COMMENT - At the same time, let's spare a thought for all the people who are not so fortunate to be flown out to South Africa for treatment. Let this be a reinvigoration of the goal to get outstanding medical treatment to all Zambians. And let's start doing so by getting all the money due to us from the mines.
It’s a big relief - Sata
By George Chellah
Sat 01 Jan. 2011, 04:02 CAT
It’s a big relief that my wife has been discharged from hospital, says PF leader Michael Sata. And Sata has said he is coming back home to face Vice-President George Kunda and his MMD minions head on.
In a telephone interview from South Africa, Sata said his wife Dr Christine Kaseba, who recently suffered a heart attack, was discharged on Thursday. “My wife has been discharged today Thursday. She went to the hospital and the doctors have finally discharged her, this is a big relief to me,” Sata said.
Sata said Dr Kaseba who was discharged on Thursday would return to South Africa for review in three months time. He thanked the Zambians for standing with him in prayer during this period.
“I greatly appreciate the support that was extended to my family during this moment. A lot of people from Zambia were phoning to encourage us,” Sata said.
“I would also like to thank people who came here to see my wife like Mr Alexander Chikwanda, Kasama Central PF member of parliament GBM Geofrey Bwalya Mwamba, Ndola Central PF member of parliament Mr Mark Mushili and others. I must also mention that the High Commissioner and staff at the High Commission did a commendable job during our stay here.”
And the PF leader said he would soon be returning home to face Vice-President Kunda.
“Tell George Kunda and his MMD minions that I am coming back home to face him. I am coming back so that we can face each other head on with George Kunda,” Sata said.
“So you tell Kunda and all those surrogates who have been celebrating the sickness of wife with him that now that my wife has been discharged I am coming back for an head on collision with Kunda.”
Sata said he had been following the events home.
“I have been reading what’s happening back home through the Post Online, so I am informed on most issues that have been happening whilst I am away nursing my wife. I noticed that George Kunda has gone on a rampage to attack, malign and defame me,” Sata said.
“I noticed that George Kunda has been trying so had to mislead the public about me on a number of issues. So I am returning to sort him George Kunda out and the libelous statements he has been issuing about me in my absence. You tell him that I am coming.”
He said Vice-President Kunda’s conduct was a clear case of cowardice.
“George Kunda knows that he can’t say those things whilst I am in the country. No wonder he took advantage of my absence due to my wife’s sudden illness to peddle falsehoods about me,” Sata said.
“You tell George Kunda that my wife is very fit now. God willing she will even be able to attend to her patients in a week’s time at UTH.”
Labels: HEALTHCARE, MICHAEL SATA
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PF tells MMD to refund FRA’s K5m donation
By Patson Chilemba
Sat 01 Jan. 2011, 04:01 CAT
THE PF has demanded that the MMD refunds the K5 million donation received from FRA during the ruling party’s recently held dinner dance.
In a letter dated December 28, 2010 and addressed to Food Reserve Agency executive director and copied to MMD acting national secretary Chembe Nyangu, PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba stated that as a government parastatal company which was financed by money appropriated by Parliament through the Ministry of Finance, it was improper for FRA to use taxpayers’ money to finance a political party whose objectives were not charity in nature.
“This act on the part of FRA is tantamount to plunder of public resources. In view of the above, the PF would like to know the basis on which the FRA board made such a decision and the provisions of the Articles of Association or the Act of Parliament which support or authorised the board to make the donation in question,” Kabimba stated.
“In the absence of such legal provisions, we demand that the MMD refunds the FRA the sum of K5,000,000 within seven days from the date hereof to enable the company to pay the peasant farmers, some of whom have not been paid to date for their crop sold to FRA.”
Kabimba stated that PF reserved the option to commence legal proceedings in the High Court over the matter.
Labels: CHEMBE NYANGU, FRA, MMD, PF, WYNTER KABIMBA
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Rupiah’s performance has been below par - Nalubamba
By Moses Kuwema
Sat 01 Jan. 2011, 04:01 CAT
PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda's performance in office this year has been below par, says senior chief Bright Nalubamba. In an interview, chief Nalubamba said President Banda had not done what late president Levy Mwanawasa wanted to do for the country in terms of fighting corruption.
“The legacy has been lost in terms of fighting corruption. It does not matter what development you put. If you can't fight corruption then it’s nothing," chief Nalubamba said. He said sustainability of the fight against corruption was important.
“How does the President find life comfortable with known crooks? He does not expect these people to advise and correct him accordingly because service is not of paramount to them. They are more concerned about their survival and stomachs,” he said.
“Of all these issues, I find it difficult to rate the President's performance any better. You can put up new schools and hospitals but you will be surprised that there are no drugs and desks because that is what the corrupt have taken.”
He wondered how a man like former president Frederick Chiluba could be considered a great leader going by President Banda’s praises of him.
“The President should know that this man is not a plus but a minus to him. What information does he tell the President? These are some of the worries we villagers have. We are concerned. If I were him President Banda I would avoid Chiluba's company for fear of what people will think of me," chief Nalubamba said.
He reminded President Banda that Zambians were closely watching his actions. He said President Banda's continued association with Chiluba would impact negatively on the MMD in next year's general elections.
Chief Nalubamba said unless something serious was done to eradicate corruption, it would be difficult for Zambia to develop meaningfully.
“We don't know what advice we can give to these people because some of us have earned bad names for advising. But we will be tireless because our criticism is not meant to put away their plans but to put in place strong governance systems to fight corruption," he said.
And chief Nalubamba said the My Home Town initiative was a programme aimed at fighting corruption, poverty and ignorance.
He said the idea goes beyond boundaries of Choma and Petauke because it was meant to make life easier for all.
"We are determined to change the global village for the betterment of the world, that's why people were being rewarded for motivational purposes. In fact we expect other public servants world over to do the same, let's give credit where it is due," said chief Nalubamba.
Labels: CHIEF NALUBAMBA, RUPIAH BANDA
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2009 and 2010 have been painful years - Hansungule
By Ernest Chanda
Sat 01 Jan. 2011, 04:00 CAT
PROFESSOR Michelo Hansungule has declared the 2011 general election an instrument for liberation from MMD corruption. Reviewing the year and looking at the way forward for Zambia, the South Africa-based human rights law lecturer urged the electorate to vote wisely.
“The way forward is very simple, straightforward and within reach. You cannot have a person in the Presidency who courts corruption by embracing a former head of state who cannot explain where and for what purpose he got the US$8 million,” Prof Hansungule said.
“This is a man whose property is being seized and sold in other jurisdictions and countries as corruptly obtained loot while at Zambian State House he is treated as a king. Let the average Zambian decide this question in an election that is free and fair. Cry the beloved country!”
He said 2009 and 2010 had been painful years in the governance of the nation.
Prof Hansungule observed that the nation was robbed of justice by the questionable acquittals of Frederick Chiluba and his wife Regina on charges of corruption.
He expressed disappointment with President Rupiah Banda who he said had betrayed late president Levy Mwanawasa’s quest for transparency.
“What is particularly interesting is that President Banda was Vice-President in president Mwanawasa’s government when the state decided to arrest Chiluba. He never uttered a word against President Mwanawasa’s action against Chiluba. He continued serving Mwanawasa loyally as number two in the country’s hierarchy. But it is not very surprising because most African politicians behave this way – hypocritically,” Prof Hansungule said.
On the constitution making process, Prof Hansungule described it as a show of political power.
“It National Constitutional Conference (NCC) certainly was not a sovereign body. Two splits in particular pointed to the NCC’s lack of legitimacy: in the first instance, independent civil society easily understood that the whole exercise was meant to ratify government preconceived policies on the Constitution and when the question of ‘membership’ could not be tabled to an open discussion, it independent civil society withdrew from the invitation to serve on the conference,” he said.
“However, government found compromised individuals and even established some friendly ‘NGOs’ and ‘churches’ whom they co-opted to the conference. Second, opposition political parties were completely caught unprepared by the development. Largely due to the fear to lose hefty allowances the members were promised for sitting on the conference, some of the individual members of parliament from opposition went as far as defying their parties which had officially gone along with NGOs and rejected the invitation to sit on the conference.”
Prof Hansungule hoped that the opposition would be united in their quest to remove the MMD from power.
“The only hope, however, is that the opposition comes together and puts up one candidate for the presidency in the coming elections. I mean the opposition in a united front (I don’t want to use the word ‘pact’) including Michael Sata, Hakainde Hichilema, Roger Chongwe, General Miyanda, Edith Nawakwi, Charles Milupi, Tilyenji Kaunda, that kind of a broad pact, if I may use the word now,” said Prof Hansungule.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, CORRUPTION, MICHELO HANSUNGULE
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2010 did not lay sufficient grounds for free and fair elections this year - SACCORD
By Chibaula Silwamba
Sat 01 Jan. 2011, 03:59 CAT
SACCORD says 2010 did not lay sufficient grounds for free and fair elections this year while political organisation was based on tribal leanings.
And the Southern African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) noted that a number of bad precedents were set in dealing with high-profile corruption cases.
In its end of year review, SACCORD stated that although the country in 2010 continued
to enjoy peace, justice and democracy, the year had its share of conflicts whose management overshadowed the few political achievements of the MMD.
SACCORD stated that politics of violence, witch-hunting, selective application of the law, lack of dialogue and use of state institutions to embarrass, intimidate and harass government critics and opponents were used as methods of resolving disputes.
“The PF-UPND pact which had set itself as a formidable challenge to the MMD frustrated many of their supporters and sympathisers after cracks emerged in their political arrangement. Indeed part of the voter registration apathy can be attributed to this inability of the Pact to clearly define their programme and leadership for the next year’s elections,” SACCORD stated.
