No Egypt-style protests here: Mnangagwa
by APA
07/02/2011 00:00:00
DEFENCE Minister Emerson Mnangagwa has warned that the army is ready to crush any Egypt-style uprising amid speculation that the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is planning nationwide demonstrations to push for political reforms.
The warning comes in the wake of state media reports that the main MDC faction led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is planning demonstrations to protest delays by President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party in implementing political reforms agreed in a power-sharing agreement the two parties signed in 2008.
The MDC has denied the allegations, describing the reports of planned protests as “ZANU PF fiction”.
Mnangagwa vowed on Sunday that the army would not allow anti-government protests inspired by the mass revolutions that have occurred in Tunisia and Egypt during the past month.
“Those who may want to emulate what happened in Egypt and Tunisia will regret. Everybody is warned to keep peace in the country," Mnangagwa told army officers at an event covered by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.
A senior ZANU PF official, Mnangagwa is said to be one of the hard-liners allegedly blocking the consummation of the power-sharing pact until sanctions imposed by the West are removed.
The MDC-T claims the hard-liners have blocked security sector reforms and are behind the violence being unleashed on party supporters.
Thousands of Egyptians have taken to the streets during the past 14 days to push for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak whom they accuse of repression and ruining the country’s economy during his 29-year reign.
Similar allegations have been levelled against Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.
Labels: EGYPT, EMMERSON MNANGAGWA
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Bush cancels Europe trip over arrest fears
By: The Guardian
Posted: Monday, February 7, 2011 10:05 am
GEORGE W Bush has had to call off a trip to Switzerland next weekend amid planned protests by human rights groups over the treatment of detainees at Guantánamo Bay and the threat of a warrant for his arrest.
David Sherzer, a spokesman for the former US president, confirmed the move in an email to the Associated Press. "We regret that the speech has been cancelled," he said.
"President Bush was looking forward to speaking about freedom and offering reflections from his time in office."
The visit would have been Bush's first to Europe since he admitted in his autobiography, Decision Points, in November that he had authorised the use of waterboarding – simulated drowning – on detainees at Guantánamo accused of links with al-Qaida.
Whether out of concern over the protests or the arrest warrant, it is an extraordinary development for a former US president to have his travel plans curtailed in this way, and amounts to a victory for human rights campaigners.
Since the arrest of the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London in 1998, international leaders can no longer be confident of immunity. Israeli politicians have cancelled trips to London and elsewhere for fear of arrest warrants.
Bush had been due to deliver a speech at a dinner in Geneva organised by the United Israel Appeal, a US-based organisation that helps Jews move to Israel.
Robert Equey, the organisation's lawyer, was quoted by the Swiss daily Tribune de Genève at the weekend saying that the decision to abandon the speech was because of concern that the protests might lead to violence, not fear of an arrest warrant.
"The calls to demonstrate were sliding into dangerous terrain," Equey said. "The organisers claimed to be able to maintain order, but warned they could not be held responsible for any outbursts."
The threat of an arrest warrant had not been a factor in the decision. The Centre for Constitutional Rights, the human rights group seeking an arrest warrant, said: "Whatever Bush or his hosts say, we have no doubt he cancelled his trip to avoid our case."
Human rights campaigners said they would seek arrest warrants wherever Bush planned to travel outside the US.
Folco Galli, a spokesman for the Swiss justice ministry, told the Associated Press that the department's initial assessment was that Bush would have enjoyed immunity from prosecution for any actions taken while in office.
But Amnesty International said today that it had sent a detailed factual and legal analysis to Swiss prosecutors, claiming there was sufficient information to open a criminal investigation.
"Such an investigation would be mandatory under Switzerland's international obligations if President Bush entered the country," Amnesty said.
It added: "Anywhere in the world that he travels, President Bush could face investigation and potential prosecution for his responsibility for torture and other crimes in international law, particularly in any of the 147 countries that are party to the UN convention against torture."
Organisers of the protest had called on participants to bring a shoe, commemorating the Iraqi journalist who threw one at Bush during a 2008 press conference in Baghdad, to a rally outside the hotel where Bush was due to speak.
