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(LUSAKAGOSSIP BLOG) CORRUPTION? WHOSE CORRUPTION? - By Unknown Author

CORRUPTION? WHOSE CORRUPTION? - By Unknown Author
WHO PERPETRATED THE CORRUPTION IN THE NEW SCAMS AND REVELATIONS

Rupiah Banda’s government is only six months in power, yet it is blamed for the corruption revealed in the 2007 Auditor General’s Reports, the USD53m purchase of mobile hospitals, the purchase of USD2.9m 100 Hearses and others. But is he to blame? What is this campaign aimed to achieve?

CORRUPTION? WHOSE CORRUPTION?

While many are genuinely shocked at the extent and blatant acts of corruption at the Ministry of Health, it is however, not surprising to the critics who opposed the major policy shift that President Levy Mwanawasa undertook at the Ministry.

The rot at the Ministry of Health is rooted in one single decision made by the government of Mwanawasa.

On 25th July 2004, President Mwanawasa announced that he would abolish the Central Board of Health (CBoH) arguing that it employed the bulk of health professionals leaving hospitals and clinics unmanned. He also accused CBoH of carrying similar functions as that of the Ministry of Health.

This position was supported by his Minister of Health, Dr. Brain Chituwo and his Permanent Secretary, Dr. Simon Miti.

Chituwo informed the nation that to carry out the dissolution, government needed K400 billion to cover the cost of the structural changes and also required statutory amendments to the National Health Services act of 1992.

He said that since cooperating partners had pledged to meet some costs of this transformation, he hoped that they supported the dissolution idea.

When Dr. Simon Miti pushed hard for the abolition of Central Board of Health (CBoH), many didn’t see the sense or fathom the logic behind it.

This is because CBoH was a successful and efficient health delivery system that had ensured that healthcare country wide was delivered while the Ministry of Health remained preoccupied with policy issues and only played supervisory and regulatory roles.

The formation of CBoH was central in the reforms and changes that came with Democracy in 1991. The changes were designed to improve health service delivery. Like other services weaned off government such as collection of taxes (Zambia revenue Authority (ZRA) transformed from Customs Department) and delivery of road, traffic and infrastructure services (Road Development Agency (RDA) and Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA)), it was critical that Ministry of Health was left with policy and supervisory issues while providing health care was done through an streamlined agency.

CBOH was an autonomous body delivering health to Zambians in a more efficient and professional manner.

To achieve government goal of delivering equitable access to cost-effective and quality health care to the family, government in 1992 embarked on ambitious health sector reforms that saw the creation of CBoH through an act of Parliament, the National Health Services Act of 1992.

The Act created an autonomous health service body that left the Ministry of Health to rightly deal with policies and care for hospital and clinics infrastructure. The management and delivery of health care was left to CBoH.

There was a trouble in this arrangement for the corrupt few. Donors and government disbursed funds directly to CBoH. Accountability was high and authority over the expenditure of this money was diverse.

The Ministry of Health is key to the development of the country and receives 15% of the National Budget as funding and 42% of project monies from multilateral and cooperating partners to Zambia goes to it.

They needed to centralise all funds received from donors and government and place it under one single authority. For until the ministry was a monolithic structure laden with layers of bureaucratic structure, their plan could not work. Crime thrives in chaos not in transparent and accountable systems. CBoH was a clear danger to them!

They pushed for the immediate abolition of CBoH claiming that the board tied too many skilled and, senior and technical health workers to administrative roles.

They succeeded.

In 2005, Parliament passed amendments to the National Health Services Act which saw the immediate abolition of CBoH. The Board’s roles quickly reverted to the Ministry of Health and consequently to Chituwo and Miti.

So began the crime. It was dastard in nature and bold in its impunity.

MODUS OPERANDI



Most of the money from western donors is designed to cater for costs of awareness and education of health workers. In Zambian parlance, it’s called Workshops!