“We urge the PF-UPND pact to engage in constructive conflict management in order to salvage the pact and bring back hope for the people.”
SACCORD stated that the MMD exhibited the worst paranoia and high-handedness when it expelled its parliamentarians George Mpombo and Ng’andu Magande and continue to intimidate Enoch Kavindele for expressing interest to vie for the party vice-presidency.
SACCORD stated that it was clearly a wrong signal for the MMD to push for President Rupiah Banda’s sole candidacy.
It stated that 2010 witnessed failure by the government to control violence and violent elements.
It stated that the police and MMD ignored the ruling party’s crack squads in Copperbelt and Lusaka provinces that threatened violence against other citizens.
SACCORD observed that political parties harassed journalists.
It stated that this was not healthy if Zambia had to promote co-existence and peace.
It observed that the judiciary and police suffered the worst negative perceptions about their ability to manage conflict for sustainable peace and stability.
SACCORD stated that the pronouncement of the executive arm of government over high-profile cases undermined the conflict resolution role of the courts and eroded the integrity of the courts in the eyes of the public.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, CONSTITUTION, SACCORD
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Judge urges closure of prosecution in Dr Musonda’s case
By Mwala Kalaluka in Kabwe
Sat 01 Jan. 2011, 04:01 CAT
A High Court judge says she expects the state to close their prosecution of the case where Dr Solomon Musonda is charged with the shooting of a PF cadre by next Friday. And a senior police officer says there was only one incident of violence in the by-election where Dr Musonda was elected member of parliament for Chitambo in 2009.
Kabwe High Court judge Mungeni Mulenga made the remarks during the hearing of the case where Dr Musonda, former health deputy minister and MMD Chitambo parliamentarian, is in court for shooting and injuring a PF cadre from his constituency.
Judge Mulenga adjourned the matter to January 7, 2011.
“The matter has been adjourned to 7th January, hopefully it will be the close of the prosecution case,” judge Mulenga said after two police officers had testified in the matter.
But defence lawyer Sunday Nkonde asked if they could also be availed copies of the video footage of the scene where Dr Musonda shot 25-year-old Jackson Musaka in Serenje’s Lubembe area using a Browning pistol in June last year.
In response, acting senior state advocate Mwendabai Mwalusi said the state was already in the process of availing copies of the video footage to the defence. The footage was filmed by police officers investigating the shooting.
And Serenje district police officer commanding, Daniel Museteka said in his testimony that if Dr Musonda had fired in the air as he claimed, he would not have ended up shooting Musaka.
This was during cross-examination in the matter led by defence lawyer Rabson Malipenga.
“Record enhancement shows that your client owned a gun for 11 days (from May 19, 2010) and on the 12th day (June 1, 2010), he shot a person,” Museteka said in response to Malipenga’s assertion that he was a liar. “According to him he fired in the air. He fired in the air and one (bullet) directed to a person who was shot because if he fired in the air it wouldn’t have actually shot a person.”
Museteka said he handled Dr Musonda’s case in a very neutral and professional manner.
He said hours before the shooting incident, they had shared a light moment with Dr Musonda at a council guest house in Serenje where the parliamentarian informed him that he wanted to build a police post at Chalilo using Constituency Development Fund (CDF) money.
Museteka said the youths that stopped Dr Musonda on his way from addressing two rallies were defenceless and that they were just reasoning with him.
In continued cross-examination led by Sunday Nkonde, Museteka said he did not receive a report of Dr Musonda’s vehicle being blocked during the Chitambo by-election.
He said there was only once incident of violence which occurred at Mukando turn-off where two people were trying to size each up and that the campaign itself was peaceful.
Museteka said the media exaggerated the reports of violence in the by-election.
During the Chitambo by-election, Mbala MMD parliamentarian Gaston Sichilima got embroiled in a fight with a UNIP cadre but now turned MMD cadre, at Mukando turn-off.
Labels: COURTS, POLITICAL VIOLENCE, SOLOMON MUSONDA
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Kamondo to challenge denial of leave to appeal
By Maluba Jere
Fri 31 Dec. 2010, 04:01 CAT
A LAWYER representing Eliot Kamondo says he will appeal to the Supreme Court against the High Court's decision to throw out a notice of appeal which sought to stay the decision to nullify the Mufumbwe election results. Jack Mwiimbu yesterday said since the High Court had denied his client leave to appeal, he would be appealing to the Supreme Court against the decision.
Kamondo was elected Mufumbwe member of parliament but MMD losing candidate Mulondwe Muzungu petitioned the election and the High Court nullified the seat. However, Mwiimbu explained that what had been thrown out was not the actual appeal but a notice for leave to appeal.
High Court judge-in-charge Philip Musonda on Wednesday refused to stay the judgment he passed in the Mufumbwe by-election petition case in which he also nullified the results on the grounds that there was massive violence.
In his ruling delivered in chambers, judge Musonda threw out the application for leave, saying it was misconceived.
He said it would be inappropriate for Kamondo to remain in Parliament until next year because that would be undermining his earlier judgment, which nullified the election of Kamondo.
Judge Musonda asked the Electoral Commission of Zambia to go ahead and set a date for the by-election, saying there was no likelihood that an appeal would succeed.
“An appeal does not act as a stay under section 51 of the Supreme Court Act. It would be inappropriate to let Mr Kamondo stay in Parliament until the next general election to be held in less than a year,” judge Musonda said.
“It would mean the judgment has been undermined by the frivolous and vexatious application. The stay has been refused and the Electoral Commission of Zambia can go ahead and announce the date for the by-election.”
Labels: BY-ELECTIONS, COURTS, ELLIOTT KAMONDO, JACK MWIIMBU
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Laurent Gbagbo exit 'could worsen Ivory Coast crisis'
By BBC News
Sat 01 Jan. 2011, 10:20 CAT
Ivory Coast's incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo has said the country could face greater violence if he were to resign. The UN says some 200 people have been killed or have disappeared in the past month - mostly supporters of his rival, Alassane Ouattara.
UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has told Mr Gbagbo he could be held criminally accountable for abuses.
Some of Ivory Coast's neighbours have threatened to oust Mr Gbagbo by force.
But analysts say intervention in Ivory Coast would be far more difficult than West Africa's previous operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The UK has said it would back military intervention, if sanctioned by the UN.
Mr Ouattara is holed up in a hotel in the main city, Abidjan, protected by UN peacekeepers.
Some of Mr Gbagbo's allies have threatened to storm the hotel - a threat which UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said could spark renewed civil war.
The election was intended to reunify the country which has been divided since a 2002 conflict.
Mr Ouattara was initially proclaimed the winner by Ivory Coast's election commission.
But as it was doing this, the Constitutional Council cancelled the vote in parts of the north still controlled by New Forces rebels who back Mr Ouattara, and said Mr Gbagbo had won with 51% of the vote.
Both men have been sworn in as president.
During the month-long stand-off, men in uniform, often accompanied by militia or civilians, have been targeting people associated with the opposition, say UN human rights monitors.
They say 179 people have been killed in recent weeks, and more than 27 have disappeared.
But Mr Gbagbo told Euronews that his departure would not necessarily end the unrest.
"If I said I would leave office right now, who could provide an assurance that it would bring peace and that it would not bring even greater violence?" he said.
However, he said his resignation was not on the agenda "for now".
In a national New Year's address, he again refused to step down.
"I will stay where Ivorians have placed me with their votes. We will not concede," he said.
Mr Gbagbo also told Euronews he would be prepared to accept a recount, although he did not give any details of his proposals.
"We are negotiating. I ask myself why those who claim to have beaten me oppose a recount of the votes," he said.
The UN helped organise the poll and says Mr Ouattara won. Analysts say it would be unlikely to agree to a recount.
As international pressure increases on Mr Gbagbo to step down, the EU has agreed to widen a travel ban to 59 Gbagbo allies, diplomats say.
Mr Gbagbo accuses France, which retains considerable economic interests in its former colony, of mobilising international opinion against him.
"Amongst today's great global powers, each has its own sphere of influence. When it's something to do with Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa, France speaks and the rest follow," Mr Gbagbo said.
He has ordered the 9,500 UN peacekeepers to leave Ivory Coast and there have been some attacks on them by Mr Gbagbo's supporters.
Labels: IVORY COAST, NEOLIBERALISM
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COMMENT - In short, mr. Nyamwali is saying that the president is above the law. That means that the system is rotten and needs a major overhaul.
We can’t investigate a sitting president, says DEC
Friday, December 31, 2010, 10:27
Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) spokesperson John Nyawali has said the commission cannot question or investigate the sources of campaign finances which President Rupiah Banda has been donating to various NGOs and individual citizens.
Mr. Nyawali said the commission was limited in its mandate because
the sitting president enjoyed absolute immunity to such investigations.
He was reacting to numerous calls from the civil society organisations who were calling on the commission to extend their investigations of money laundering to the ruling party.
But Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) has accused the DEC of being selective in the application of law.
TIZ president Reuben Lifuka said it was wrong for the DEC to hide behind the law of immunity which the president enjoyed, saying DEC should ask whether the president was committing any wrongs enough to warrant investigations.
He said the DEC was exhibiting double standards by finding it easy to investigate opposition party leaders.
Labels: CORRUPTION, DEC, JOHN NYAWALI, PRESIDENCY, REUBEN LIFUKA, RUPIAH BANDA, TIZ
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They have destroyed the DEC
By The Post
Fri 31 Dec. 2010, 04:00 CAT
The Drug Enforcement Commission has become increasingly associated with abuse of the criminal justice system by Rupiah Banda’s government. They may think or claim that this is unfortunate and unjustified because the DEC is “a professional organisation with officers of high integrity”.
