Maravi

Rupiah’s govt wants to protect criminality - Mpombo

Rupiah’s govt wants to protect criminality - Mpombo
By Patson Chilemba
Thu 29 July 2010, 10:00 CAT

GEORGE Mpombo yesterday observed that President Rupiah Banda’s government wants to protect criminality by removing the abuse of office clause from the revised Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Act.

Reacting to works and supply minister Mike Mulongoti’s statement that the clause had proved harmful to the management process, Mpombo, who is Kafulafuta MMD member of parliament, said Mulongoti’s statement represented the government’s official position on the matter.

“The government of President Banda is trying to protect criminality by using statutory regulation. There is genuine concern by the general public when they suspect that government is not fighting the scourge of corruption. The government is trying to entrench this scourge,” he said.

Mpombo said President Banda could get away with the manipulation on the mobile hospitals deal, but he would not manipulate Zambians on the manoeuvres to remove the clause from the Act.

“They Zambians must resist vigorously. Any organisation worth its sort, those whose concern is about good governance, they must rise up and stop this evil machination, which is being engineered. The bottom line is these fellows have amassed wealth in US dollars because of the hanky-punk deals,” Mpombo said.

“They know they will be questioned how they amassed that wealth and now they want to get away from that route. But people must never, never allow these guys to get away with it.”

Mpombo wondered why people who had stolen chickens were serving harsh sentences, while those who had stolen public money or amassed wealth through dubious deals were getting away with it.

He said while the statement from Mulongoti was shocking, he was not surprised that it came from him.

“In that ministry works and supply we have the donors showing great disenchantment with the way government money has been spent. It is therefore shocking that those statements must come from a minister whose ministry is under a cloud of suspicion by the people,” Mpombo said.

“Zambians are very mature and cannot be manipulated or bulldozed.”

Mpombo said instead of strengthening the fight against corruption, President Banda was watering it down.

“I want to tell you the only reason is that the present leadership, within a space of three years they have amassed wealth, not in million kwachas, but in million dollars. Therefore, the only way they can run away from society asking how they are able to amass such huge wealth in a short space of time is to do away with the clause on abuse of office,” he said.

Mpombo said civil servants should not be used as a scapegoat to remove the clause.
He said most civil servants were wallowing in poverty, with the exception of permanent secretaries and directors.

“Senior security wing officers were slapped with heavy sentences arising from the same clause they want to do away with. What will happen to their cases? Will their sentences be reviewed to accommodate the new change? So Mike Mulongoti, I think he is daft to think that Zambians are a bunch of people that can be manipulated,” Mpombo said.

“If he talks about the Penal Code, the Penal Code is not only being introduced today. It has been there all this time. They introduced that clause even when the Penal Code was there because they really appreciated the offence.”

On Mulongoti’s statement that the clause discouraged initiative on the part of civil servants and that it was not possible for one to disclose their full amount of wealth, Mpombo wondered how Mulongoti had obtained the business ingenuity.

“How come that this so-called enterprising ingenuity has just caught up in the last three years? No one is trying to stifle initiative, but people are saying ‘let’s earn our wealth in a proper manner’,” Mpombo said.

“That is absolutely cheap argument because people who were in financial wilderness suddenly they find themselves in the situation of the mighty Zambezi in three years. Obviously society has got the right to question. Even in the United States they have put laws to deal with this kind of money laundering.”

Mpombo said it was public knowledge that the country had received a “colossal genocide of financial resources”, hence the public and donors’ demand that money be used properly.

He said only corrupt civil servants, or those who were scared to make decisions because a certain top government official was involved in some deal could complain about failing to make decisions.

Mpombo said the law was not meant for the civil servants.

“It is meant to safeguard the big cats in government. Where has an ordinary civil servant got the money?” asked Mpombo.

Commenting on the government’s manoeuvres to remove the offence of abuse of office from the revised ACC Act, Mulongoti on Monday said the clause had proved harmful, and should therefore be removed from the Act.

Mulongoti said public officers were now afraid to make decisions for fear of being criminalised on account of the same clause.

Labels: ACC, GEORGE MPOMBO, MIKE MULONGOTI, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 11:26 AM