Regular funds from cooperating partners were targeted. Also funds that came from the President’s Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and funds from the Global Funds against HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria. And funds from the National Budget.

A nursing school was quickly set up and friendly lodges were recruited or built to cater for the workshops.

And a friendly banker in Suresh Gupta was available.

The Ministry of Health receives a third of Zambia’s national Budget. It receives corresponding and similar funding from western donors.

Yet all this money is kept at a small bank with only one branch in Zambia. - First Alliance Bank.

The bank is run by Astro Holdings Chief, Suresh Gupta, like Rajahn Mahtani, is no stranger to financial controversies and dealings, and has a way of using money to skirt out of troublesome issues.

What started as small and minor role of banking transactions by Ministry of Health at First Alliance Bank under Dr. Kashiba Bulaya has over the years grown under Dr. Simon Miti, to house Ministry of Health main kwacha and forex accounts.

This is an extremely expensive way to deliver Health care in Zambia as the bank only has one single branch based at Bata House (Now Alliance House after Astro Holdings bought the building from Zambia Bata Shoe Company at a cost of USD1.6m) in Cairo Road.

It means that bank transaction attract costly fees and charges as the small bank has to use bigger banks such as ZANACO, Barclays, Standard Chartered and Finance Bank to channel funding for the ministry to its outlying hospitals and clinics and salary payments to health workers country-wide.

Dr. Bulaya after many years away from the ministry and currently in prison still receives a monthly stipend from First Alliance Bank! One wonders what benefits Dr. Simon Miti receives after ‘enhancing’ the financial relation of Ministry of Health with the Bank.

Investigators are also looking at Gupta’s other banking transactions. The bank is said to keep record and transaction of its valued and personal customers in the strictest of confidentiality.

A separate ledger is kept and managed by Gupta himself away from the prying eyes of the bank staff and regulators.

It is this ledger that has attracted attention from investigators.

Dr. Simon Miti and others are said to appear on this ledger.

So is Mrs. (Dr.) Maureen Mwanawasa who is said to have USD10million (K47bln) in her account!

WHAT IS THE EXTENT OF THE THEFT AT MoH

The extent of the theft of public monies for the period currently under review 2008 and partly 2009 is over K27billion. But the theft is said to be as high as K64billion since 2006.

In these recent revelations, most of the monies have been paid to a newly established nursing school housed at a private house in Chudleigh, Lusaka.

The school, ESU Nursing School has received over K7billion (USD1.2m) just in 2008, on the pretext that it is training government nurses, mid-wives and clinical officers and the continuous training of health workers through workshops.

This is more money given to a single and private institution than government and legitimate nursing training institutions ever receive from the Ministry. These government nursing schools are lying in a state of disrepair and are run under deplorable conditions. Yet ESU Nursing School was paid over K7billion in one year!

One of the Directors to ESU Nursing School is Joshua Ushibantu Simpaya, a Ministry of Health employee! However it is known that such persons as Simpaya and Henry Kapoko are mere fronts holding such assets in trust for the big fishes in loftier positions.

The now infamous civil servant Henry Kapoko received over K10 billion for his lodge Best Home Lodge based in Roma, and for his other companies Hesaka Enterprise, Kahekam ltd.

Other notable recipient was Royal College of Business and Management (Royal Secretarial and Management College) received K4.3billion in 2008.

HOW KAPOKO ‘MESSED’ UP EVERYONE

Thanks to a jilted lover, the lid has been blown that exposes the worst corruption cases in Zambia.

Rudo Tukuza Chitengu, a planner at the Ministry of Health and has a child with Henry Kapoko vowed to bring Kapoko down after a ‘marital’ dispute in February 2009.

When Kapoko broke her arm in an ensuing fight, she reported him to the Police for assault and occasioning serious bodily harm.

She lamented at the Police that she had been in a longstanding relationship with Kapoko would not allow him to leave her for his other numerous girlfriends. She cried that she was only expected to fight with Kapoko’s wife and not fight about his girlfriends!

