Maravi

Rupiah’s talk about corruption is nonsense, a lie

Rupiah’s talk about corruption is nonsense, a lie
By The Post
Sat 18 Sep. 2010, 04:00 CAT

Rupiah Banda yesterday told Parliament that his government’s fight against corruption is now more comprehensive and coordinated.

Rupiah also told the House that the Anti Corruption Act will be amended to bring it in line with his government’s policy and related legislation, and that these instruments will strengthen his government’s hand in fighting corruption.

He also told Parliament that the proceeds of crime can now be confiscated by the state.

Rupiah admitted that they know corruption exists but with the legislation they are coming up with, they will root it out: “We cannot retrospectively enact laws, we cannot fashion our laws to suit foreign powers, but we can, and will, use Zambian laws to hunt down corrupt individuals.” And Rupiah went on to say, “It is simple to accuse an institution or a person of being corrupt. The word ‘corruption’ sticks easily, with or without proof and is hard to dislodge. Those who use the word too readily should be aware that they risk damaging the standing of our nation.”

It is very clear that Rupiah has serious problems with fighting corruption. They say actions speak louder than words and there is no need to waste time listening to fancy but empty talk about corruption. It is not the laws or institutions that truly fight corruption. It is us, individuals, that fight corruption. And if the spirits to fight corruption die in our hearts, no law or institution will stop corruption. What drives any serious fight against corruption is the political will of the leadership of a society and public disapproval of corruption.

The UNIP government of comrade KK was able to fight corruption not because it had better laws or institutions. It did so because there was political will on the part of comrade KK himself not to tolerate any corrupt act from any quarter – and it didn’t matter who was involved. Comrade KK was moved with indignation every time someone stole public funds or abused public resources or office.

Where there is the spirit to fight corruption, laws are easy to enact. Take for instance how the Drug Enforcement Commission was started in this country out of an abnormal experience. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, KK and his comrades started noticing that there was an increasing number of Zambians who had started amassing a lot of money whose sources were difficult to understand or could not be explained. A number of people were rounded up for questioning and the Chaila tribunal was set up to investigate what was going on. The source was found to be narcotics – mandrax and other related drugs. But at that time, there was no law stopping anyone from drug trafficking. And all were released and later on, the Drug Enforcement Commission was created. Again, this demonstrated that where there is a will, laws and institutions are easy to create.

Rupiah admits that there is corruption but does not explain why it is difficult to fight that corruption. It is certainly not because of the inadequacy of our laws. It is simply because it is beneficial for him to condone it or turn a blind eye. This whole talk of corruption by Rupiah is nothing but a political reaction to what is going on. Rupiah is involved in corruption. His whole defence of Frederick Chiluba’s corruption is corrupt itself. Rupiah has corruptly let Chiluba off the hook to enjoy the proceeds of his corruption. Rupiah is doing all this in self interest.

The test of how committed a leadership is to fighting corruption is on how it treats its own friends, members of its own league when they are involved in corruption. Levy Mwanawasa did not go for his enemies in his fight against corruption. He went for his own very good friends, his own political sponsors.

There were no personal benefits, political or otherwise, in Levy rounding up Chiluba and his tandem of thieves. This was a very risky undertaking for Levy.

In going for Chiluba’s corruption, Levy was sacrificing his presidency because at that time, Chiluba was still in control of the ruling MMD that had sponsored Levy’s presidency. But nevertheless, Levy simply said “I don’t care even if I lose the presidency”. Contrast this to the considerations of Rupiah and his friends! To them, letting Chiluba go scot-free is politically and otherwise beneficial – it will win them votes among the Bemba-speaking people of our country. And probably they also believe that part of Chiluba’s loot will be channelled to their campaigns. This is all that is driving their campaign to defend and protect Chiluba from going to jail for corruption and from paying back what he had stolen.

Today Rupiah can even talk about foreign laws to suit foreign powers when it comes to registering the London High Court judgment that ordered Chiluba to pay back more than US $45 million to the Zambian people. Rupiah is forgetting that our whole judiciary is operating predominantly on foreign laws, on British laws that we have embraced as our own. The procedures in our High Court and Supreme Court are based on the English white book. Many of our laws are still based on these laws. And of course we are part of the common law system that is practiced throughout the Commonwealth. But anyway, this is what happens when people are desperate and cannot adequately explain what they have done or are doing. There is no one who today doesn’t know that Rupiah is protecting Chiluba from being made to account for his corruption. And the decisions from our courts that have made Chiluba get away with his corruption are faulty in all sorts of ways to be justified and defended by any decent ad honest person. In defence of Chiluba, the standing and reputation of our entire judicial process has been undermined. It will take a lot of effort to restore the credibility of our judicial process.

Rupiah says it is simple to accuse an institution or a person of being corrupt. It isn’t. It is defamation to accuse someone of corruption. If one doesn’t have proof, they will be found wanting and will have to pay damages. For us, when we accuse someone of corruption, we challenge them to take us to court because we cannot do so without proof. If Rupiah thinks we have been accusing Chiluba of corruption falsely, let him advise his friend to take us to court. We know they control the courts and are in a position to get the judgments they desire. But this doesn’t bother us. What matters is that the truth will be laid bare for all to see. We know that the truth about corruption doesn’t matter to these people. But it’s not them who matter, it’s the people of Zambia who matter most to us. Who is Chiluba? Who is Rupiah? Who will know they existed in a few years time when they have passed on? What will the Zambian people remember them for? They will just go the Mobutu way.

Actually, it is Rupiah who accuses others of corruption without any proof. Rupiah publicly accused us of having pocketed US $30 million from state institutions. To this day, Rupiah has no proof even of one cent corruptly taken by us from any institution. It’s okay for Rupiah to accuse us of stealing US $30 million without any proof, but it’s not okay for us to say Chiluba is a thief when there is evidence that was taken by the Zambian government to the London High Court and to our own courts here of his corruption.

Clearly, there is no corruption Rupiah and his government are going to fight. What we may only see is increased victimization of his political opponents on all sorts of trumped up corruption charges. What we will see is an increased abuse of the prosecution system to harass their enemies. Yes, Rupiah knows that there is corruption but he can’t do anything about it because it involves his own people, his own friends, people very close to him. In a word, it involves him. This being the case, how can he launch a corruption fight against himself?

Over corruption, Rupiah has gotten himself into a fix. He will never be able to come out of this. And we think he knows it and that’s why he cannot retreat.

What Rupiah has done is not a case of oversight; it is conscious and deliberate. And he has done it for a potential benefit. But whether or not that benefit will materialise is another issue time will tell. Otherwise, everything Rupiah is saying about corruption should not be taken seriously because it is not true. Rupiah will never have the political will to fight corruption because it has already consumed him. Rupiah is not fighting corruption, he is defending it. All his talk about fighting corruption is nonsense, it’s a lie.

Labels: CORRUPTION, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 1:44 AM