Maravi

Musokotwane insults Sata

COMMENT - Former finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane is an extremely corrupt individual. As a non-executive director at ZCCM-IH, he oversaw the non-payment of dividends to ZCCM-IH and never raised any objection or concern. He was caught telling a very different story to the IMF than he did to parliament. He was behind the abolition of the Windfall Tax, which has cost the Zambian taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars in uncollected taxes. He was found with over 1200 bicycles at his residency, a leftover from the MMD's corrupt election campaign.

Musokotwane insults Sata
By Bright Mukwasa
Wed 07 Dec. 2011, 14:59 CAT

FORMER finance minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane yesterday reacted angrily and insultingly to President Michael Sata's charge that the MMD government had printed money just before the elections.

Dismissing President Sata's allegations on Monday that the MMD printed money illegally from two companies which it is now using to disturb the PF government's performance, Dr Musokotwane poured scorn on the head of state accusing him of being careless with his statements and not being serious with national issues.

Dr Musokotwane, who is facing investigations over his acquisition of over 1200 bicycles that were seized from his residence, attacked Sata an embarrassment to the outside world because of his ‘wild' statements.

He wondered if President Sata had advisors and ministers he could still freely peddle falsehoods and make careless statements.

Dr Musokotwane likened President Sata to the boy who cried wolf and used to alarm the village with falsehoods and could not be believed on the actual day the wolf came.

"In short what I am saying is that when the President makes a serious allegation, he needs to get it investigated, study it and verify it otherwise there is a danger that the day he is going to say something serious because its genuine, people will say that's the way it is, that's the way he is, don't take him serious. The country gets invaded, he will say our country is being invaded, people will say don't mind him. That's the way he normally talks," he said.

Dr Musokotwane pleaded with President Sata to be serious with national issues.

"He is no longer in opposition. The Zambian people are more listening to him on how he is going to fulfill the campaign promises that he made. They want to know from him the jobs he is going to give to all the youths that he promised in 90 days," he said.

Dr Musokotwane wondered how President Sata could run a country with fake money.

"We find it extremely shameful and very embarrassing that the whole Head of State can make such disparaging remarks about his own currency. When he says that BoZ printed fake money, when he says its fake money that is circulating, money that is illegal, it is the money that you put on colour printer and print it both sides that is fake money," he said.

[Actually even if they used official paper and ink, it is still illegal and inflationary to print money, presumably for party purposes. - MrK]

Dr Musokotwane said fake money was identified by the fact that it did not pass security.

He said money that was issued had security features and specifications.

"How does the whole Head of State embarrass the nation by telling the outside world that the money that is circulating in my country produced by the Central Bank is fake money? Can you imagine the President of South Africa talking like that about his currency? Can you imagine the President who was visiting us George Bush, when he was President without any proof announcing to the outside world that the money circulating in America is fake when in actual fact is not. So I find this extremely shameful, very embarrassing to us as a country that the President can make such a careless statement about our currency," he said.

"Because with that statement if the public are told this money is fake when it's not fake, you will have legitimate reasons to go to the banks and dump the money and say this is fake money. What does that do to the economy? So let the President help us by giving all of us pride by avoiding making such careless statements such as this one. He is a leader of our country," said Musokotwane.

"He is in charge of our currency so how does he denounce this currency to the outside world that this is fake money when in fact this is false? So this is very shameful indeed. The behaviour by the President of making all these dramatic statements and so-called revelations which turn out to be false, again we are getting embarrassed. The outside world will be asking questions - does the President have advisors? Does the President have ministers? If so why does he make all these allegations that turn out to be false?"

Dr Musokotwane said youths and everyone were waiting for more money in their pockets which Sata promised in 90 days.

He said even the Barotseland agreement which President Sata said he would restore was being awaited for.

Dr Musokotwane said other leaders had carefully handled the Barotse issue but President Sata was careless with the matter and people of Western Province were waiting for him to honour his restoration promise.

"These are the more serious issues that he should focus on. Address these issues not making dramatic revelations that end up to be nothing as in this case. If he doesn't do that we can only conclude that the President is not focused. He does not know how to address the promises that he made," he said.

Dr Musokotwane said President Sata should focus on substantive issues that he promised the people and not make wild allegations by saying that his own currency, issued by his Central Bank where he had appointed his own people was printing fake money.

Dr Musokotwane questioned President Sata's honesty over his claims that the MMD had printed money illegally.

Dr Musokotwane challenged President Sata to establish a commission of inquiry to back his claims.

He called on the Bank of Zambia to state whether the MMD government forced the bank to print fake money.

"The allegation is false. The money that's in circulation is genuine money. There maybe fake money around there but that's not even one per cent," he said.

Dr Musokotwane said the Central Bank did not inform him about the change of company to print the notes in circulation.

"No, I was never informed. I was deputy governor at some point, whenever we are printing money, the only time we ever informed government was when there was change in the actual prints. In other words, this print is different from this one, that's when you go and tell Cabinet. But when you're printing new notes, replacing the old ones, we never informed anyone and in this particular case, I was not informed. And I don't complain because it was not necessary," Dr Musokotwane said.

"As long as the Bank of Zambia complied with the tender procedures, which I am sure they did, that's fine and the company that's mentioned there De La Rue was the one printing according to the story and then they moved over to Giesecke and Devrient. And because I was deputy governor I know both companies are reputable international printing companies, no question about it. So if in the tender process one company was preferred over the other, I am sure there must be a reason for that."

[Actually, if the MMD had money printed up for their election campaign, that is not 'fine'. - MrK]

But State House yesterday stated that Dr Musokotwane and his colleagues must not panic and resort to half-truths but instead wait for the due process of the law to take its course.

Special assistant to the President for press and public relations George Chellah said it was not so surprising, that Dr Musokotwane had gone further to describe the facts laid bare by President Sata as "false, shameful and embarrassing."

"These are very serious charges from a man whose locus standi on this matter and many other oversights unearthed concerning the previous administration, is extremely hard to comprehend," said Chellah in a statement.

He said Dr. Musokotwane seemed to be acting like a very useful, but out of control spokesperson of a troubled group seeking to confuse the due process of the law with politics.

"Nevertheless, his incessant outbursts provide helpful pointers especially to the investigators pursuing the many leads into the wrong-doing that went on under the previous regime. It shall soon dawn on him that there is nothing to defend about the many excesses of the past regime's unpatriotic conduct," he said.

Chellah said the biggest and most serious challenge facing Zambia today was excessive greedy and corruption.

"No reasonable person privy to the rot that went on under the immediate-past leadership can ignore the deplorable state of affairs under which the MMD left this country. Dr Musokotwane and his colleagues must just own up instead of trivialising the otherwise serious irregularities the new administration continues to encounter as it cleans up government," he said.

Labels: CORRUPTION, GEORGE CHELLAH, MICHAEL SATA, MMD, SITUMBEKO MUSOKOTWANE

posted by MrK @ 9:46 PM