But since this is what people think about the DEC, and indeed other law enforcement agencies, including our courts, it must be appreciated as a deeply-felt mistrust, rather than a momentary irritation or displeasure with what they are doing and the way they are conducting their business.
They cannot dismiss this as mere false perception.
The DEC, like other law enforcement agencies, is seen to be partial, discriminatory, malicious in its work.
It is seen to be favouring those in power and targeting their political opponents.
As things stand today, the DEC has lost the public respect and support it used to enjoy in its early years.
This is because it is no longer seen as an independent and impartial law enforcement agency of the state.
The DEC has openly embraced the political agenda of the MMD and those who control it. Look at the current investigations, and warn and caution statement, against Michael Sata over the US$100,000 he had received from a well-wisher.
They have confiscated two automobiles bought with that money. There is no top politician in this country who doesn’t receive money from supporters. How many people and organisations are contributing millions and billions of kwacha to Rupiah’s political campaign?
Have they ever followed any of these people or organisations? Politics and politicians, the world over, are funded by supporters and well-wishers. There can never be a sensible case of money laundering here.
This is simply politics started by the MMD through Edward Mumbi for pure political purposes. And the DEC is merely an agent of these MMD politicians in this matter.
The objective is clearly just to harass Michael and scare people from making any financial contributions to his campaign.
What integrity can the DEC claim to lie in this investigation of Michael and the warn and caution statement they have extracted from him?
The DEC shouldn’t forget that it was involved in an investigation against us after Rupiah accused us of having pocketed US$30 million from state institutions to build or buy mansions, strange cars, aeroplanes and so on and so forth.
This was not an investigation initiated by themselves. They were simply told by Rupiah to do so. They did so and found nothing. Rupiah lied to them about us.
But look at the harassment we were subjected to; look at the propaganda the DEC peddled against us; repeatedly telling the nation that their investigations have reached an advanced stage and have been extended to other countries.
They knew all along that this was a lie; their investigations had yielded nothing. But they had to tell a lie to support the political agenda of Rupiah against us.
What professional integrity can all the officers involved in these investigations claim?
What respect can they genuinely expect from this work?
Truly, the Zambian people are justified in attacking the DEC and accusing it of being used by Rupiah and his minions like George Kunda to persecute opposition leaders and other citizens they do not like.
And there is nothing unfortunate in these attacks against the DEC because it has lost its professional standing as an organisation, and there is no professional integrity its officers can claim.
DEC, as things stand today, is a discredited organisation with no professional standing in the eyes of our people; it is a destroyed organisation.
Yes, it is still operating, but it is dead inside.
And Fr Patrick Chibuye, a Catholic priest in Mpika, is right in his observation that the DEC has departed from its initial mandate of conducting impartial investigations and prosecutions because of a weak and corrupt government leadership that is abusing it.
It is true that we do have some well-trained, good and highly experienced professional officers at DEC, but these are not allowed to do their job in a professional way by politicians in government who cannot live a day without misusing and abusing power.
Their political masters are verse to exploiting, manipulating and compromising those under their authority.
Yes, we have some professionals at DEC, highly educated people, but they have been lobotomised and turned into MMD cadres and agents.
But the sad part is that the DEC is not the only organisation in our law enforcement and judicial system that has been made to serve the personal and political interests of Rupiah, George and their minions.
What we have said about the DEC equally holds for the Anti Corruption Commission, the police, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and indeed the judiciary.
As we have stated before, in every society throughout history, those who administer the criminal justice system hold power with potential for abuse and tyranny.
In the name of the state, injustice is done against innocent citizens.
No decent society, no society with principles, values and standards can tolerate such abuses.
The state must have the power to maintain order and punish criminal acts, but the rules and procedures by which it enforces its laws must be explicit, not secret, arbitrary or subject to political manipulation by those in control of the government and the ruling party.
This is what the rule of law requires – the right to equality before the law or equal protection of the law.
Whether rich or poor, political ally of those in power or opponent – all are entitled to equal protection before the law.
And under no circumstances should those in control of government and law enforcement agencies impose additional inequalities; they should be required to till evenly and equally with all our people.
But we also know that the independence of the judiciary is an essential pillar supporting the rule of law.
It is our strongly held view that our judiciary is not sufficiently independent.
We may have, and indeed we do have, some fairly independent-minded magistrates and judges, but the institution they work for is not sufficiently independent.
It is not enough to say that the courts should follow and apply the law faithfully and equally to all as our judicial oath expressly requires of our magistrates and judges.
One must in addition demand that there should be no dispensing power vested in the executive or other body which would relieve a person from the duties and processes of the law.
There is hardly a more powerful weapon which can be abused in the hands of a government than that of initiating and discontinuing prosecutions.
Our government has notoriously abused the prosecution process by harassing opponents of the regime through unjustifiable prosecutions or by exempting their own supporters from liability for illegal acts through the manipulation of the officers they control, directly or indirectly.
The judiciary, at whatever level, may find itself confronting these abuses, and may find itself subjected to enormous pressures to accept them.
Often, if the process is legal but unfair, there is little a court can do.
We need meaningful and effective separation of our courts of law from State House.
We say this because as long as judges are appointed, paid, promoted by persons or bodies controlled directly or indirectly by the President, our judges’ independence will continue to be more theoretical than real.
And as a result of this, they will continue to be manipulated and answer to the dictates of those in power, of State House and its agents.
What we have in this country is justice according to the wishes and dictates of State House.
And it reminds us of the old notion that those who adjudicated or settled cases were not expected to be in any real sense independent.
Thus in medieval England, from whose common law we have derived our legal system, justice was a royal prerogative, which the ruler carried out through his appointed officials or justices.
As such, not only was there no separation of powers, but those who judged were agents of those who ruled; while in theocratic societies, such as those where Islam was the state religion, judges had to conform to the dictates of the sacred law, as expressed in the Sharia and the Sunna.
The same observations apply to societies with customary legal systems.
This is more or less what we have in this country today – justice is according to the wishes and dictates of Rupiah with his justice minister George.
When everything is reviewed in the future, it will not be difficult to see what damage George has done to the integrity and efficiency of our country’s entire judicial process.
George has manipulated every aspect of our judicial process.
In a word, George has destroyed the integrity of the Anti Corruption commission, the Drug Enforcement Commission, the police, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and indeed our judiciary.
All these things will be known in the future because it will not be possible to hide them; they can hide what they have done and what they are doing today but tomorrow, all these things will be known.
It gets dark sometimes, but the morning comes!
Labels: CORRUPTION, DEC, RUPIAH BANDA
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DEC has lost it - Fr Chibuye
By Chibaula Silwamba
Fri 31 Dec. 2010, 04:01 CAT
THE Drug Enforcement Commission has lost it and has departed from its initial mandate of conducting impartial investigations and prosecutions, says a Catholic priest.
But DEC spokesperson John Nyawali said attacks on DEC that it was being used by the government and MMD to persecute opposition leaders were very unfortunate because the Commission was a professional organisation with officers of high integrity.
In an interview yesterday, Mpika Catholic Church’s Fr Patrick Chibuye said it was saddening that DEC was being used to suppress views opposing those of government leaders.
He said DEC and other investigative agencies must protect everyone and prosecute anyone violating the law without interference from those in government leadership.
“The DEC is departing from its initial mandate,” he said.
[Well spotted to the female radio caller to ZambiaBlogtalkRadio a few weeks ago. The DEC is going well beyond it's mandate when it is looking into money laundering, which I would think would be the job of the ZRA. - MrK]
Fr Chibuye said the DEC’s departure from its mandate was because of weak government leadership.
“We have the weakest leadership Zambia has ever had. We have a compromised leadership,” Fr Chibuye said.
Fr Chibuye said President Banda should help Zambians by ensuring that DEC and other investigative wings carry out their work independently and the law take its course on whoever commits an offence regardless of their position.
The DEC was established in 1989 to deal with drug trafficking and abuse and became operational in 1990.
The DEC was strengthened by the enactment of Act 14 of 2001 which deals with the prevention and prohibition of money laundering.
The DEC’s mandate is to effectively and efficiently control and prevent the illegal production, trafficking and abusing of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and money laundering including the provision of rehabilitation services to drug addicts in order to contribute to the social economic development and maintenance of internal security.
And addressing journalists at an year end briefing in Lusaka yesterday, Nyawali denied allegations that DEC was being abused to persecute opposition politicians.
He said the DEC was serving Zambians according to their expectations.
“We are professional civil servants. We cannot speak like politicians. So it will be very unfair to put us at the same platform with politicians,” Nyawali said. “If you unveiled the veil on us being civil servants, we will take them on but in this case we cannot start to exchange words with politicians.”
On accusations that some ministers had dubiously amassed wealth within a short period, Nyawali said people with information should take advantage of the enactment of the whistle blowers Act to report such cases to DEC and other law enforcement agencies.
Nyawali said people demanding that DEC institutes investigations into the source of the funds President Banda was donating were ignorant about the law.
“I don’t see any problems in terms of donations. I am not saying we cannot do it investigate. If somebody brings a report to us that we suspect this is a money laundering case, we will definitely take it up,” Nyawali said.
He said there were laws in Zambia that had to be followed.
“You look at somebody who has immunity, how do you start investigating the President? The President has got immunity. So for us to start investigating, you need to go to Parliament, lift that immunity then do the investigations if we receive a report. But we have not received any report,” Nyawali said.
“These are misplaced and politically motivated arguments to derail the commission’s work in investigating money laundering. We haven’t received any report. Even if we received a report, there is immunity in place, so it’s ignorance of the law which is at play.”