Human rights groups had planned to submit a 2,500-page case against Bush in Geneva tomorrow over the treatment of detainees at Guantánamo. The Bush administration claims that waterboarding does not amount to torture, but human rights organisations and the Obama administration have said it does.
The document will no longer be filed in court but will be released at a media event. It focuses on two former Guantánamo Bay detainees, Majid Khan and former al-Jazeera correspondent Sami el-Hajj.
Speaking before the cancellation of the visit, lawyers for the two said the trip was the first opportunity for the former president to face the legal consequences of authorising waterboarding and other techniques.
"What we have in Switzerland is a Pinochet opportunity," said Gavin Sullivan, lawyer for the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights, backing the claim together with the US-based Centre for Constitutional Rights.
"Bush enjoys no immunity from prosecution. As head of state he authorised and condoned acts of torture, and the law is clear – where a person has been responsible for torture, all states have an obligation under international law to open an investigation and prosecute." He added: "Bush will be pursued wherever he goes as a war criminal and torturer."
Legal proceedings under way in Spain accuse White House legal advisers, known as the Bush Six, of criminal wrongdoing for advising that the techniques were legal.
"Nobody – from those who administered the practices to those at the top of the chain of command – is under a shield of absolute immunity for the practices of secret detention, extraordinary rendition and torture," said Martin Scheinin, UN special rapporteur on human rights and professor of public international law at the European University Institute.
"Legally this case is quite clear. Bush does not enjoy immunity as a former head of state, and he has command responsibility for the decisions that were taken."
Wanted: politicians who faced arrest
The arrest of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London in 1998 ended the immunity leaders had largely enjoyed. Britain had no choice but to act on an extradition request by Spain over the murders of Spanish citizens in Chile when he was in power.
The targeting of US politicians began in earnest during the Bush administration after the opening of Guantánamo Bay detention centre, the invasion of Iraq and revelations of secret CIA prisons overseas and rendition flights.
In 2005, the then US secretary of state, Donald Rumsfeld, was threatened with arrest in Germany for war crimes relating to abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Rumsfeld threatened to pull out of a prestigious defence conference in Munich until German prosecutors assured him that he would not be apprehended.
Israeli politicians have also been the subject of arrest attempts on visits to Europe. A British court issued a warrant in 2009 for Israel's then foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, below, on behalf of Palestinian victims. But she postponed her trip to London, saying scheduling problems were to blame.
Another Israeli politician, deputy prime minister Dan Meridor, cancelled a trip to London last year after being told he may face an arrest warrant or some other legal action, apparently over the Israeli killing of Turkish activists on a ship bound for Gaza
Labels: GW BUSH, WAR CRIMES
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Illegal demonstrations will be crushed: Mnangagwa
By: VOP-TZG
Posted: Monday, February 7, 2011 9:49 am
DEFENCE Minister and Zanu-PF secretary for Legal Affairs, Emmerson Mnangagwa, said Zimbabweans wishing to unconstitutionally oust the Government by staging "illegal" demonstrations and engaging in violence will be crushed.
Mnangagwa was speaking at an army function to honour retiring officers in Harare. He said that Zimbabwe police are waiting to act on any reports of violence and 'crush' it.
“Those who may want to emulate what happened in Egypt and Tunisia will regret. Everybody is warned to keep peace in the country," he said.
"The Police are told that wherever violence rears its ugly head it should be crushed.”
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“There are some ill informed citizens who think that officers can not be politicians, the military produces good politicians.We need more and more of them to be involved,” he said.
Since the ouster of Tunisian president, Ben Ali demonstrators in Egypt have demanded the ouster of their long ruling President Hosni Mubarak - a close ally of the United States.
Mubarak has remained in power despite protesters demonstrating for almost two weeks, and former ally, United States, seems to be breaking rank with the Egyptian administration, by calling for a smooth transition and the government in Egypt to institute reforms.
Mubarak has indicated that he will leave power in September.