She promised to bring his arrogant ‘ass’ down and bring his financial empire and that of his ‘bosses’ to the drain.

She took matters in her own hands and made frequent visits to Kulima House (where the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is housed).

This resulted in a sensational case where Kapoko has been exposed. ACC picked Kapoko and restricted and seized his newly acquired assets. Among the assets seized is an executive lodge, Best Home Lodge built in Roma.

Other vehicles impounded were two 4X4s, a BMW X5, and a GM Hammer. The ACC also seized two Mercedes Benz cars, two Lexus cars, a 30 tonne Nissan Truck, two pick-ups, a Mazda and Ford Ranger.

To seek ‘protection’ Kapoko quickly offered his new but ill-gotten wealth to political parties and attempted to ingratiate himself to its leaders. Patriotic Front (PF) leader, Michael Sata was among the beneficiary. He was given undisclosed amount of money and he held several meeting at the lodge.

Also, Rupiah Banda’s consultants during elections, from Bell Portinger a UK, PR and publicist specialist also stayed at Best Home lodge.

Although acting as a whistle blower, Rudo Tukuza Chitengu has not been spared! She used her own ill gotten wealth received from Kapoko, to illustrate how Kapoko, Miti and others stole public monies.

The ACC has however acted prudently seeing through Rudo’s anger and intention. The ACC has consequently seized or restricted Rudo’s flat no 27 ZNBS Complex in Musonda Ngosa Road in Villa Elizabetha.

Her account at Intermarket Banking Corporation with a K200million deposit has been frozen. Her mother’s (Ann Ngoma) assets have also been frozen. Rudo’s assets in shares at ZANACO and ZAIN have also been restricted.

Further her government bonds valued at K350million has been restricted including cash amounts seized while conducting a search at her house.

Rudo is also among the 32 workers suspended and being investigated at the Ministry of Health.

OLD CORRUPTION, HOW OLD?

It is clear that recent revelations of suspected corruption cases were actually committed during the reign of President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa.

Ministers defending Rupiah Banda are always at pains stating that the corruption being exposed occurred before he took office. They continue to remind Zambians that Banda is only six months in power.

Yet they can’t call a spade a spade -that this corruption that occurred under Mwanawasa’s reign and by him or his officials.

There is a lot of trouble with that line. And Fred Mmembe and The Post are sensitive to how corruption cases are exposed. So are the western donors! There is an attempt to depict Mwanawasa’s corruption as civil servants' corruption enjoying no political support or involvement.

The empire portrays the cases in a manner that does not touch ‘Mr Integrity’ for they had washed him so white that they are guarding the ‘legacy’ with jealous.

But the legacy was painted so falsely white, that every new revelation is making a stain, a conspicuous blot! One wonders how long the lie will hold that Mr. Integrity was not so clean after all and he was soiled by his corrupt acts and that of his wife.

And that the charade and mirage created while ‘fighting’ corruption faces collapse, as their own theft and corruption is catching up. The so called Fight against Corruption will stand as exposed as the acts of corruption they hid.

The day of reckoning is making dreadful calling and coming. How will the donors explain the millions of dollars spent in the so called Fight against Corruption? What happened to ‘Zero Tolerance against Corruption Policy’? How could the game rangers turn on the Game the nation trusted them to keep and become the worst poachers?

It is no wonder that the cases of corruption are reported in a strange and skewed manner.

It is either reported as Frederick Chiluba’s corruption the man that left office 9 years ago or Rupiah Banda’s corruption, the man who only ascended to this office six months ago!

The Mwanawasa period is skipped with such skill that it is difficult to recognise that the worst corruption in Zambia in fact, occurred under Mwanawasa, under his watch, mostly by his family, his friends and his officials!

Many are joking that what occurred under Mwanawasa’s reign was in fact not corruption. It was just THEFT! Grand THEFT!

Take for example press reports emanating from the Public Accounts Committee in Parliament that is discussing the Auditor General’s report.

