Maravi

Task Force was a high level political commitment – Nkole

Task Force was a high level political commitment – Nkole
By Mwala Kalaluka
Sat 31 Oct. 2009, 04:01 CAT [

FORMER Task Force on Corruption chairman Maxwell Nkole yesterday said the disbanded anti-grant institution will be remembered as a very high level political commitment to clean up the abuse of public funds.

And Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) president Reuben Lifuka said National Assembly Speaker Amusaa Mwanamwambwa should not have allowed Vice-President George Kunda to issue false statements against TIZ in the House.

Commenting on the government's decision to fuse the Task Force on Corruption into the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) as announced by Vice-President George Kunda on Thursday, Nkole said the fusion was long awaited.

“These plans have been on paper for the last two years,” Nkole said. “What we can remember about the Task Force is that it was a very high level political commitment to clean up our society of abuses especially at high level and I think that in future the role of the Task Force will be remembered as having built a deterrent in the way public resources are managed.”

Nkole said it was that deterrent that the people would like to see continue in the country's efforts to fight corruption and ensure that there was complete accountability in the public and private sectors.

“What is left to be seen is how the new set-up they have put in place…how the fight will be enhanced rather than cause the loss of momentum,” Nkole said. “Government insists that the Anti-Corruption Commission should be the lead institution (in the fight against corruption), whatever that means?”

Nkole said since 1984, the ACC has been the lead institution in the fight against corruption and that no other institution had claimed leadership. He said it was wrong for the government to continue insisting on the fact that the ACC should now be the lead body in the anti-corruption campaign, when that had been the status quo all along.

Nkole also maintained that his removal from the Task Force on Corruption had nothing to do with indiscipline as alleged by President Rupiah Banda, because he had to date not been accorded an opportunity to be heard.

“The question of me being indisciplined is what I refuse,” he said. “It may be fair to say 'contract lapsed I do not want to renew it'.”

Asked to state his position on assertions that the Task Force was a money-gobbling institution, Nkole said the institution was mainly funded by the donors and the government was just funding the administrative part.
He said the Task Force required more money to carry out its activities outside the country and he hoped that donor support towards the fight against corruption would continue.

And Lifuka said TIZ wanted to get Vice-President Kunda's transcript on his statement on the fate of the Task Force on Corruption before it could comment.

But Lifuka said they wanted to deal with Vice-President Kunda's statement that TIZ was using the fight against corruption in a systematic manner and that the legal team was working around the issue.

“The Speaker should not have gone ahead to allow the leader of government to speak about an institution that can't defend itself. It is not right that the Vice-President would hide under parliamentary privilege to make such a statement,” Lifuka said.

Lifuka also said Vice-President Kunda should have laid evidence of his allegations on the table.

“We have a problem with the Speaker having allowed that debate to go on. Honourable Kunda should not have just gone to Parliament to make an allegation, which was untrue,” Lifuka said. “If he really believes in what he says, why doesn't he speak about it outside Parliament?”

After delivering his ministerial statement on the fusion of the Task Force on Corruption into the ACC, Vice-President Kunda said organisations like TIZ use the fight against corruption to get money from cooperating partners.

He said with TIZ and other people it was difficult to distinguish between a political agenda and the fight against corruption.

On Thursday, Vice-President Kunda announced in Parliament that the government had fused the Task Force on Corruption into the ACC.

Vice-President Kunda said Task Force prosecutor Mutembo Nchito would continue handling his cases while the ACC would take over all the investigations of the pending cases.

In follow-up question session after he had delivered a ministerial statement on the fate of the Task Force on Corruption, Vice-President Kunda said the responsibility to fight corruption was not for the donors but for every Zambian.

He was responding to concerns from some opposition parliamentarians that wanted to know why donors had stopped funding the Task Force on Corruption.

“Donors have their own reasons for stopping but with us we will not stop funding the fight against corruption,” Vice-President Kunda said. “The responsibility to fight corruption is not for the donors it is for all of us.”

Earlier, Vice-President Kunda accused organisations such as Transparency International Zambia of using the fight against corruption to for monetary gain.

Vice-President Kunda was initially hesitant to mention the organisations and individuals that he had referred to as the ones that were using the fight against corruption to make money.

“I do not want to mention them,” said Vice-President Kunda as parliamentarians from PF and UPND pressed him to. “Their agenda when they are fighting corruption is to get money from cooperating partners and foreign organisations.”

However, the PF and UPND parliamentarians insisted that he mentioned the organisations and people he was referring to.

“There are organizations such as Transparency International Zambia, they get money from outside…They earn a living through the fight against corruption,” Vice-President Kunda said.

“You can also set up a newspaper to just fight corruption. All you just need to do is to make allegations.”

But Katuba MMD member of parliament Jonas Shakafuswa asked Vice-President Kunda to explain if it was not true that organisations like TIZ had done a good job in fighting cases of corruption.

“Yes, they make statements. They are not constructive. The way NGOs should be working is to engage government,” Vice-President Kunda said amid heckles and boos from some opposition parliamentarians.

“The problem with Transparency International and some organisations, it is because it is very difficult for us…to differentiate between a political agenda and the fight against corruption.”

And Kabwata PF member of parliament Given Lubinda said the opposition would continue to heap blame on President Rupiah Banda if he continued to shield impropriety in his government.

Debating the 2010 budget estimate on State House, Lubinda said while President Banda deserved to be shielded from the misdemeanours of the people close to him, he should not shield wrongdoing.

“If he is going to shield impropriety we are going to blame him out rightly,” he said. “Whatever they do and is not punished we are going to say it is kwasha mukwenu, which means ‘help yours’.”

Lubinda said the presidency deserves respect but that a parent who respects his children would be respected and that one who does not respect his children was setting a trap for himself.

“My colleagues on the right should be the last to be provocative,” he said.

Lubinda said the opposition would respond with their entire wrath if those in the ruling party continued to be provocative. He said there was no way that a President could refer to a citizen as a bag of mealie-meal.

Lubinda said since presidents made mistakes, they required constant counsel from the citizenry.

Bangweulu PF 'rebel' member of parliament Joseph Kasongo advised the Rupiah Banda administration not to listen to prophets of doom within the opposition.

Contributing to the same debate, Kasongo said there was need for the public relations wing at State House to be strengthened so that it could counter some of the allegations leveled against the President by certain individuals.

“Otherwise, some of these allegations may be damaging to the President,” Kasongo said. “State House must be seen to evaluate the performances of all political appointees, especially managers.”

Kasongo urged State House to take action against the Accountant General for holding on to funds disbursed by the Ministry of Finance to the districts and provinces until the list of contractors to undertake the projects is availed to the office.

Labels: MAXWELL NKOLE, TASK FORCE, TIZ

posted by MrK @ 6:02 AM