Probe into irregular purchase of police vehicles is in futility – HH

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Probe into irregular purchase of police vehicles is in futility – HH

Probe into irregular purchase of police vehicles is in futility – HH
By George Chellah and Chibaula Silwamba
Wed 17 Feb. 2010, 04:02 CAT

UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema (left) yesterday said investigations into the Zambia Police Service's irregular purchase of escort vehicles and bulletproof BMW X5 presidential vehicles is an exercise in futility because people have already covered up tracks and manipulated records.

Reacting to revelations that the government has agreed to pay 9 million rand (about K5.4 billion) to a South African traffic equipment and car dealer despite the ongoing investigations, Hichilema said the corruption story starts and ends with MMD.

"It's like you are asking a thief to investigate thieving in their environment. Then what are you going to get? You are going to get cover-ups, you are going to get the records manipulated, eventually you will achieve nothing," Hichilema said.

He said unless Zambians removed the MMD from government, the country would not see much in the fight against corruption. He said the ongoing investigations would not yield to anything.

"But what will it yield? There will be nothing. It's just a futile exercise, it's a waste of taxpayers’ money. There is already covering of the tracks, there is already an issue of maybe to use this case as a superficial case so that they can appear in the eyes of donors...it's a picture to the donors that we are fighting corruption when in fact, they are not. It's just to wear a face but inside there are different things being done," he said.

And chief government spokesperson Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha yesterday confirmed that home affairs minister Lameck Mangani had travelled to South Africa to meet Instrumentation for Traffic Law Enforcement (Pty) Limited officials but said he could only give the details after meeting the minister.

"I haven't met him. Until I meet him, I cannot discuss the issue," Lt Gen Shikapwasha said. "I don't know when he came back. When I was coming back from Ghana I was being told that he is also coming back."

Asked how many officials were in Mangani's delegation, Lt Gen Shikapwasha said he did not know.

"I never met him so I don't know the delegation," said Lt Gen Shikapwasha.

Hichilema said there was need for corruption to be fought on a professional and non-selective basis if Zambians are to have confidence in the government's fight against corruption.

"The approach that is being taken now is that if there is corruption in procurement of motor vehicles and it affects some selected or favoured people somehow it will be watered down,” Hichilema said.

"This is what we have seen with regards to cases such as Zamtel where despite clear corruption being committed on the procurement process, I think the leadership covered that incident.

So the police procurement of motor vehicles is another, the story goes on. The oil procurement at the moment is riddled with corruption, a lot of corruption and nothing is being done. So clearly it means that if there is corruption that favours those in office or their colleagues or associates or 'helpers' then they will get away with it."

On President Banda's remarks that insulting elders is pornography, Hichilema said President Banda should not cry victim when he was a terrible aggressor.

"He is using that as a cover-up to appear that he is a victim when he is the aggressor, when he is basically the one perpetuating divisive approach. To cry foul, to cry victim on the same platform where you are calling others names… When people react to that you start complaining and cry victim. It is an act of apparent shrewdness which can be seen by many of us and I ask others to see through that," Hichilema said.

"There are no jobs out there so the young people are bound to complain. This is why there is crying on the radio stations, people are looking for deliverance, people are looking for jobs, they are looking for food that is available, they are looking for health care, they are looking for education. The President must ask himself why are people complaining so much? Instead of hiding behind being a grandpa."

Hichilema said elders must act responsibly and must be less corrupt.

"They must not be corrupt because the corruption is denying the people of Zambia opportunities. Let me give you an example, you increase the fuel prices in anticipation that you are going to give a contract for fuel procurement to a friend or yourselves...family members because you wanted a higher commission," Hichilema said.

"When the people tell you that 'look you can only get a commission of US $400,000 per shipment of petroleum…somebody, a grandpa through the family connections says 'no go and tell those people US $400,000 of commission per shipment is low, I want US $2m'. What I am saying is what's going on. We have facts to these issues."

Labels: CORRUPTION, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, POLICE CORRUPTION