He also said the DEC had arrested 73 people for money laundering activities involving a collective street value of K102.4 billion this year.
Nyawali said in 2010, there was an increase in drug trafficking and money laundering activities compared to 2009.
He said 4,523 people had been arrested for drug-related offences representing a 38 per cent increase compared to 2009.
“We know that there are drug barons out there who are using young people as drug couriers. We have spread our investigations to get to the source of people behind trafficking,” said Nyawali.
Labels: CORRUPTION, DEC, PATRICK CHIBUYE
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Rupiah can be challenged for the MMD presidency - Chiti
By Patson Chilemba
Fri 31 Dec. 2010, 04:01 CAT
PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda can be challenged at the convention, says MMD legal affairs chairperson Bwalya Chiti. And Chiti has said those fearing to declare their MMD presidential intentions are scared of their own shadows because the party presidency has always been contested for.
In an interview, Chiti, who is MMD’s National Executive Committee’s chairperson for legal affairs, said the fear by MMD members to come out in the open to announce their presidential intentions was something people created from nowhere.
“If you look at every election of the MMD, there has always been contestation of all the positions, the presidency included. That is the MMD, okay! So why should you fear? I think people who fear are fearing their own shadows, or it is a creation by candidates who may want to ensure that some people do not participate by creating that fear,” Chiti said.
He said the endorsement of President Banda by the NEC as the sole candidate did not mean that others could not challenge him for the presidency.
He said according to the MMD constitution, nobody would be disallowed to challenge for the presidency.
Chiti said those who were afraid of announcing their intentions for fear of reprisals were wrong people for African politics.
“If you are afraid then you shouldn’t be doing politics,” he said.
Chiti said the debates on the MMD vice-presidency were welcome, saying one did not need to be in the party for a long time to contest the presidency and vice-presidency, as long as they fulfilled the requirements of being a member in good standing.
“There is no position which is there for a particular person,” he said.
Chiti regretted that politics was now in a major sense not looked at as a means to serve.
“We are looking at politics as a way of livelihood. Even the morality in politics disappears because you will not be true to yourself and true to your party…unfortunately for politics it is seen as a source of livelihood, a source of benefit, and that is totally wrong. We must go in there to serve,” he said.
Chiti said Zambians were tired that politics was seen as a matter of livelihood.
“You have nothing, you go in politics. Tomorrow you have a car if you are a member of parliament, which you never owned. Tomorrow maybe you are a minister, you have five cars at your house and the youth and everybody, they look at it as a form of livelihood,” he said.
Chiti said the system needed to be changed.
“In fact, looking at even the material things one gets from positions, maybe we can redirect our energies to more practical things i.e. setting up business,” Chiti said. “People go into positions not to serve; the majority of them…they know that ‘once I get there I will be able to earn a living, regardless of my qualifications. If I go there I am an MP, even with less qualification I can become a minister, I can be appointed’.”
Chiti said that was how politics was generally conducted in the third world countries, particularly Africa.
Chiti said he would not re-contest the legal affairs position at the convention as he wanted to concentrate on business.
He said should he contest, he would go for a less demanding position.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, MMD, PRESIDENCY, RUPIAH BANDA
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Lies against Sata, PF won’t work - Inonge
By Darious Kapembwa in Kitwe
Fri 31 Dec. 2010, 04:02 CAT
LIES and mudslinging against Michael Sata and the PF will not save Rupiah Banda from a humiliating defeat in Western Province next year, says Inonge Wina.
In an interview, Wina who is PF national chairperson said the confusion emanating from the Western Province was as a result of the under development due to several unfulfilled promises made prior to the 2006 and the 2008 presidential elections.
Wina said PF had done serious work in Western Province and that the general outlook of the party was far much better than in the past.
She said politics of mudslinging Sata with lies in some regions was long gone because people in all regions had realised that the opposition leader was a poor peoples’ man.
“PF will really rise from the ashes in Western Province. You see, people have a notion that people in Western Province don’t like PF but wait for next year, the results will tell you a different story. We will definitely state our position in the province, because you know previously the MMD had mounted a very obnoxious campaign against PF leader Mr Sata portraying him as a bad person but later people realised that the MMD feasted on their votes because much of the area is rural but we have moved and all the districts are giving us very good indications,” Wina said.
She said MMD officials themselves confirmed early this year that the area was underdeveloped because the MMD did not fulfill its electoral promises.
She said people swallowed the MMD propaganda but they had now vomited and President Rupiah Banda was feeling the heat of their vomit.
Wina said the Levy Mwanawasa factor played a big role in the voting pattern in 2008 but that people were seeing a complete shift from the vigorous corruption fight that the late president put up to the current tolerance of corrupt elements under President Banda’s regime.
Labels: INONGE WINA, MICHAEL SATA, PF-UPND, WESTERN PROVINCE
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Zimra launches blitz against tax dodgers
By Helen Mubvumbi
Thursday, 30 December, 2010
THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, has launched a blitz against suspected tax dodgers in the tourism sector.
The move comes after reports that the country is losing millions of dollars through under-invoicing and non-remittance of value added tax (VAT) by the operators. Last week the revenue collector seized computers and related documents from several operators while another team visited the tourism haven of Victoria
Falls to look into the operations of tour and adventure operators. The Tourism Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Sylvester Maunganidze, said the blitz was aimed at ensuring that tour operators and hotels owners respected the laws of the country.
"The operators insist they are not cheating, that they are playing ball and that they are not evading the 2 percent tourism levy. As a ministry we want proper accounting records so that due tax is paid to the Government," he said.
Dr Maunganidze said the blitz was launched after a visit to Victoria Falls five months ago when he noticed that some service providers were under-invoicing guests in their hotels thereby avoiding paying the correct VAT.
He added that after confronting the service providers he was referred to their headquarters in Harare. He questioned why they referred the ministry to their headquarters if they had not broken the law.
Dr Maunganidze explained ZTA as a tourism regulator was entitled to a 2 percent levy from the consumer of the services not the service provider. This was different from VAT due to Zimra for expenses incurred by the guest during his stay, he said.
He encouraged hotel operators to observe the industry regulations if they did not want to be caught on the wrong side of the law and face closure, which would be undesirable given that the country’s tourism sector was on the recovery path.
Zimra officers insist that some operators were not remitting VAT on services booked by Zimbabwean agents while some companies were not redeeming tax from commissions to agents.
"Some operators have gone for close to three years without paying VAT, which is puzzling because it is refundable," said a Zimra officer who asked not to be named.
Labels: TAX EVASION, VAT
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Liberating our economy, a generational challenge
by Davison Gomo
29/12/2010 00:00:00
AT ITS recent 11th National Conference in Mutare, Zanu PF lived up to its historical and central role in providing a genuine people-centred leadership to its membership and the whole nation at large.
Our beloved country has been and still is under siege for the wrong reasons both in political and economic terms. Should we move forward without our past, abandon everything we fought so hard for at a huge expense in terms of human life and livelihoods? The question of whether the people of Zimbabwe should have, not just access to but total control of their resources, remains a fundamental question that needs to be resolved once and for all for the benefit of this and future generations.
As a nation, we must be seen to be exercising our inalienable right to self determination as enunciated in the UN Charter: the right of our people to freely choose their own leaders without being manipulated by powerful nations through the use of internal conduits and the so-called non-governmental organisations that wear a philanthropic cloak while bent on preying on the vulnerabilities of our people in advancement of their self interests.
We continue to experience the endless meddling into Zimbabwe’s internal affairs, the use of sanctions to effect regime change -- a practice that is illegal under international law. We have seen the havoc caused by the systematic and brutal plan to isolate Zimbabwe by spreading pathological lies through the global mass media controlled by western governments.
Part of this evil scheme has been the establishment of radio stations hostile to Zimbabwe and its people and various diabolical machinations designed to prevent the development of Zimbabwe like the continued denial of our country to sell its diamonds despite there being no justifiable case for doing so, and a whole range of issues that have been raised against the country and the person of President Robert Mugabe albeit without good cause.
The Affirmative Action Group, being a wholly Zimbabwean organisation and driven by the need to have our people benefit from their political independence and the resources that Zimbabwe is endowed with, hereby declare our total support for all resolutions that came out of the Mutare Conference in support of restoring the dignity of our people by giving them unfettered access to and control of the resources through the indigenisation and empowerment programme.
While we recognise that the country is coming from a low economic base and that the government is currently facing challenges related to recurrent expenditure, we urge our leaders to continue to put faith in their own people. Although collaboration with people in other parts of the world is most welcome, true and lasting development is that thus done by the Zimbabweans themselves.
We applaud the decision by the National Conference to put people first as is reflected in the nature of the resolutions that were adopted. The Affirmative Action Group stands for the broad economic empowerment of the people and the rights attendant thereto. We are, therefore, very pleased that the National Conference was themed around affirmative action and that President Mugabe did not mince his words regarding the place and future of both indigenisation and empowerment in current and future public and development policy.
The AAG takes pride in this stance and pledges its unwavering support until Zimbabweans are fully integrated into the mainstream economy. Our pride as a people can only mean something to us when we are in full and total control of both our political and economic space.
Davison Todson Gomo is the executive director of the Affirmative Action Group
Labels: AAG, INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), NEOCOLONIALISM, ZANU-PF
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Court stops BoZ from selling FBZ
By Chibaula Silwamba
Thu 30 Dec. 2010, 04:02 CAT
THE High Court has granted an injunction restraining the Bank of Zambia from selling Finance Bank Zambia Limited or interfering with its shareholding.