A "final push" organised by then opposition leader, Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai about five years ago to remove President Robert Mugabe from power failed to materialise after police and the army prevented demonstrations which they said had not been cleared by authorities.
Labels: EGYPT, EMMERSON MNANGAGWA
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COMMENT - I can't follow. The money is lost to the Zambian economy, because farmers don't put it into bank accounts? What kind of weird thinking is that?
Fundanga bemoans lack of banks in rural areas
By Joseph Mwenda
Mon 07 Feb. 2011, 04:01 CAT
THE money paid to farmers during the last crop marketing season will not benefit the Zambian economy unless it is recaptured by the financial intermediators, according to the central bank.
In an interview on Friday, Bank of Zambia governor Dr Caleb Fundanga observed that 67 per cent of people in the rural areas who contributed significantly to the much talked about bumper harvest did not have access to financial services.
“There are a lot of savings in our country which currently are not being mobilised by the banking system, so if we can mop them up… for instance look at agriculture. This year, we said we had a bumper crop. That means we have pumped trillions of kwacha into the agriculture sector but is that money going to be saved?” Dr Fundanga wondered.
He said Zambia would not achieve a more resilient economy if the current low levels of domestic savings were not improved.
“You need to get banks into the rural areas to get that money back into the banking system, that is part of the financial inclusiveness problem. If banks can go into rural areas, savings can be mobilised each time farmers get their income. But if this process is not done properly, we will not develop our economy because there won’t be enough money in the banking system,” he said.
Dr Fundanga said people in rural areas like Chilubi Island were desperate to have a banking institution.
“I will tell you for instance that I have received a letter from Chilubi Island. They are willing to even offer houses to a bank that will go to set up an office there. They are willing to offer an office which can be used as a banking hall,” said Dr Fundanga.
Labels: BANKING, CALEB FUNDANGA, RURAL AREAS
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Standard Bank predicts massive copper demand
By Kabanda Chulu in Kitwe
Mon 07 Feb. 2011, 04:01 CAT
COPPER mining companies will not meet global demand for 2011 and next year because it is growing faster than supply, says Standard Bank head of commodity research Walter de Wet. In an interview, de Wet said the copper market would be in deficit this year and next year.
“We estimate deficit to be 385,000 metric tonnes for 2011 and 465,000 for 2012, so clearly demand is growing faster than supply at this stage and mining companies will not meet this global demand,” de Wet said.
“Demand will remain strong until 2013 and after that we don’t see demand falling; it will be a case of supply start catching up with demand.”
When asked about copper benefits to Zambia and investor sentiments in view of the forthcoming general elections, de Wet said higher copper prices were an incentive to start new projects.
“And new projects means new jobs as well as revenue for government … speaking from a copper perspective people view Zambia as a source of new supply. No doubt and as long as copper price remain favourable and obviously economic conditions are favourable and we should see people investing in new mining projects,” de Wet said.
And making a presentation at the 2011 Stanbic Bank global micro-economic metals markets in Kitwe on Thursday, de Wet said the world should expect a tighter copper market in 2012.
He said China and other emerging markets were driving the increasing copper demand whose price was projected to stay at US$9,200 per metric tonne in 2011 and US$10,000 per metric tonne in 2012.
“Since 2008, China has been importing over 180,000 metric tonnes of copper per month and this is more than what some Zambian mines produce per year so this demand of course it being driven by China and other Asian and emerging markets and we are seeing the USA and other developed countries also coming on board and the construction,” said de Wet.
De Wet said consumer goods sectors were also huge consumers of the copper commodity.
Labels: COPPER, STANDARD BANK LONDON
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Rupiah cannot continue to callously defend what is wrong
By The Post
Mon 07 Feb. 2011, 04:00 CAT
We agree with Caritas Zambia executive director Sam Mulafulafu when he says that
it is strange for Zambia to be selected to the board of the African Union Anti Corruption Bureau when the country is having problems fighting the scourge.It cannot be denied that Rupiah Banda’s government has no will to fight corruption at all. What little effort it makes in fighting corruption, if it can be called that, is the persecution of perceived political enemies.
