Maravi

Mpombo ready to take on Rupiah and his son

Mpombo ready to take on Rupiah and his son
By Patson Chilemba and Namatama Mundia
Fri 10 June 2011, 04:01 CAT

GEORGE Mpombo says he will dissect and expose how contaminated Rupiah Banda is with corruption following the legal action taken against him by the President’s son, James.

And Mpombo has revealed that State House chief of staff Austin Sichinga was fired as energy permanent secretary by late president Levy Mwanawasa because he involved James in one of the trips to South Africa to discuss an oil deal.

Reacting to the action by James to sue him for libel over his alleged involvement in an arms deal involving US $100 million, Mpombo assured James that he would not be intimidated by what he called the “well orchestrated shenanigans” against him.

He said he still had a bit of spine to meet James in court.

“Importantly, this development also gives me an opportunity to rigorously cross examine eyeball to eyeball James, Rupiah Banda himself personally because the details about this arms deal were hatched in Rupiah Banda’s office at State House where he strongly implored me to do everything possible to assist mwana wanu James,” Mpombo said.

“And it will also present an opportunity for Zambians to know exactly how James Banda or President Banda and his sons have reduced Zambia to ‘Rupiah Banda and Sons Incorporated’ as can be seen by the boasting in James’ affidavit that he has international connections of so many companies and three years ago was just a dysfunctional pauper moving from office to office trying to make shoddy deals.”

Mpombo said President Banda’s sons were involved in several national deals as evidenced by Henry’s involvement in the RP Capital scam.

He said the nation would also be interested to know whether the US$100 million arms deal was resuscitated after he left office.

“It court action against him will give me an opportunity so that President Banda is dissected openly.

I am ready to meet President Banda in court so people of Zambia can see how thoroughly his bone marrow is heavily contaminated with corruption. The man has no right to talk about good governance issues,” Mpombo said.

“We have seen in the recent past where financial regulations governing the country have been thrown to the wind, where contracts are being given to friends without tender procedure. There is massive tender rigging where contracts are being given to friends like BY Mwila and the recent contracts that are being given out in Lusaka.”

Mpombo warned that the country would head into un-retrievable economic mess should President Banda continue in office because the controls governing the economy were being done away with.

He said this was what had led to the collapse of nations like Greece and Portugal.

“He has no rights to contract debts for his personal survival,” Mpombo said.
He said James should not claim that he was a clean person.

And Mpombo said when he served as energy minister, the government tried to source where they could get cheaper crude oil material from, until then permanent secretary Sichinga got an inquiry from South Africa whether the nation would be interested in the commodity they had.

He said Sichinga led the delegation to South Africa but there was anxiety raised with some of the people who were included in the delegation.

“In the Zambian delegation that attended that meeting was James Banda and we were wondering how James Banda found himself on that government delegation when he was not part of the government delegation.

So we got worried about the honest outcome of the business transaction having James Banda on a delegation when he was not supposed to be there,” Mpombo said. “So this matter was brought to the attention of president Mwanawasa.

He too was not amused…and obviously James’ presence in that business trip amounted to maybe some sort of middle man arrangement. And then the president at that point made a decision to fire Dr Sichinga from the ministry as permanent secretary…so that goes to show you the kind of person James was.”

Mpombo said Zambia had become a fool’s paradise because of President Banda’s myopic leadership.

He said this was a President who had denied his own people a fair deal from the mines so that they could fund the MMD campaigns.

“People should question Rupiah Banda’s credentials because he has failed the people of Zambia and that is why he is a liability,” said Mpombo.
James has sued Mpombo for libel over allegations he made against him that he was involved in the arms deal.

Banda said he was neither a civil servant nor a politician but the President’s son who had been injured in his credibility and reputation, and brought into public scandal, ridicule, odium and contempt.

He said he was a prominent business executive with various business dealings with local, regional and overseas organisations through various companies which were duly incorporated pursuant to provisions of the companies Act Chapter 388 of the Laws of Zambia.

He said in The Post edition of April 19, 2011, Mpombo alleged that he left government because he did not agree with President Banda’s decision to award a contract of procuring arms to his son’s allies based in South Africa.

Labels: GEORGE MPOMBO, JAMES BANDA, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 4:38 PM