According to a ex-parte order for injunction granted to shareholders – Finsbury Investments Limited (first petitioner), Clarkwell Limited (second petitioner), Job Albert Samuel (third petitioner), Chewe Kanyanta Puta (fourth petitioner and administrator of the estate of Pat Bwalya Puta) and Patrick Chamunda (fifth petitioner) – against the Bank of Zambia (first respondent) and First Rand Limited (second respondent), Ndola High Court judge Munalula Lisimba restrained the central bank and First Rand Limited from interfering with the petitioners’ shares in Finance Bank.
“It is ordered and directed that the respondents Bank of Zambia and First Rand Limited be restrained and an injunction is hereby granted restraining them, whether by themselves, or by their servants or agents or any of them or otherwise howsoever from: (1) interfering with or dealing with in any manner whatsoever with the petitioner’s shares in FBZL; (2) selling FBZL whether as a going concern or its assets until after the inter-parte hearing of the application for the injunction on the 4th day of January, 2011 at 09:00 o’clock in the forenoon or until further order,” the injunction order dated December 28, 2010.
“Penal notice, if you the within named the Bank of Zambia neglect to obey this order, you, Dr Caleb Fundanga, the governor of the said Bank of Zambia will be liable to the process of execution for purposes of compelling the said Bank of Zambia to obey the same.”
In his affidavit, Finsbury Investments Limited chairman Dr Rajan Mahtani on behalf of the four other petitioners, stated that on December 10, 2010, the Bank of Zambia took possession of Finance Bank and terminated the services of the board, chief executive officer and senior managers and the central bank assumed the full and exclusive powers of management and control of the commercial bank.
He stated that the reasons for this action were never communicated to the shareholders. Dr Mahtani stated that on December 11, 2010, he sent a letter to Dr Fundanga expressing concerns over the decision taken by the Bank of Zambia and informed him that the shareholders were ready to meet and discuss with him whatever problems existed at Finance Bank.
Dr Mahtani stated that in the same letter, he indicated that if there were financial problems and breaches of the laws at Finance Bank, shareholders were willing to inject capital and put in measures to ensure the commercial bank complied with the relevant legal provisions.
Dr Mahtani stated that the Bank of Zambia sent a brief to shareholders dated December 22 titled ‘enforcement decision and order’ in which it had purported to terminate their shareholders’ interest in Finance Bank with immediate effect.
“The first respondent BoZ has indicated therein that each shareholder (petitioner) will be compensated for their shares at a value (as at the date of possession of FBZL) to be determined by the court pursuant to Section 84A (g),” Dr Mahtani stated.
“The First Respondent has also indicated that for the avoidance of doubt, each shareholder ceases to be a shareholder in FBZL forthwith and will be given notice when the First Respondent makes an application to court for the determination of the value of the shareholder interest in FBZL.”
He stated that BoZ had tried to justify its decision and that, according to the brief to the minister, the next step in the plan of action was to vest all the shares of Finance Bank in the Zambian government as a temporary measure.
Dr Mahtani stated that the ultimate goal was to split Finance Bank into two – the good bank and bad bank.
He said the good bank would be placed under a different entity and would be available for sale to interested parties with priority given to First Rand Limited.
Dr Mahtani stated that it was necessary to grant the application ex-parte with a return day of the inter-parte hearing because it was highly likely that once aware of this application, BoZ would take steps to frustrate this application.
“There is good reason for this apprehension,” Dr Mahtani stated.
He explained that on December 9, 2010 when he became aware that the Bank of Zambia was going to take possession of Finance Bank in a manner that would be in violation of the provisions of the banking and financial services Act, he applied for an injunction to stop the possession until after the hearing of the matter.
He stated that the court set December 14, 2010 as date for inter-parte hearing but the Bank of Zambia took possession of Finance Bank on December 10, 2010.
Dr Mahtani stated that the shareholders, therefore, started another case in court on December 13, 2010, demanding that the central bank show cause why possession should not be terminated but the ruling had not been delivered as at December 27, 2010.
According to the petition, current shareholders of Finance Bank - the sixth largest bank out of 20 banks in Zambia - are Finsbury Investments Limited (25 per cent), Credit Suisse Investments (40 per cent), JAT Samuels (6.5 per cent), Clarkwell Limited (25 per cent), Pat Bwalya Puta (2.5 per cent) and Patrick Chamunda (one per cent).
Labels: BOZ, CALEB FUNDANGA, FINANCE BANK, RAJAN MAHTANI
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‘Free and fair’ elections the Rupiah way
By The Post
Thu 30 Dec. 2010, 04:00 CAT
TO have peaceful, free and fair elections in 2011, certain conditions have to prevail in our country and in our hearts. There ought to be a conducive atmosphere. The major players have to agree on the conditions under which these elections would be held.
And the contestants in these elections have to conduct themselves in a manner that does not put others at an unfair disadvantage. There ought to be transparency in all aspects of the electoral process, except the marking of the ballot itself by the voter which has to be done in some privacy. The voter registration exercise needs to be carried out in a manner that is transparent and equitable in all the areas of our country.
Constructive dialogue should be encouraged at all times on key electoral issues such as the constitution, the electoral Act and indeed voter registration. All key political parties should have equal access to the publicly owned media. And the state-owned media has a duty to report political campaigns fairly and accurately. As things stand today, the ruling MMD has turned the state-owned media into some sort of private property owned by itself which reports exclusively and in the most favourable way for it. This is not correct. This is not the way things should be.
The voter registration exercise that starts with the issuance of national registration cards has also been tilted in favour of the ruling MMD. More effort has been put to increase the number of registered voters in Rupiah Banda’s stronghold of Eastern Province. It was not easy to get the number of registered voters in Eastern Province to over 500,000; it took a lot of effort to achieve this figure. And it cannot be denied that this effort has not been replicated in other areas where the opposition dominate. This exercise needs to be carried out in the most transparent manner. There should be no secrecy about it. And all the key political players need to know what is happening on this score.
As Tilyenji Kaunda, the president of opposition UNIP, has pointed out, there’s much more that needs to be done before Rupiah can promise Zambians of free and fair elections in 2011. And there will be no one who will take his words seriously if they are not matched by deeds such as the necessary amendments to the Constitution and the electoral Act that many stakeholders have been demanding.
And currently Rupiah enjoys the exclusive control of the Electoral Commission of Zambia. All the key decision makers at the Electoral Commission are his appointees. And the composition and structure of the Electoral Commission leaves much to be desired. An analysis of the key people there will reveal that they are predominantly people connected, in one way or another, to Rupiah. This is not good for the conduct of elections that must be accepted by all as free and fair and therefore a true expression of the will of the people of Zambia. There’s urgent need for an independent Electoral Commission comprised of representatives from all key political parties, the main non-political bodies and impartial observers.
And Tilyenji is very clear on this score: “We cannot trust President Banda when he controls the institutions that handle elections. He is in charge, we can’t trust him. We will not depend on the heart or goodwill of one man, but on proper laws and systems…we will only trust President Banda’s promise if the necessary and particular amendments to the electoral Act that Zambians want are dealt with. We don’t care who is voted into power, but what is important is that the elections are transparent.”
And it is not only the Electoral Commission that Rupiah controls. He also controls the ministries of home affairs and of local government and housing. These two ministries are heavily involved, in one way or another, in the conduct of elections. And they are not under the direct control of the Electoral Commission of Zambia. The issuance of National Registration Cards, which one needs to obtain to be able to register as a voter, is directly under the control of the Ministry of Home Affairs - a ministry Rupiah controls. And the police who in many ways facilitate the holding of elections are also under the control and supervision of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
It is a fact that a large part of the electoral process is handled by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing. Most of the officials, if not all, who preside at polling stations and other counting centres, who supervise the transportation of ballot papers and do a lot of other things to facilitate the holding of elections, come from the Ministry of Local Government and Housing. And some officers from other state agencies, like the intelligence services, have been strategically placed in this ministry for that purpose. And all these are under the control of Rupiah, his ministers and the technocrats serving as permanent secretaries and directors he has handpicked.
It cannot also be denied that the media, and in this case, the state-owned media, does play a role in the electoral process. But also the key managers of state-owned media organisations are under the control of Rupiah and his appointees. Other stakeholders have no role whatsoever in their appointments. And as such they don’t care much about how they report on them. They are at the service of Rupiah, the appointing authority, and not the people or other key political players who are competitors of his.
In the light of all these issues, we join Tilyenji in making a special appeal to Rupiah and his government and the ruling MMD to realise that they have a serious responsibility. As facilitators of the elections, they should ensure that the concerns of all key players are adequately addressed.
We also make an appeal to the opposition political parties and their leaders about the need for them to be open and constructive in participating in the electoral process and in addressing the issues Tilyenji and others have raised concerning the electoral process. We shouldn’t forget that democracy thrives on openness and accountability, with one very important exception: the act of voting itself. Everything else must be conducted as openly as possible, so that citizens are confident that the results of the elections in which they have voted are accurate and that the government that will arise from such elections does, indeed, rest upon their consent.
Simply permitting the opposition political parties and their candidates access to the ballot is not enough to guarantee peaceful, free and fair elections. While we appreciate the fact that the party in power may enjoy the advantages of incumbency, the rules and conduct of the election contest must be fair and acceptable to all the key political players.