Rupiah has reduced the government policy of fighting corruption to using the Anti Corruption Commission and the Drug Enforcement Commission as tools for repression meant to be used to keep his opponents and enemies in check.
Corruption is a serious problem for our country.
We have continuously maintained that in a significant way, it is responsible for the many problems that we face as a country.
Our poverty as a nation is directly proportional to the level of corruption and lack of accountability that characterises our governance system. Patronage and self-aggrandisement for those who hold public office is an accepted part of the ministerial job or such other government employment.
Those who work in government carry themselves with a sense of entitlement to illicitly benefit from their positions.
Rupiah for his part seems to have taken this expectation to the highest level we have ever seen in our country.
We say this because in the over two years that Rupiah has been President, it is very clear that there is a feeling by those in government that corruption pays.
Although corruption was still a problem during the tenure of Levy Mwanawasa, it can be said that there was a clear indication that some of those closest to him, especially the ministers, had begun to realise that corruption did not always pay.
A sense of fear of being found out and consequently punished was manifest in the way they did things.
Indeed to his credit, Levy subjected several high-ranking officials that served in his government to prosecution for their misdeeds.
Prominent among these was his then Minister of Lands, Gladys Nyirongo, who was dismissed from her job and exposed for her corruption and accordingly prosecuted and convicted by two courts – the magistrates’ court and the High Court.
Levy also exposed the then serving Zambia Air Force commander, a man he had appointed to the job, Lt Gen Christopher Singogo, who went on to be prosecuted and convicted for corruption and abuse of office.
Levy also went to show the nation that corruption in our country was not confined to one sector or group of people – it had spread like a cancer to all the parts of our state institutions, including those institutions whose job was to enforce the law and fight corruption.
When allegations of corruption and abuse of office were raised against the then head of the Drug Enforcement Commission, Ryan Chitoba, Levy relieved him of his duties and allowed state institutions to arrest him and have him prosecuted.
To this day, Chitoba is still in court facing charges arising out of Levy’s actions. It is not for us to speculate about whether or not Chitoba is guilty or innocent because obviously, the matter is still in court.
But the point that should not be lost sight of is that a serving head of one of the country’s law enforcement agencies was removed from his office, arrested and prosecuted.
This demonstrated a very high degree of Levy’s government’s determination to confront and combat this scourge of corruption.
The same can be said about Levy’s approach on his predecessor Frederick Chiluba. It cannot be denied that it must have been difficult for Levy to allow his political benefactor Chiluba to be prosecuted.
Indeed it was Chiluba who almost single-handedly engineered Levy’s questionable adoption as the presidential candidate for the MMD and his equally questionable election as president of the Republic of Zambia in 2001.
But Levy did not allow this to stand in the way of the rule of law. His obligations to the people and to the country took precedence over his loyalty and gratitude to his anointer Chiluba.
It is correct to say that the fight against corruption under Levy had many challenges. It is easy to sit in a cynic’s armchair and dismiss it as flawed.
But today, we have, as a nation, the opportunity to compare what Levy tried to do and what Rupiah is doing. Everybody knows that corruption is a bad thing.
Even the corrupt themselves understand this. And that is why not even the most corrupt person will say good things about corruption, admit being corrupt.
Against this background, it is strange that we have a government today that seems to have adopted a policy of defending corruption and corrupt elements whilst taking every opportunity to punish those who try to stand for what is right.
Rupiah’s government shamelessly stands to proclaim how they have promulgated this or that law or how they have created a very good anti-corruption policy and yet these laws and the policy they have brought are more observed in their breach than in implementation.
An anti-corruption policy that is a mere slogan designed to hoodwink gullible donors – assuming there are any who cannot see through this charade – is not worth the paper it is written on.
Rupiah has humiliated the Anti Corruption Commission. We doubt that honest officers of that institution can stand up and say they are convinced that they are doing the right thing consistently.
It is now a well-known fact that cases with political overtones or connections can never be allowed to be handled professionally.
If it is somebody who is favourable to Rupiah, they must be allowed to go scot-free regardless of what they have done.
