decided to phone him because the 'boys at the weigh bridge' were uncompromising.
He said the roads engineer got the keys based on the request made to him (Mulyata) by GBM.
Mulyata admitted that the law had been broken by ignoring the weighbridge but GBM had asked if he could be assisted so that he could pay later.
"But there was resistance from the weighbridge and the drivers. There is a syndicate between the boys at the weighbridge and the drivers," he said. "GBM pleaded with me that if he can be assisted that his bus be released."
Mulyata said he did not forcibly grab the keys and he did not even know the colour of the keys.
He said he had merely called some officers from the RDA over the issue and never insulted anybody.
"I know those workers there. There is a syndicate between drivers and those same boys at the weighbridge. With the information you have, now it has confirmed our fears over those boys and the drivers," he insisted.
Mulyata said he would dispatch officers to investigate and get to the root of the syndicate at the weighbridge.
GBM is known to be a rich and generous man.
During the last general elections, he stood as MMD member of parliament for Kabwata and promised to pump in Kabwata Constituency K2 billion if he won.
However his plans could not materialise after losing to PF's Given Lubinda.
Labels: GEOFFREY MWAMBA, JOSEPH MULYATA, RDA
posted by MrK @ 5:05 PM
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