Maravi

‘Fighting’ corruption with corrupt hands

‘Fighting’ corruption with corrupt hands
By The Post
Sat 20 Mar. 2010, 04:00 CAT

So much has been said and written about the fight against corruption in Zambia and yet we find ourselves going back to this subject time and again. The fact that we keep revisiting this issue is indicative of how crucial it is to the development of our country.

On Thursday, British High Commissioner to Zambia Carolyn Davidson warned that there would be consequences for the assistance provided by cooperating partners if evidence suggests that the government is not committed to the fight against corruption.

We understand High Commissioner Davidson is a diplomat so she might be obliged to sound diplomatic. But it is important to call things by their names. Fighting corruption is a very serious undertaking, which has to be done with the whole soul, mind and heart by those involved in it.

It is not an undertaking for the faint-hearted. This is because corruption is at the centre of underdevelopment in any environment and those who benefit from it do everything possible to shield themselves from the wrath of the law.

In most cases, it is the people fighting corruption who are fought by the corrupt. That is why we say the fight against corruption is not for the weak, the faint-hearted – those with chicken hearts.

The poor people are always victims of corruption because they are the hardest hit by the poverty that corruption brings about.

Today in Zambia, it is becoming increasingly difficult to fight corruption because those who are corrupt appear to have taken over the reins of power, those in government appear only to be paying lip service to the fight against corruption. Examples are abound!

And so High Commissioner Davidson should not search for the evidence suggesting that government is not committed to the fight against corruption.

Rupiah Banda and his minions have laid this evidence bare for all Zambians to see that they are not committed to the fight against corruption.

In fact, Rupiah is not interested in fighting corruption because he has already identified those fighting Frederick Chiluba’s corruption and plunder of national resources as having had personal problems with him. He has declared that he will not fight other people’s battles because he has nothing against Chiluba whom he says was a “damn good president” and those expecting him to show hostility against him are wasting their time.

Rupiah and his minions have openly showed that they facilitated Chiluba’s acquittal and stopped people’s efforts to appeal against that dubious acquittal.

And Rupiah boasts about this. He says he cannot allow any appeal against Chiluba because doing so will be like daring a lion after surviving its initial attack. Mike Mulongoti, Rupiah’s minister, says jailing Chiluba would have been costly for the country.

The government has on its laps a judgment from the London High Court, which found Chiluba liable for misappropriating millions of dollars belonging to the Zambian people.

Rupiah and his minions are applying all the tricks in the book to frustrate the registration of this judgment in our High Court for execution. So what more evidence should High Commissioner Davidson look for?

It is no longer a secret that Rupiah did not go to State House to fight corruption. He went there to further it. During the 2008 presidential by-election campaigns, we warned our people that Rupiah could not be entrusted with the fight against corruption because he is corrupt. How can a corrupt man be expected to fight corruption?

Today, there are a number of transactions in government which are shrouded in corruption and when people try to raise alarm, Rupiah is the first one to defend and justify such transactions. As a result, most of our government leaders and officials have lost respect for public property and resources.

It is now free for all since Rupiah is leading the way. He has become the procurement officer number one and State House is being used more as a procurement office.

Rupiah has even failed to deny his involvement in the oil procurement deal involving LITASCO, which backfired in their faces. Even energy minister Kenneth Konga has failed to wash his hands clean in the matter. And because of the mishandling of this oil tender, Zambia stands to lose at least US $32 million.

Can you imagine what can be done with the US $32 million if it was put to good use by Rupiah and his minions? Why should we always be thinking of turning to donors for help when the country has got so much resources which are being wasted by the selfish few?

Most of our hospitals and clinics do not have drugs while schools are dilapidated and yet we keep crying before donors for financial help.

The Zambia Public Procurement Authority has been turned into a rubber stamp for the deals of Rupiah’s league. As we speak, Rupiah – again using Konga’s office – has single-sourced a Chinese company to drill 6,000 boreholes at a cost of US $50 million. Why single-source in the first place?

As if that was not enough, why exaggerate the figures? Who is receiving kickbacks from such questionable transactions?

Without any shame, Rupiah is using some of his children in such transactions. And when they are caught, he is the first one to justify and defend their involvement. Not too long ago, Rupiah’s son was caught involved with Dora Siliya in the RP Capital saga.

But Rupiah was the first one to defend Dora saying she was an intelligent young lady who knew what she was doing, and that those condemning her were themselves wrong. We can go on and on listing Rupiah’s questionable deals.

The point we are making in saying all this is that if the fight against corruption has to be meaningfully fought, people like High Commissioner Davidson should point their guns in the right direction. Rupiah should not be allowed to pay lip service to this important fight against corruption.

However, we understand the diplomats’ difficulties or limitations because this government will not allow them to demand for accountability for the millions of dollars that their countries assist Zambia with in financial and material aid.

We say this because not too long ago, some diplomats were issued with all sorts of threats by the government when they suspended aid and demanded that culprits in the Ministry of Health K10 billion saga be punished.

But like Suzanne Matale rightly observes, cooperating partners have the right to act and demand accountability when their money is embezzled. And indeed, every evil or criminal act should be punished.

All well-meaning Zambians should join in this noble fight against corruption and demand that Rupiah and his minions should practically lead the way. This is because great talkers have never been known to be great doers.

Rupiah’s pronouncements on the fight against graft have never been accompanied by deeds. There is nothing that Rupiah can demonstrate to show his commitment to the fight against corruption.

Labels: CAROLYN DAVIDSON, CORRUPTION, DONORS

posted by MrK @ 11:57 AM