On the other hand, if a person perceived to be anti-Rupiah, however that is defined, is accused of even the slightest infraction, then you see the Anti Corruption Commission boss loudly promising to investigate the matter.
The inconsistencies of the Anti Corruption Commission are a source of danger to our country.
It is probably this that makes people like Mulafulafu question the appointment of Zambia to the board of the African Union Anti Corruption Bureau.
Anyway, Rupiah and those that surround him should not think that they can continue to abuse the law in this way and get away with it.
Corruption is not a problem that they can afford to sit on and think that everything will be well for them.
We know it is said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But still, prudence demands that people stop and think about the consequences of their actions.
Shielding corrupt activities or adopting corruption as official government policy cannot be without consequences for those involved in it.
We again call upon Rupiah and his minions to reflect on what is happening in North Africa. The demonstrations that have led to the upheaval on that part of the world have all begun as a knee-jerk reaction to pervasive corruption.
People have got to a point where, as somebody has put it, they have now refused to accept these decadent autocratic regimes ruled by men who loot their countries.
People will not accept a situation where the man at the top bears dynastic ambitions for his family, uses his incredible access to the treasury of the land and other public resources to disadvantage the majority and expose their people to a level of cruelty and brutality that is unacceptable.
This is the complaint of the people in Egypt.
This is also the complaint of the people in Tunisia. We have to accept that this is also a complaint of the people in Zambia.
Unless corruption is reined in, we should not cheat ourselves; we are sitting on a time bomb.
It is only a matter of time before our people explode and demand justice.
Rupiah cannot continue to callously defend what is wrong.
Labels: RUPIAH BANDA, SAM MULAFULAFU
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Catholic bishops offer solidarity to Barotseland
By Chansa Kabwela
Mon 07 Feb. 2011, 04:01 CAT
CATHOLIC bishops in Zambia have offered solidarity to the people of Western Province. The bishops have also offered their condolences and deep sympathy to the families of people who lost their lives in clashes between police and Mongu residents recently.
And the bishops say time has come to bring the issues surrounding the Barotseland Agreement of 1964 to an amicable conclusion.
According to the pastoral statement from the Catholic Bishops of Zambia themed A Call for Peace and Reconciliation in Western Province, which was released yesterday, the bishops offered their solidarity because of their God-given mandate to be the voice of conscience to the nation.
The bishops called for a spirit of unity, justice, peace and reconciliation in the country, especially Western Province.
The bishops, who indicated that they met President Rupiah Banda to present their concerns regarding the disturbances in Western Province, said the country witnessed unfortunate events in Western Province, which culminated in violence, leading to loss of lives and the subsequent incarceration of alleged activists on charges of treason.
“The instability has also caused fear and uncertainty among the multi ethnic society of Western Province which, like the rest of Zambia, has lived in peace and tranquillity since our political independence in 1964. We offer our condolences and deep sympathy to the families that lost their beloved relatives in the violence,” the bishops said. “We also wish quick recovery to those who were injured. Our hearts also go out to families who may be facing difficulties at the moment as a result of their breadwinners being away in prison.”
The bishops appealed to the government, the people in Western Province, the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) and the organised activist groups to find a lasting solution to the “dangerous situation” that had evolved in Western Province.
“In order to foster dialogue and normalise the situation in Western Province, we have appealed to the Republican President to use his prerogative to release those that are incarcerated in prison over this case, some of whom are facing treason charges,” they said. “In the interim, the suspects in custody must be accorded their rights as provided for in our Constitution and other related legislation.”
According to the bishops, it was their belief that none of the parties involved cherished needless loss of life or an environment where people lived in fear.
The bishops said all stakeholders , must demonstrate their commitment to peace by refraining from violence, intimidation or the use of force as a means of achieving their objectives.
“Violence and intimidation produces no winners in resolving problems. It just hardens the hearts of the victims to equally defend their position by the same means and in the end a vicious circle of hatred, violence and intimidation is perpetrated. We strongly feel that all parties to this matter must embrace the spirit of dialogue as a way of dealing with the issues,” the bishops said.
They hoped that the BRE would help provide leadership and hope to the people of Western Province.