And in this way we will be assured that when the election is over, the losers will accept the judgement of the voters and if they don’t they will just end up looking stupid. In this way we will be guaranteed that after the elections, there will be peace and harmony in our country and the losers and the winners will be able to work together to strengthen our multiparty political system. In this way those in the opposition and those in government will, in essence, be able to share a common commitment to the basic values of being in a multiparty democracy.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, POLITICAL VIOLENCE, RUPIAH BANDA, TILYENJI KAUNDA, VOTER REGISTRATION
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Zambians shouldn’t trust Rupiah over elections - Tilyenji
By Kombe Chimpinde
Thu 30 Dec. 2010, 04:01 CAT
ZAMBIANS should not trust President Rupiah Banda’s self-perceived goodwill on ensuring free and fair elections next year, says Tilyenji Kaunda. Tilyenji’s remarks come in the wake of Change Life Zambia executive director Fr Frank Bwalya’s call for the overhaul of the country’s electoral Act.
Tilyenji, the UNIP leader, said President Banda should desist from promising Zambians a free and fair election when the country’s electoral process thrived on a flawed Act.
Tilyenji said Zambians could not risk trusting an individual who merely wanted to gain political mileage and yet citizens had the right to amend and strengthen electoral laws and relevant institutions.
“We will only trust President Banda’s promise if the necessary and particular amendments to the electoral Act that Zambians want amended are dealt with. We don’t care who is voted into power next year but what is important is that the elections are transparent,” Tilyenji said.
He challenged President Banda to prove his commitment to upholding democratic principles by facilitating for the amendment of the contentious laws pertaining to elections, most of which have been thrown out of the current NCC draft constitution.
Kaunda said Zambians were not going to be deceived by his empty promises and that MMD must show its accountability to the people by acting responsibly over the demands.
“We cannot trust President Banda when he controls the institutions that handle elections. He is in charge, we can’t trust him. We will not depend on the heart or goodwill of one man but in proper laws and systems. You see what has happened over the years, Zambians trusted MMD but it has breached the trust of the people by cheating voters on many issues. This is why this government is so adamant to ensure the country does not hold free and fare elections, because they don’t feel accountable,” Kaunda said.
He urged Zambians to ensure the country’s democracy and peace was guarded jealously.
Kaunda, however, cautioned Zambians to uphold peace even as they demand transparent and free elections next year.
“Let’s pray for peace and let’s act according to the law, but most importantly let’s guard our electoral process. President Banda must respect the wishes of Zambians. He should implement what Zambians are asking for,” Kaunda said.
“It’s important that a loser knows he has lost and the victor knows he has won and we can only know that if we have proper a proper electoral Act to govern the country’s electoral process.”
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, RUPIAH BANDA, TILYENJI KAUNDA, UNIP
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Miyanda urges dialogue
By George Chellah
Thu 30 Dec. 2010, 04:01 CAT
DIALOGUE is always better than wielding machetes, warns Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda. And Brig Gen Miyanda has maintained that President Rupiah Banda’s appointment of Bahati PF member of parliament Besa Chimbaka as Luapula provincial minister was a provocative act and a precursor of violence.
Reacting to chief government spokesperson Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha’s remarks that his statement on Chimbaka’s appointment was misplaced, Brig Gen Miyanda, who is also Her-itage Party president, stated that Lt Gen Shikapwasha trivialised his comments on the need for the government in general and the President in particular, to lead in creating a conducive political atmosphere devoid of rancour.
“The government spokesman claimed on ZNBC television that my statement regarding the appointment of a PF Member of Parliament (The Post No 5180 of 25th December 2010) was misplaced,” Brig Gen Miyanda stated.
“That retort indicates that the government is not serious about its pronouncements in support of dialogue. Government responses to national issues must graduate from mere propaganda and defensive verbal gymnastics to substance and quality contributions.”
He maintained that President Banda’s act was provocative and a precursor of violence.
“Dialogue is always better than wielding machetes. I again call on the President not to lead in provocative acts. If his motives are genuine, he must ask the sponsoring party to nominate. Why talk secretly to their member? This is called ‘Divide and Rule’ and makes his pronouncements in support of dialogue and peace questionable. Such actions create a chain reaction,” Brig Gen Miyanda stated.
He said when an appointment was made without consulting the sponsoring party, the concerned party began to quarrel with the poachers and ended up suspending or expelling their member resulting in court battles, disharmony and continuous discord in the political arena.
“The Heritage case was cited to show how we lost MPs who were enticed in the same fashion in a scheme manipulated at high levels of the ruling party. How do you build harmony and peace when you habitually plant seeds of discord and display vindictiveness?” said Brig Gen Miyanda.
He stated that President Banda must play the role of unifier which must be evidenced not just by words but by deeds.
Brig Gen Miyanda cited last year when he called on President Banda to be the first courageous President to show that he wasn’t afraid of his shadow by freeing the public media, especially television, so that contending political leaders could be seen together regularly, debating topical issues.
He said this would have helped citizens learn from the leaders so that they may believe that politics was not warfare and that it can be clean.
“This is a challenge that has eluded all our past Presidents. We must tolerate divergent views; we are over ten million people and cannot have the same views even if we tried. How does the government rubbish my non-partisan call for dialogue and fair conduct of political affairs?” Brig Gen Miyanda stated.
He said those that believed they were always right never repent.
“As Christians if we say we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves and must repent. Not repenting means we cannot renew our hearts,” stated Brig Gen Miyanda.
Labels: BESA CHIMBAKA, GODFREY MIYANDA, POLITICAL VIOLENCE
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Times’ ‘coverage of news is pretty awful’
By George Chellah
Thu 30 Dec. 2010, 04:01 CAT
THE ECONOMIST has desc-ribed the Times of Zambia’s coverage of news as “pretty awful”.
This is contained in the latest edition where the world acclaimed magazine has reviewed the media in Southern Africa under a preamble ‘Twitchy governments are making life a misery for independent journalists.’
“State-run newspapers anywhere tend to be pretty awful. The Times of Zambia is no exception. A front-page banner headline earlier this month praised the country’s President, Rupiah Banda, for “doing a good job”. The paper did not mention the copper-rich country’s dismal 150th place (out of 169) in the latest UN Human Development Index, nor the fact that Zambia is one of only three countries (along with Zimbabwe and Congo) whose human-development score is actually lower than it was in 1970,” read the article in part.
“By contrast, Zambia’s only independent paper, The Post, is entertainingly merciless. A front-page headline in April pronounced that the President had “a small brain”. But most of its stories are worthy, challenging conventional wisdom and powerful interests, and often exposing failings in all three of Zambia’s main political parties. That is no way to make friends in politics, of course, and The Post has honourably few. Influential readers have flung stones and punches in its direction. The government sues constantly, mimicking its counterparts in neighbouring countries.”
The article stated that press freedom was under threat across Southern Africa.
“In Mo Ibrahim’s index of good governance the southern part of the continent generally does well.
“Four of the five top places on the 53-country index go to members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a 15-country regional club; nine of its members feature in the top 20. But when it comes to press freedom, not a single SADC country—other than little Mauritius in the Indian Ocean—is deemed “free” by Freedom House, a think-tank based in Washington, DC,” The Economist stated.
It also cited South Africa as the saddest case because it was the most unexpected.
“After winning power in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) moved fast to lift the press shackles of the apartheid era, enshrining freedom of expression as well as “the right to access any information held by the state” in the country’s 1996 constitution. But, now in government and thus on the receiving end of the media’s lash, the ANC’s passion for a free press has waned,” read the article. “Government attempts to curb South Africa’s vigorously independent media have already led to South Africa being demoted from “free” to “partly free” in this year’s analysis of press freedom by Freedom House. In next year’s index, South Africa’s score is likely to slip further if proposed press-gagging measures make their way into law.
“Among them is the coyly named protection of information bill, under which journalists (and others) could face up to 25 years in jail for possessing or publishing classified state information. Any minister or official would be able to classify documents. Many fear this will be used to block the revelation of government scandals.”
The Economist offers authoritative insight and opinion on international news, politics, business, finance, science and technology.
Labels: PRESS FREEDOM, THE TIMES
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Dissolve Cabinet early, TIZ urges Rupiah
By George Chellah
Wed 29 Dec. 2010, 04:01 CAT
REUBEN Lifuka says President Rupiah Banda must dissolve cabinet at the earliest opportunity next year to compel ministers to use their own resources in the 2011 campaigns.
Giving his reflections on 2010, Lifuka, who is also Transparency International Zambia president urged the ruling party not to use public resources for their political party campaigns.
He said TIZ was aware that in the 2008 elections, there were schemes where vehicles with private registration, from government agencies and parastatals, were mobilised and used in political campaigns.
“This should not be condoned, and we ask public servants working in these government agencies to make use of the Public Interest Disclosure (protection of whistleblowers) Act and make sure that such schemes are not perpetrated at all. Already we have noticed that deputy ministers have been roped into entourages of the Vice-President who recently was on the Copperbelt for purely party campaigns,” Lifuka said. “These ministers and senior government officials are drawing public resources in the form of fuel and per diems for political party activities – this is abuse of office, which should not be allowed in 2011. President Banda should act prudently and dissolve his Cabinet at the earliest opportunity and thus freeing the ministers to engage in political campaigns using their own or the party resources.”
He said too much effort was invested in trying to prove that the government was doing something about corruption - statistics including the TI Corruption Perception Index – which the government had previously condemned, were manipulated just to convince those that were gullible about the purported progress that is being made in this fight.
“All manner of propagandists and pseudo spin-doctors - some of them, well known opportunists - were hired for this exercise. Government leaders should be reminded that good actions, in the fight against corruption, should speak for themselves and the people will judge this government on that basis,” he said.
He urged the government and all political players to prioritise the need to eliminate electoral corruption so that the electorate was allowed the opportunity to choose their preferred candidate without any undue influence through vote buying.
Lifuka challenged political parties to commit themselves to corruption-free elections and that all players should refrain from bribing people for their vote.
