Maravi

Gladys Nyirongo

Gladys Nyirongo
By The Post
Sat 09 Oct. 2010, 04:00 CAT

No one should doubt that there is a serious problem with corruption amongst those serving in government. It should also not surprise anyone that many of our people who are in government today are not there to serve the public.

There is an undeniable propensity for those who exercise authority on our behalf to enrich themselves at our expense. This is a huge problem that has seriously retarded our development.

It is always said that our country is not poor but it is sad to note that its people are among the poorest in the world. Our people are dying of hunger and starvation when there are plenty of resources all around us. One of the major problems that our country faces is the lack of good infrastructure.

This problem is not a result of the lack money necessarily. It is true that we struggle to raise enough money to construct all the infrastructure that we need in order to make our country productive and capable of producing employment and other opportunities for all our people.

But money is not the only problem. When we find the resources to construct infrastructure, more often than not, significant portions of them are diverted through corruption and abuse of office into people’s pockets. What is unacceptable is that many of our public officers are prepared to sell their national interests for a pittance.

Some are bribed for as little as a few millions in order to give contracts to bidders who do a shoddy job for our people, and in the end, the country has to pay for the same job many times. Some of our people may have forgotten or may not even be old enough to remember that when Frederick Chiluba came to power, Lusaka’s Lumumba Road was being resurfaced almost every rainy season.

The coating that was applied on it impressed anyone the first time they saw it but in a few months, the road was dug up and the process started all over again. There are others like Makeni Road which seem to be done badly every time there is an election.

The question is: who is getting the money? Apart from corruption, there is this whole matter of abuse of office. When people get into power, they believe that it is their turn to enjoy the resources of the nation. And many of our people who are in government are busy finding ways of using their positions to enrich themselves.

Unfortunately, this is not a problem that is restricted to the highest levels of government service, but it is something that pervades the whole public service. What happened in the Ministry of Health is an example of the way that our resources are being shared by people who are supposed to be our servants.

It is clear that the whole government system has been taken over by a criminal clique that uses every trick in the book to make sure that they make money out of the state in a way that is not consistent with their duty to protect public resources. Against this background, it is not surprising that Rupiah Banda’s government is fighting to take away one of the laws that have been making it difficult for public officers to freely loot without worrying about repercussions. Corruption and abuse of office has become a way of life.

There are people in government today who cannot imagine surviving without abusing their offices. All the silly explanations that the government would like us to believe are simply that – nonsensical and silly.

It is surprising that Rupiah and his friends are fighting to remove the law that has been effective in bringing a number of very highly placed individuals to account. The upholding of the conviction of former lands minister Gladys Nyirongo is a clear demonstration of the seriousness of the problem of abuse of office.

Nyirongo may have been convicted for abusing her office but she is not the only one guilty of this offence. There are many in Rupiah’s government who are using their positions to benefit themselves and their families just like Nyirongo did. Rupiah himself is on record defending the right of his children to do business with government.

To him, there is nothing wrong. They know that what they are doing is wrong. It is no wonder Mike Mulongoti complained that they are not able to make decisions because of this law. Why shouldn’t they be able to make decisions if the decisions they want to make are in the public interest and consistent with their positions of trust?

It is clear that the only reason they are having problems is that they would like to make decisions that benefit themselves, their families and their friends. But if the law remains what it is, they know that they may end up like Nyirongo. It is not only Nyirongo that has been convicted for abuse of office.

The list of dishonour has grown quite long. There was that tricky Dick, Chiluba’s equivalent of Rupiah’s Dickson Jere, Richard Sakala, who was convicted for, among other things, abuse of office. Sakala used his position as chairman of Chiluba’s presidential housing initiative to do all sorts of criminal things, including keeping personal friends at state expense.

This law ensured that Sakala was brought to account. Then there was former Zanaco managing director Samuel Musonda who, in collusion with Chiluba and Xavier Chungu, turned the state bank into a petty cash machine for Chiluba and others.