The bishops, who recognised the BRE’s efforts to dialogue prior to January 14, said the aftermath of the day brought new insights on the magnitude of the work which still needed to be done.
The bishops said they were not experts in law but believed that the actions of the founding fathers in negotiating and signing this agreement were aimed at fostering peace among all people and creating a unitary state.
“It is our hope and prayer that this can still be the same spirit motivating all parties to the discourse on the Barotseland Agreement of 1964. Time has perhaps come that this matter be brought to an amicable conclusion. Again we emphasise that dialogue be encouraged to analyse what issues are outstanding in the implementation of the agreement and a lasting solution agreed within the context of our modern times,” the bishops said.
They appealed to the activist groups – Linyungandambo, Barotse Freedom Movement, Movement for the Restoration of Barotseland and the Barotse Patriotic Front – to commit themselves to peaceful means of advocating their demands.
The prelates believed that the activists’ rights to organise and associate must be protected but that this also entailed them to respect the rights of other people who may not belong to their grouping or those with different views on the subject matter.
The bishops recognised the government’s duty to maintain law and order and protect life and property but noted that this should be exercised with due diligence.
“Good judgement of what state action can result into is extremely necessary. There are concerns around the heavy presence of armed police in Mongu before and after the incidents of 14th January. These concerns include the use of live bullets on the actual day, which resulted in deaths and gunshot injuries,” they said. “We have expressed these concerns to the Head of State and it is our hope that such extreme actions will not be used again to manage public order not only in Western Province but in any other part of our country. Insistence on negotiation and dialogue should always be the key factor.”
The bishops said at the bottom of all the unrest in Western Province lay a perception, real or imagined, that the province was marginalised in matters of development.
They acknowledged that Western Province was the poorest province in the country and asked the government to bring about development because much more still needed to be done.
“To our young people in the whole country and particularly those in Western Province, we feel for you and we understand that the challenges you face today can be a real source of losing hope. We appeal to you to use your youthfulness to exercise resilience even as you rightly continue to demand for a better place in our society. We also call upon all stakeholders from the government, church, NGOs, and donors, to do all they can to give hope to the young people,” the bishops said.
According to the bishops, all people had a duty to contribute to the sustenance of peace, healing and reconciliation by behaving in a responsible way, respectful of other people and their human rights.
They said the government should endeavour to be true custodians of people’s liberties in all its actions.
“In this vein, we appeal to Government to consider re-opening Radio Lyambai and allow it to operate. It is when we build ourselves as a society committed to mutual respect that we can ever hope for sustainable peace,” the bishops said. “As Catholic Bishops, we are guided by the spirit of the Second African Synod whose theme focused on Reconciliation, Justice, Peace and unity. Like the Synod Fathers’ hope for Africa, we pray and hope for a “New Pentecost” in Western Province where all parties will be reconciled and once again live in harmony. This will not however come by chance; there will be need for all parties to work towards this reconciliation.”
The bishops also offered their solidarity to the church in Western Province.
The pastoral statement was signed by Cardinal Merdado Mazombwe, Chipata Bishop George Lungu, Lusaka Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu, Mpika Bishop Ignatius Chama, Livingstone Bishop Raymond Mpezele, Mongu Bishop Paul Duffy, Monze Bishop Emilio Patriarca, Ndola Bishop Alick Banda, Solwezi Bishop Charles Kasonde, Kasama Apostolic Administrator Ignatius Mwebe, Mansa Apostolic Administrator Michael Merizzi, Bishop emeritus of Kasama James Spaita, Bishop emeritus of Mansa Aaron Chisha and Bishop emeritus of Ndola Noel O’Regan.
This follows their annual plenary meeting that was held at Lusaka’s Kapingila House from February 1 to 4.
And well-placed sources at State House revealed that Cardinal Mazombwe, Bishop Lungu and Bishop Kasonde met President Banda on Thursday last week where they presented their urgent concerns on the Barotseland issue.
