(STICKY) It’s criminal for Konga to give inside information to a bidder, says Lubinda

It’s criminal for Konga to give inside information to a bidder, says Lubinda
By George Chellah
Mon 11 Jan. 2010, 04:01 CAT

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) spokesperson Given Lubinda yesterday said it is criminal for energy minister Kenneth Konga to give inside information to a bidder.

Reacting to the revelations that government, through Konga, availed the original tender document to LITASCO through its official Leon Hayward so that LITASCO could make or suggest some changes in its favour and disadvantage competitors, Lubinda cautioned Konga against such questionable transactions.

“He Konga has no immunity and he must be careful that he will be prosecuted the very day Rupiah Banda leaves State House, Konga will go in for prosecution. So he must stop facilitating such dubious deals and he must come out clean on this issue of LITASCO. It is unacceptable even under the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) Act. It is a crime to give inside information to a bidder,” Lubinda said.

“It is a criminal offence for which Konga could actually face arrest. Konga could actually be indicted now, not even after Rupiah has lost the elections. But now Konga could actually be indicted and he must be careful because we in the opposition could initiate immediately a tribunal to investigate him because that's abuse of office. So can he please drop this hot metal, let him throw it on the laps of Rupiah Banda so that he comes out clean. Otherwise he will face the consequences alone.”

He said everything the MMD under President Banda tries to do is always shrouded in very suspicious events.

“You can look at how they tried to coerce journalists and the media on their self-regulation. All of it was mugged with a lot of underhand methods, bribery, intimidation… everything they do even in the area of contracts, they do things using underhand methods,” Lubinda said.

“Isn't this an explanation for Rupiah Banda's refusal to dismiss Konga over the scandalous handling of the fuel crisis. Now it renders credence to the fact that Rupiah Banda could not take action against Konga because of this ongoing deal. This has been a deal that has already been agreed on between Rupiah Banda and LITASCO and Konga is the purveyor.”

He said President Banda's government was determined to conclude the LITASCO transaction.

“It is for the present and future benefit of Rupiah Banda. Rupiah Banda is preparing himself for and after 2011 that's the reason why he is forcing us to enter into contracts of such long-term nature under very dubious and suspicious circumstances. Under Rupiah Banda State House has been turned into a contract awarding office, that's where deals are negotiated, it's no longer at ZPPA,” Lubinda said.

“It is now at State House and all the time, there are some people who are involved. Can Konga please tell us which other Cabinet minister or MMD steward was involved in the discussions in South Africa? This is a person who has no business at all in transactions of Zambia, particularly in oil but he was the first one to enter into these negotiations.”

He said this rendered support to recent media reports, which were carried about President Banda preparing Konga to take over from Vice-President George Kunda.

“This is a big financial transaction and Rupiah Banda would even sacrifice George Kunda to keep the transaction going. For as long as Konga is retained and he is given more power, that is the reason why Konga has become so arrogant! This explains why there is such closeness between Rupiah Banda and Konga. This is typical of Rupiah Banda. He will see that he creates blue-eyed boys, blue-eyed girls around issues that affect him personally,” Lubinda said. “My advice first is to the civil servants because ultimately, it is the civil servants that shall implement this contract. Let me caution them, those who are coming out and informing the public are doing it for the good of Zambia and for the good of posterity.

But those who shall facilitate such transactions, one day posterity will judge them very harshly. So let them stand up like others, let them stand up in defence of Zambia, in the protection of the resources of Zambia.

“As for Konga and Rupiah, I want to say to Konga he has no immunity and he should not think that he is going to be covered by the blood of Rupiah Banda. Rupiah Banda's immunity shall be removed whether he likes it or not and what about Konga who has no immunity?

He shall face the consequences. He has just to take a leaf of what happened to Chiluba and his blue-eyed boys. Chiluba now he is walking the streets courtesy of Rupiah Banda and George Kunda. But Chiluba's blue-eyed boys are having to suffer the consequences, he too Konga is setting himself a very dangerous trap.”

On Saturday, the government's attempt to rig the bid for the supply and delivery of 1.4 million metric tones of crude oil in favour of Russia's LITASCO was exposed.