Rupiah has killed laws that enhanced good governance, says Fr Luonde

Rupiah has killed laws that enhanced good governance, says Fr Luonde
By Darious Kapembwa in Kitwe
Sun 26 Dec. 2010, 04:00 CAT

ZAMBIA has drifted back to the 18th Century under Rupiah Banda because he has managed to kill all the 21st Century laws that enhanced good governance, says Fr Richard Luonde. And Fr Nicholas Kaliminwa says there is literary nothing that President Banda and the MMD could claim to have achieved this year because people in rural areas entirely depend on themselves.

Reviewing President Banda’s performance this year, Fr Luonde, an Anglican priest in Kitwe, said President Banda had changed laws to suit his ancient way of doing things.

He said President Banda’s greatest achievement this year was the removal of necessary laws that fought corruption like the abuse of office clause from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Act.

“That is why he ensured the necessary laws that enhanced good governance are removed. The Task Force on Corruption has been removed which has thrown the fight against corruption in total disarray. Surely that is not good governance,” Fr Luonde said.

“How can you go round commissioning projects that were laid seven years ago and claim to have been your personal initiatives and achievements? Those things were started by the late Levy Mwanawasa and he was in office for seven years, how can a person who has been in office for two years claim these achievements? In short he President Banda has started and completed nothing and if he is an honest person, he will tell people the truth about his governance instead of claiming another person’s works to be his.”

Fr Luonde said individuals and non governmental organisations (NGOs) that talked about curbing corruption were fighting a losing battle in the absence of efficient laws.

He said the much talked about employment creation was nothing because the number of unemployed youths still remained high while those that were in employment are paid far below the poverty datum line.

And Kasama Archdiocese Caritas coordinator Fr Kaliminwa said poverty had continued to increase in the past 12 months such that people depended on themselves as though they had no government.

Fr Kaliminwa said people criticised the government because they wanted it to learn from its mistakes and respond to challenges being raised.

“Governance is a cross-cutting issue and those that claim to have achieved a lot must re-look at the way they handled the NCC. They removed the 50 per cent plus one threshold for a presidential winner, recalling MPs that do not perform, abuse of office removal, firing corruption prosecutors in the Task Force. All these raised concerns and people should be reminded of these things before they claim successes by erecting billboards on other people’s foundations,” Fr Kaliminwa said.

“Here in Caritas I have youths that I am working with on anti- corruption. I don’t know how to handle them because they need to be retrained on the new law.”

Fr Kaliminwa said poverty in rural areas had been exacerbated to unmanageable levels and he expected the government to work towards reducing it because even the bumper harvest had not made any significant changes due to poor communication in the marketing system.