Labels: BAROTSE FREEDOM MOVEMENT
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Fertiliser shortage hits Northern, Southern districts
By Joseph Mwenda
Mon 07 Feb. 2011, 04:00 CAT
TOP dressing fertiliser is in short supply in Mkushi, Serenje and other parts of Northern and Southern provinces, triggering increased prices for the commodity.
The Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) says it has received increased complaints from commercial and other unionised farmers over the shortage of both urea and basal fertiliser.
According to ZNFU, urea and basal fertiliser is now fetching K210,000 and K230,000 on the market respectively, from K180,000 and K210,000 per bag in December 2010 and January this year.
“Fertiliser shortages have continued affecting a number of farming districts. In Mkushi and Serenje, the deficit supply situation has resulted in rising prices for both urea and basal fertilisers,” said the farmers union.
It said the situation was worse in Northern Province, especially in Mpulungu, Mungwi, Mbala, Kasama and Mporokoso.
“Our members in Luwingu, Chinsali, Isoka and Nakonde have also called our offices to complain of the fertiliser shortage while similar complaints have also been received from other farming districts like Mazabuka in Southern Province,” it said.
ZNFU said the situation was worrying especially that the right time for applying the input was quickly running out.
Labels: FERTILIZER
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AVAP urges Zambians to be alert about rigging
By Patson Chilemba
Mon 07 Feb. 2011, 03:59 CAT
ZAMBIANS should be alert and ensure that the 2011 general elections are not rigged by the MMD government, says Bonnie Tembo.
In an interview, Tembo, who is Anti-Voter Apathy Project (AVAP) executive director, said he concurred with lawyer Dr Rodger Chongwe that President Banda’s government was preparing the minds of Zambians to reject the outcome of this year’s election results through its conduct.
He said people like information minister Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwaska and works and supply minister Mike Mulongoti should not defend the government against assertions of rigging.
Tembo said it was true that all the general elections which had been conducted from 1996 were rigged by the MMD government.
“I have a document which has got results which were coincidental in the 1996 elections for example. For instance, in Shiwang’andu and Isoka East, Frederick Chiluba had 5,949 votes, while Chama Chakomboka had 281 in both constituencies. The same applied for Akashambatwa Mbikusita Lewanika who had 63 votes in both constituencies,” Tembo said.
“Humphrey Mulemba had 100 in the same two constituencies. In Chipata-Central and Luangeni Chiluba had 7,720, Chama Chakomboka in those same two constituencies had 214, Mulemba 368, Lewanika 465, Dean Mung’omba 2,169.”
Tembo said in Malole and Lukashya constituencies Chiluba had 8,953, the late Chakomboka 681, Aka 82, Mulemba 290 and late Mung’omba 444.
“When you talk about rigging, is this not rigging? We must learn lessons from the 1996 elections,” he said.
Tembo said he hoped a person of integrity who could not be manipulated would be appointed Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) chairperson unlike the sad 1996 experience where someone was appointed chairperson three weeks before the elections.
“Zambians must be alert. All Zambians who want to see free and fair elections should monitor the election process,” said Tembo.
Labels: AVAP, BONNIE TEMBO
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COMMENT - 'grow the economy'- translation: let the foreign mining companies pillage Zambia's resources without the Zambian economy or people benefiting from it. The truth is that Zambia cannot develop or grow under this current neoliberal, oligarchy driven system.
Govt blames FNDP hiccups on high lending rates
By Mutale Kapekele
Mon 07 Feb. 2011, 04:00 CAT
THE government says high levels of lending rates and the limited availability of long-term finance were the major constraints to growth, particularly for small to medium-scale enterprises during the implementation period of the Fifth National Development Plan.
The country aspired to
grow the economy by seven per cent during the FNDP implementation period but only managed an average of six per cent with the exception of 2010 which recorded 7.1 per cent.
According to the executive summary of the Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP), the implementation of envisaged fiscal outlays also proved to be a challenge during the FNDP period, due to shortfalls in domestic revenues and grants from cooperating partners.
“Over the FNDP period, current expenditures were actually higher than domestically generated revenues. As a result, fiscal deficit averaged 1.9 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the period against the FNDP average target of 1.7 per cent,” the government reports.