He said corruption still remained rife and systemic in a number of ministries and government agencies.
“Some ministries continue to grapple with the problem of corruption and abuse of office. Ministry of Health and Roads Development Agency had to contend with audit reports which highlighted several areas of weaknesses. Similarly, the year has ended with the regulations for the Zambia Public Procurement Act still not in place, and yet the weaknesses and the corruption allegations associated with public procurement of goods and services are well documented,” Lifuka said.
“Some cooperating partners have gone as far as withdrawing budget support to emphasise their discontentment with the manner that Government is managing public resources. Others like the Global Fund for TB and HIV/AIDS, have issued damning audit reports - which initially was denied by government and all these point to the fact that corruption and all its offshoots remain a challenge for Zambia.”
He said the political handling of high profile corruption cases in the courts of law was poor and gave credence to growing citizens’ concerns about the selective application of the law in the country.
“Specifically, the High Court’s decision not to register the London High Court judgment against former President Frederick Chiluba and the stance taken by Government and the Attorney General, sent mixed and unhelpful signals on the seriousness attached to the fight against corruption. The Attorney General, despite acknowledging the validity of the London High Court judgment, still found it prudent not to appeal against the High Court ruling,” he said.
Lifuka said another highlight of the year was the debate and subsequent enactment of the Anti-Corruption Bill amidst public outcry on the removal of section 37 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, which dealt with illicit enrichment of public officials.
He said the MMD government’s action raises speculation as to the real intentions for watering down the Anti-Corruption law.
He said it was unfortunate that the provision in the law which deals with potential mischief of illicit enrichment has been removed and government leaders keep vacillating in their arguments on how they would deal with illicit enrichment.
“One day you hear a government leader referring to section 99 of the Penal Code which unfortunately describes ‘abuse of office’ as a misdemeanor and the next day, another refers to the use of Forfeiture laws,” said Lifuka.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, CABINET, REUBEN LIFUKA, RUPIAH BANDA, TIZ
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Investment must benefit Zambians – Germany Ambassador
Wednesday, December 29, 2010, 16:02
Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Li Qiangmin shows a plaque to President Banda after commissioning the CCS plant.
Germany Ambassador to Zambia Frank Meyke says foreign direct investment must begin to benefit ordinary people.
Mr Meyke says although the country has recorded an increase in foreign investment, there is urgent need to translate the gains into benefits for Zambia.
But Meyke says his government is impressed with the level of investment inflows into Zambia.
More Business exploits
And Mr Meyke says more German business delegations are expected to visit the country during 2011, to explore investment and trade opportunities.
He says the first delegation will be in the country in April while several others will follow in the course of next year.
[ZNBC]
Labels: FDI, FRANK MEYKE, NEOLIBERALISM
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WikiLeaks cables: Patrick Finucane inquiry called for after revelations
Leaked dispatches prompt Amnesty and other rights groups to demand public hearing into 1989 killing of Belfast lawyer
* Owen Bowcott
* guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 December 2010 13.41 GMT
Patrick Finucane Patrick Finucane, a Belfast civil rights lawyer, was killed by loyalist gunmen working with British security forces. Human rights groups are calling for an independent public inquiry into his death. Photograph: Reuters
Amnesty International today branded as "outrageous" the government's failure to hold an independent inquiry into the 1989 murder of the Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane.
Another human rights organisation, British-Irish Rights Watch, which monitors allegations of collusion in Northern Ireland, described the lack of a public hearing into one of the most controversial killings of the Troubles as a significant "gap in the peace process".
Their criticism follows the release this week of US diplomatic cables, obtained by the WikiLeaks website and published by the Guardian, which revealed that MI5 offered to hand over its files to any forthcoming inquiry.
Finucane, a prominent civil rights and defence lawyer, was shot dead in front of his wife and three children by loyalist gunmen working with British security forces.
The security service's offer to share its files was revealed in a cable from June 2005, written by the US ambassador to Dublin, James C Kenny, which reported on a meeting between the head of MI5 and Mitchell Reiss, the US special envoy to Northern Ireland.
In an account of the meeting between Reiss and Ahern, the ambassador wrote: "Reiss briefed him on his talks in London, including with the head of MI5 [Eliza Manningham-Buller], who committed to turning over all evidence her agency has to the inquiry but she was adamant that the inquiry will proceed using the new legislation."
Amnesty said the fresh information strengthens the case for a public investigation. Its UK director, Kate Allen, said: "The UK government's failure to hold a properly independent inquiry into the killing of a prominent lawyer in this country is outrageous and with each day that passes and each new revelation that comes to light, that failure becomes yet more outrageous.
"These new revelations show concerns that elements within the UK security establishment have sought – to date, successfully– to avoid an inquiry and, further, that MI5 holds important files on the killing that have yet to be disclosed."
She added: "Over 20 years on from the murder of Patrick Finucane, the truth about his killing is still being kept from his family and from the public. The UK government should establish an independent public inquiry without any further delay."
Jane Winter, the director of British-Irish Rights Watch, said: "We welcome the publication of these documents by WikiLeaks and the Guardian. They confirm what we always knew, which is that international opinion, whether from Ireland or America, has long been of the view that Patrick Finucane's murder deserves an independent inquiry, and that so long as it remains unresolved there will be a gap in the peace process."
In July 2003, the European court of human rights ruled that "the proceedings following the death of Patrick Finucane failed to provide a prompt and effective investigation into the allegations of collusion by security personnel", and that there had therefore been a violation of article two of the European convention on human rights in his case.
Sir John Stevens, the former Metropolitan police commissioner, who carried out three inquiries into allegations of collusion between the security forces and loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, has stated that his investigations uncovered evidence of "collusion, the wilful failure to keep records, the absence of accountability, the withholding of intelligence and evidence, and the extreme of agents being involved in murder".
The full findings of his investigations remain secret – they have not even been seen by the Finucane family and their lawyers.
Labels: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, HUMAN RIGHTS, WIKILEAKS
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No one can be jealous of Rupiah - Nawakwi
By Patson Chilemba
Wed 29 Dec. 2010, 04:01 CAT
NO one can be jealous of Rupiah Banda, says Edith Nawakwi. Reacting to information minister Ronnie Shikapwasha assertions that she was jealous of President Banda’s successes because she expected to be part of it, Nawakwi, who is FDD president, wondered how she could be jealous of a government that presided over suffering.
“No one can be jealous of Rupiah Banda as President of this Republic when there is so much carnage on the roads…I do not expect this government to go to Kanyama and see the squalor and the breeding of houseflies, the cholera. I do not expect them to go to George Compound and see how water logged those pit-latrines are, where people are getting dirty water,” she said.
Nawakwi (right) said what could be seen as success under President Banda was not started by him. She said no one in President Banda’s government was ever seen rescheduling the county’s debt in Paris.
“They are boasting of US $2 billion reserves. How can any government boast of reserves when their people are starving? It is like having a granary of food which is full and your children are starving and you tell them that ‘I am rich’,” Nawakwi said.
“People at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) have no access to the renal unit because they can’t afford the cost of K2 million, and this government is feeding on reserves. Which reserves are they talking about which are only meant to support the mining sector because it keeps their imports? When they want their money they get it?”
Nawakwi said it was a fallacy for the government to claim that President Banda was building schools because the normal government procedures dictated that it took almost a year to process tender permission to construct a school.
“But these facilities are already at completion level. Only someone who doesn’t have eyes can be cheated that this is their work. This is work that has been going on for maybe four, five years after the HIPC (Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative) completion point and debt write-off,” Nawakwi said.
“That is what you see. It is not their plan. We must now demand to begin to see their plan. We want to see good housing for the people in the compounds. We want to see silos so that our maize is not soaked.”
Nawakwi said she did not consider a ministerial position as a job. She said she left the civil service to join hands in removing UNIP from power.
Nawakwi said in 2001 she left the comfort of being a minister to ensure that the Republican Constitution was not annihilated when Frederick Chiluba wanted to go for a third term.
She said the MMD should be grateful because for the sake of peace and stability she chose to support them in the 2008 presidential elections.
“This is a government full of people who say that they are in MMD simply because of the politics of benefit. Some of us are not in that category, and will never be, and have no need for it,” Nawakwi said.
She said there was nothing positive those in government did because they refused to take advice, saying that was why some chose to keep quiet.
“As such President Banda is missing out on very important valuable advice because around him, he is literally on a noose. He can’t even talk to Grey Zulu…they are so bent on politics of benefit, they forget to see reality,” Nawakwi said.
She insisted that the country should start trading in hard currency because the exchange rate in the last 20 years had been tailor made to support the mining industry.
Nawakwi likened the mining companies to tourists whose activity had failed to add tangible value to Zambians.
She said the issues she raised in the health sector and Finance Bank needed serious intellectual minds and not comedians like Shikapwasha.
“He is spokesperson of government. He should address this issue. Can we dollarise the economy which has been subsiding the mines because if the mines start paying in hard currency for goods and services supplied to this country, which goods are imported by small scale traders they have to suffer the consequences of a duel exchange rate?” said Nawakwi.
Shikapwasha was quoted in yesterday’s edition of the state-owned and government-controlled Times of Zambia saying Nawakwi was jealous of President Banda’s achievements.
Shikapwasha was responding to Nawakwi’s observation that President Banda’s government had underperformed and failed to deliver.