The misappropriation and irregularities are cast in bold exposure that you might not notice that the report under discussion and on the table is a 2007 Auditor General’s Report! And no mention is made to who was in power in 2007!

And the opposition have not helped matters. United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema issued a statement stating that ‘I miss Levy (Mwanawasa), Corruption under Rupiah’s government has worsened!’

Reuben Lifuka, Head of Transparency International also issued a statement claiming that the political will to fight corruption is NOT as strong as it used to be under Levy Mwanawasa.

Mwanawasa could have shouted loudest against corruption. It is another matter if he really fought COORUPTION! Although he fought his political adversaries with a whip of corruption, this does not mean that he was fighting corruption.

It is clear that they do not recognise that Banda is in a dilemma. If he chooses to fight corruption, the immediate victims and culprits will be Maureen Mwanawasa, her family empire and the so called ‘legacy’. For he might find himself in the same position as Mwanawasa, where he will be accused of ‘fighting’ those that brought him and favoured him with the privileges of power.

Transparency International, western donors and The Post have perpetuated a myth that fighting corruption is jailing Chiluba and his officials!

Unfortunately, fighting corruption is a much higher principle and would require and mean that WHOEVER has dipped their hands in the public purse and kitty should be brought to book without exception.

If this was followed, it will without doubt, bring in sharp focus the strong allegations of corruption against Levy and Maureen Mwanawasa, Mutembo Nchito, Mark Chona, Fred Mmembe and others who have helped themselves to public monies. They should be exposed and be brought to book.

But how could the ‘angels’ of the Fight against Corruption be involved in stealing public funds and with such impunity? The very fight against corruption was their shield as focus and attention was deliberately cast elsewhere!

It is for this reason that Mmembe has busied Rupiah Banda with corruption allegations so that the nation can skip scrutiny of Mwanawasa’s serious allegations of corruption and observe only Chiluba’s allegations and jump to Rupiah Banda’s rule.

History repeats itself. Earlier The Post helped the nation skip allegations of corruption against Kenneth Kaunda’s rule.

A Taskforce was even instituted with official and express limits to probe only Chiluba’s rule! They foolishly portrayed Corruption in Zambia as starting and ending with only Frederick Chiluba. Not Kaunda and not Mwanawasa!

And similar attempts are being made to make the nation jump to Rupiah Banda’s corruption and avoid Mwanawasa’s? And The Post is a veteran institution at providing the nation with such ‘skilful guidance’.

The allegations of corruption against Banda’s government have also helped Mmembe as the Zambian Airways issue is now shelved on the list of priorities. Mmembe and his friends in the donor community have piled pressure on Banda that the focus has now shifted away from them to the ‘new’ scandals!

But it is now clear that attempt by Rupiah Banda’s enemies to depict him as corrupt and selfish has back fired. It has now emerged that the corruption being exposed as Banda’s in fact occurred or was sown under Mwanawasa.

USD53M FOR MOBILE HOSPITALS



Then Department For International Development (DFID), head Joy Hutcheon ‘leaked’ documents to The Post about the mobile hospital purchases many were quick to call the deal as corrupt and placed President Rupiah Banda at the centre of the deal.

Yet the deal is old.

In order to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in health, government planned two years ago and under Dr. Simon Miti/ Dr. Brian Chituwo that government should construct 15 more hospitals in 19 districts. The Ministry of Health 5 year national strategic plan covering the period 2006-2011 also envisioned these expansions in infrastructure and health service delivery.

Further that mobile hospital should be procured to compliment the investments required in the health sector and attempts to attain the MDGs by 2015.

The mobile hospitals were to be procured from China with a USD53m loan from that country’s Export and Import Bank (EX-IM Bank). The equipment would be procured from China’s industrial giant China National Aero Technology Import and Export (CATIC).

DFID and other donors seem too object to this deal because the procurement is being done outside Crown Agents (managers of Medical Stores), outside their plans and their preferred suppliers.