He too was convicted for abuse of office. Then came the former commander of the Zambia National Service Wilford Funjika who, in return for a pittance paid to his children, broke all government regulations to give a supply contract to Chiluba’s friend Anuj Rathi. He too was convicted for abuse of office and sentenced. What about former Zambia Air Force commanders Sunday Kayumba and Christopher Singogo?

They both have been convicted of abuse office. They abused their offices in various ways and wound up with illicit personal benefits which they could not justify. The same was true for former Zambia Army commander Geojago Musengule. He too abused his office in return for a sprawling mansion in South Africa and other benefits. And then there was the Ministry of Finance crew that Chiluba and Chungu used to siphon money from the Treasury.

The rot at the Ministry of Finance was so pervasive that it engulfed Katele Kalumba, the minister for finance at the time; Professor Benjamin Mweene, the ministry’s chief executive and secretary to the treasury; Stella Chibanda, a permanent secretary who had served in various positions where she facilitated Chiluba’s crimes; Boniface Nonde, another permanent secretary and so on and so forth. All these abused their offices to facilitate Chiluba’s theft and abuse of public funds. They have been convicted. And yet today, Rupiah and the minions that surround him would like us to believe that this law is not good for our country.

How can a law that stops people from abusing their offices and holds accountable those who illicitly benefit from their positions to the detriment of the public be bad for the state? This is what happens when people grow accustomed to doing wrong things. They stop reasoning clearly and start doing things that they should be ashamed of.

A normal government, with a sense of public duty and capable of feeling shame for public indecency, would not be found dead promoting such a foolish scheme. They would be so ashamed that even if they were dead, they would rise up to protest what was being done in their name. But it seems for Rupiah and George Kunda, there is nothing wrong with what they are pushing.

They don’t feel shame that everybody can see that the only reason anyone can push such a law is that they want to be free to do what they like without ever worrying that the law will catch up with them. How can a government campaign for the freedom to steal and abuse public office? Anyway, anything is possible with Rupiah.

This is a man who runs a poor country but is not concerned to conserve any resources. He seems to have something against sleeping in his own bed. At the drop of a hat, Rupiah is off to this or that place. What it costs the public does not matter to him.

This is also a president of a poor country who insults the donors that have come to help the poorest of the poor from whom he wants votes. Rupiah even has the audacity to challenge them to go away for questioning his government’s refusal to recover stolen assets from his thieving friend Chiluba.

Should it surprise anyone that Rupiah today is pushing for the removal of the offence of abuse of office? It is sad and strange but not surprising when coming from Rupiah. These are simple minds who think that everybody operates on their own basis. Today, he can insult the donors and tomorrow go to them to beg. In his mind, they have forgotten. The British may not tell him how unhappy they are with him out of respect for diplomatic etiquette.

But when a nation such as the United Kingdom, with which Zambia has enjoyed long established links, removes visa application facilities, anyone who cares to read and understand the relations amongst nations would pause to understand what is going on. But Rupiah is too busy gallivanting to appreciate these little nuances in relations with other countries.

After all, all he cares about is that he will be able to go where he wants and when he wants. Indeed, it might be argued that the United Kingdom is doing what it is doing because they are trying to balance their own budget.

Although that might be correct, there must be more than meets the eye. A government that condones corruption has no moral basis for going to ask for help from other countries; and it should not be surprised when civilised nations begin to distance themselves from it.

In the case of Rupiah, he is simply getting what he deserves. As for Nyirongo, her conviction should send a message to Rupiah himself that even when he tries to disgrace the judiciary now and again, they will flex their muscle and show a bit of independence.

Although this might be a sign of independence, the judiciary still has things to think about. If a person who steals to satisfy hunger can be sent to jail for as long as five years, why should a person who abuses their office be given such a light sentence?

Anyway, there are many other cases still coming before the judiciary, and we are watching to see what they will do. There are other cases which are more politically sensitive than others. We hope that Nyirongo is not a sacrificial lamb.

Labels: CORRUPTION, FREDERICK CHILUBA, GLADYS NYIRONGO

posted by MrK @ 6:34 PM