Labels: EDITH NAWAKWI, FINANCE BANK, MINING, POVERTY, RONNIE SHIKAPWASHA, RUPIAH BANDA
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Tribalism will devour MMD
By The Post
Wed 29 Dec. 2010, 04:00 CAT
MOSES Muteteka, the Ministry of Local Government and Housing Deputy Minister, says “…and for me who comes from Central Province, we are grateful that we have the number two chair as Vice-President coming from Central Province. And he (Enoch Kavindele) must not think that Central Province will sit idle to allow this to just go…? Central Province will not allow the vice-presidency to go easily. Both the Republican and MMD vice-presidency have to be defended by Central Province. It is an honour to us. We cannot do away with that honour.”
Is this truly coming from Moses? What has happened to Moses’ national consciousness? What has driven him into this narrow regionalism or provincialism?
Anyway, we can only say, as usual, that this is what happens when values are lost and principles are sacrificed on the altar of political expedience and opportunism.
Regionalism or provincialism has been weighed and found wanting.
Many decent people in this country detest regionalism, because they regard it as a barbaric thing, regardless of who it comes from.
This is so because regionalism pollutes the atmosphere of the relations of our people and poisons the minds of the backward, the bigoted and the prejudiced.
As we approach nearly 50 years of independence, and of our existence as ‘One Zambia, One Nation’, it is intolerable and unacceptable that the cancer of regionalism can still be spread by a government minister.
We must ensure that the regions, provinces of our country that the colonialists and we ourselves demarcated do not become an indelible mark or attribute that accords a special status to any. Regionalism should be seen by all of us as a blight on conscience.
We should never allow our country to play host to regionalism because we have seen the harm it can do in other countries.
Our voices should never be stifled when we see or hear regionalism being advocated by any one of us. Regionalism must be consciously combated and not discreetly tolerated.
All of us know how stubbornly regionalism can cling to the mind and how deeply it can affect the human soul.
When selecting leaders whether at national or party level, we must select people who are very suited for the job – people who are known for their honesty, ability, dedication and concern for the welfare of all – regardless of the region or province of our country they come from.
Zambia needs patriotic leaders in all our political parties; people who place national interest before personal ambition.
We say this because politics is an area of great importance for promoting justice, peace, development and community among all; it is a way of building up society for the common good.
And what our people are seeking is genuine democracy in which the leaders are servants of the electorate and not its masters.
And the love for our country urges one to act accordingly in all justice and charity.
Members of our political parties should be conscious of the crucial role they play in choosing the leaders who will create the Zambia we want to live in.
They should use the membership of their parties for the good of Zambia, as opposed to the good of a particular individual or group.
They should select candidates for party leadership who have proved themselves accountable to the electorate, for the common good; people who have courageously defended truth and justice for all, who are completely honest in fulfilling public and private responsibilities.
And they should do so according to their conscience, in accordance with the highest human values without allowing themselves to be pressured or dictated to by ‘godfathers’, by bribes, self-interest, and so on and so forth.
We should not accept ‘zones’ or regions when it comes to selecting leaders.
Let everyone involved have in their hearts the desire that all will benefit, not just those involved in the process.
Our political parties should be run on ideals and principles and not on regional, tribal or personal cult.
We should be aware of these issues and reject any struggle for power that is based on regional, provincial or tribal lines.
The leaders we need in all our political parties are only those who serve the country with justice towards all; people who consider themselves accountable to the people and who consider the public interest rather than their own.
Party membership should be used as a powerful weapon for unity, an instrument of liberty, justice and peace.
On the right of our party members to choose their leaders, on the quality of it, the discernment behind it, depend the progress and peace of our country.
Therefore, the choice of party leaders at any level, and more so at the topmost level, should never be swayed by personal profit, regional, provincial or tribal bias, but solely by the consideration of which of the candidates is better for the party and the nation.
Party leaders should be selected strictly according to the good you think they can do and not on a regional, provincial or tribal basis as Moses seems to be suggesting.
The personal interest should be kept subordinate to the public good. It is necessary for Moses and others in the MMD to remind themselves that the politics they are engaged in should be for the good of the people and the country, and not for the political survival of any individual.
If the spirit of the primacy of the common good were to animate all the members of our political parties, we would not be hearing the things we are hearing from people like Moses which leave the public dismayed and disheartened.
And in the present atmosphere of fierce political competition, we would like to remind Moses and his friends and indeed all our politicians of the noble goals of political activity.
From a Christian point of view, politics aims at the promotion of the common good.
And it should therefore not be used selfishly as a device to divide the people and weaken them.
Good politics requires active commitment against any divisive policies and practices and injustices.
We say this because any form of divisive politics and injustice lays a foundation for tension, conflict and violence in the country.
We should therefore strongly guard against excessive regionalism and particularism arising from regional or tribal pride, jealousy, greed and selfishness; superiority complex resulting from ignorance and domination; prejudice and stereotyping that breed contempt, disdain and closing in oneself; manipulation of the outlook of regionalism in order to gain and retain power.
The issue of power - economic and political power - is often an underlying factor behind regional and tribal tensions, leading to conflict and violence.
The issue of power, and the use thereof, therefore needs to be addressed if peace is to be maintained.
The tendency towards regionalism and tribalism that increasingly seems to characterise the politics of the MMD needs to be denounced and stopped because it will soon prove very harmful not only to the MMD itself but to the whole nation.
There’s a better way of doing politics than the regional and tribal approach. Politics based on regionalism and tribalism which today appear to define the MMD will soon consume it.
MMD runs the risk of being consumed by the regional and tribal politics.
Again this is what happens when senseless leaders, outright opportunists take over legitimate institutions of the people and convert them to instruments for personal aggrandisement.
Let us not forget that Rupiah Banda’s campaign for the Republican presidency in 2008 was anchored on regionalism and tribalism.
Launching his campaign in Eastern Province, a region of our country where he hails from, Rupiah told the people of this very important province of our country to chase any candidate coming from another area and tell them to go and campaign where they come from.
This is the seed Rupiah planted in the nation and in the MMD. And today the fruits of it are starting to ripen.
Labels: ENOCH KAVINDELE, MMD, MOSES MUTETEKA, TRIBALISM
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Dissolve Cabinet early, TIZ urges Rupiah
By George Chellah
Wed 29 Dec. 2010, 04:01 CAT
REUBEN Lifuka says President Rupiah Banda must dissolve cabinet at the earliest opportunity next year to compel ministers to use their own resources in the 2011 campaigns.
Giving his reflections on 2010, Lifuka, who is also Transparency International Zambia president urged the ruling party not to use public resources for their political party campaigns.
He said TIZ was aware that in the 2008 elections, there were schemes where vehicles with private registration, from government agencies and parastatals, were mobilised and used in political campaigns.
“This should not be condoned, and we ask public servants working in these government agencies to make use of the Public Interest Disclosure (protection of whistleblowers) Act and make sure that such schemes are not perpetrated at all. Already we have noticed that deputy ministers have been roped into entourages of the Vice-President who recently was on the Copperbelt for purely party campaigns,” Lifuka said.
“These ministers and senior government officials are drawing public resources in the form of fuel and per diems for political party activities – this is abuse of office, which should not be allowed in 2011. President Banda should act prudently and dissolve his Cabinet at the earliest opportunity and thus freeing the ministers to engage in political campaigns using their own or the party resources.”
He said too much effort was invested in trying to prove that the government was doing something about corruption - statistics including the TI Corruption Perception Index – which the government had previously condemned, were manipulated just to convince those that were gullible about the purported progress that is being made in this fight.
“All manner of propagandists and pseudo spin-doctors - some of them, well known opportunists - were hired for this exercise. Government leaders should be reminded that good actions, in the fight against corruption, should speak for themselves and the people will judge this government on that basis,” he said.
He urged the government and all political players to prioritise the need to eliminate electoral corruption so that the electorate was allowed the opportunity to choose their preferred candidate without any undue influence through vote buying.
Lifuka challenged political parties to commit themselves to corruption-free elections and that all players should refrain from bribing people for their vote.
He said corruption still remained rife and systemic in a number of ministries and government agencies.
“Some ministries continue to grapple with the problem of corruption and abuse of office. Ministry of Health and Roads Development Agency had to contend with audit reports which highlighted several areas of weaknesses. Similarly, the year has ended with the regulations for the Zambia Public Procurement Act still not in place, and yet the weaknesses and the corruption allegations associated with public procurement of goods and services are well documented,” Lifuka said.
“Some cooperating partners have gone as far as withdrawing budget support to emphasise their discontentment with the manner that Government is managing public resources. Others like the Global Fund for TB and HIV/AIDS, have issued damning audit reports - which initially was denied by government and all these point to the fact that corruption and all its offshoots remain a challenge for Zambia.”
He said the political handling of high profile corruption cases in the courts of law was poor and gave credence to growing citizens’ concerns about the selective application of the law in the country.
“Specifically, the High Court’s decision not to register the London High Court judgment against former President Frederick Chiluba and the stance taken by Government and the Attorney General, sent mixed and unhelpful signals on the seriousness attached to the fight against corruption. The Attorney General, despite acknowledging the validity of the London High Court judgment, still found it prudent not to appeal against the High Court ruling,” he said.
Lifuka said another highlight of the year was the debate and subsequent enactment of the Anti-Corruption Bill amidst public outcry on the removal of section 37 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, which dealt with illicit enrichment of public officials.
He said the MMD government’s action raises speculation as to the real intentions for watering down the Anti-Corruption law.
He said it was unfortunate that the provision in the law which deals with potential mischief of illicit enrichment has been removed and government leaders keep vacillating in their arguments on how they would deal with illicit enrichment.
“One day you hear a government leader referring to section 99 of the Penal Code which unfortunately describes ‘abuse of office’ as a misdemeanor and the next day, another refers to the use of Forfeiture laws,” said Lifuka.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, ACC, CORRUPTION, REUBEN LIFUKA, TIZ
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