The donors even threatened to with-hold aid to the health sector if government went ahead with this Chinese deal.

Many should remember that in 2003, DFID offered Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe a loan of USD42 million to buy Anti Retrovirals (ARVs)! Only when international charity organisation raised alarm that Africa was being laden with ‘stupid’ and unsustainable debts such as the DFID ARVs debt that they offered to convert it to a grant! How could they give a loan of USD42 million for a purpose that would last few months and was not sustainable but allow these country a long-term loan?

The threats against Banda’s administration have nothing to do with either the mobile hospital deal. Some donors have even now used the recent scam at the Ministry of Health to freeze aid to the health sector. Sweden and Denmark have announced that this year’s funding to the sector will be withheld until investigations are completed in the fraud at Ministry of Health.

The threats lie in politics and a grander plan.

THE 100 HEARSES –COST USD29M

The deal was mooted under Silvia Masebo and has seen the procurement of 100 Hearses by the Ministry of local Government.

The vehicles are meant to be used by districts to help people bury the departed with dignity.

Although the cause is noble, it is said that the true costs of the 100 Vehicles is USD900, 000.00 and not the inflated USD2.9miilion as each vehicle is said to cost USD9000 and not the USD29, 000.00.

Masebo budgeted for K8billion (USD2.9m) but owing to exchange rate fluctuations, the cost is now K14billion.

CONCLUSION

The Post and its seasonal allies have ratcheted up the political pressure against Rupiah Banda’s government. They are succeeding in portraying Banda’s administration as corrupt and inept.

Their list of acts of ‘corruption’ is growing. There are counting: The award of a contract worth USD2.0million to R. P. Capitals of Cayman Islands to value ZAMTEL assets. The cancelled deal to supply, install and commission of air traffic management surveillance radar systems at Lusaka and Livingstone Airports.

They now include the USD53million for mobile hospitals and USD2.9million for Hearses. They are also citing the amendments and transformation of the law relating to the Zambia National Tender Board now changed to Zambia Public Procurement Authority. The amendments although mooted by the Mwanawasa administration are now a source of accusation that Banda wishes to facilitate corruption through this change of the law which gives more latitude to controlling officers.

And the ‘cream’ of it is the theft of billions of Kwacha by ‘civil servants’ at Ministry of Health.

Some cooperating partners are freezing aid and PF leader Michael Sata is attempting to create an election fever. He has embarked on a country-wide tour drawing crowds in his campaigns.

Clearly one could admire the skills, though evil of The Post in managing to bring ‘crises’ to Banda’s doorstep.

The aim is to make Banda succumb to public pressure and befriend The Post and drop all investigations against Mmembe, Mutembo Nchito, Maureen Mwanawasa and others.

This will restore them to a position where they dictate the pace and direction of their brand of the Fight against Corruption. They also wish to ‘restore’ national hatred and interest, and strong feelings of antipathy against Frederick Chiluba as days hurtle towards July 20th 2009!

They also hope to slow down tremendously, the perception of corruption fast emerging against the administration of Levy Mwanawasa. The blemishes and dark spots against ‘Mr. Integrity’ are sprouting everywhere on his white washed image. The marks appear indelible and might hurt the grandiose memorial plans currently underway!

The war is becoming desperate and it is clear that this empire is determined to collapse a legitimate and elected government.

Will Rupiah Banda succumb? Will he drop the strong stance he has taken against the empire? Or will he go for the Jugular?

Minister of Local Government Benny Tetamashimba at a recent press conference promised the nation that the country will be shocked with the new corruption revelations coming!

He called it the Mother of all Corruption in Zambia. He also urged Zambians to note the gender of his terminology! The Mother of All Corruption! Teta, Zambia is watching, Zambia is waiting!

END

Labels: CORRUPTION, DONORS, MAUREEN MWANAWASA, MWANAWASA, RUPIAH BANDA, THE POST

posted by MrK @ 4:35 PM