“Domestic debt increased by 25.9 per cent to K10, 455.22 billion as at end of December 2009 from K7,720.42 billion at the beginning of the FNDP period. However, as a proportion of GDP, domestic debt fell from 20 per cent in 2006 to 16.2 per cent in 2009.”
The government states that the labour force increased by 10 per cent from 4.9 million in 2005 to 5.4 million in 2008 while total employment grew by 26.4 per cent to 5.2 million in 2008 from 4.1 million in 2005 with male employment in the formal sector accounting for 71 per cent compared to 29 per cent for females.
The government reports that the country’s current account deficit averaged 4.8 per cent of GDP compared to 11.3 per cent of GDP during the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and in 2009 it further narrowed to 3.2 per cent of GDP.
The government further states that the total national external debt increased by 16.1 per cent from US$2,014.4 million in 2006 to US$3,407.3 million at end 2009 “on account of a higher increase in private and parastatal debt of over 100 per cent from US $1, 084.0 million in 2006 to US $2,250.4 million in 2009 while the public debt increased by 24.4 per cent from US$930 million in 2006 to US$1, 156.9 million in 2009.”
The government states that the country’s per income increased from US$680 in 2006 to an estimated US$970 in 2009, only slightly below the lower middle-income threshold of US$995.
Labels: FNDP, LENDING RATES
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Fertiliser shortage hits Northern, Southern districts
By Joseph Mwenda
Mon 07 Feb. 2011, 04:00 CAT
TOP dressing fertiliser is in short supply in Mkushi, Serenje and other parts of Northern and Southern provinces, triggering increased prices for the commodity.
The Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) says it has received increased complaints from commercial and other unionised farmers over the shortage of both urea and basal fertiliser.
According to ZNFU, urea and basal fertiliser is now fetching K210,000 and K230,000 on the market respectively, from K180,000 and K210,000 per bag in December 2010 and January this year.
“Fertiliser shortages have continued affecting a number of farming districts. In Mkushi and Serenje, the deficit supply situation has resulted in rising prices for both urea and basal fertilisers,” said the farmers union.
It said the situation was worse in Northern Province, especially in Mpulungu, Mungwi, Mbala, Kasama and Mporokoso.
“Our members in Luwingu, Chinsali, Isoka and Nakonde have also called our offices to complain of the fertiliser shortage while similar complaints have also been received from other farming districts like Mazabuka in Southern Province,” it said.
ZNFU said the situation was worrying especially that the right time for applying the input was quickly running out.
Labels: FERTILIZER
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WikiLeaks: Egypt's Suleiman demonised Islamists
MARK HOSENBALL | LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - Feb 06 2011 16:47
Egypt's new vice-president, Omar Suleiman, has long sought to demonise the opposition Muslim Brotherhood in his contacts with skeptical US officials, leaked diplomatic cables show, raising questions whether he can act as an honest broker in the country's political crisis.
Egypt in crisis
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has come under extreme pressure from the Egyptian public to step down after nearly three decades in power. The situation continues to escalate with unrest spreading throughout the country.
US Embassy messages from the anti-secrecy WikiLeaks cache of 250 000 State Department documents, which Reuters independently reviewed, also report that the former intelligence chief accused the Brotherhood of spawning armed extremists and warned in 2008 that if Iran ever backed the banned Islamist group, Tehran would become "our enemy".
The disclosure came as Suleiman met on Sunday with opposition groups, including the officially banned Brotherhood, to explore ways to end Egypt's worst political crisis in decades.
Washington has been exploring options for speeding up President Hosni Mubarak's resignation, including a scenario that calls for turning over power to a transition government headed by Suleiman and backed by the military.
Mubarak, who had done without a vice-president for 30 years, hurriedly appointed the 74-year-old Suleiman as his deputy on January 29 as protesters demanded the autocratic ruler's ouster.
Suleiman privately voicing disdain for the Brotherhood will not surprise Egyptians, used to the Mubarak government's anti-Islamist stance. The comments could stoke suspicions, though, as he seeks to draw the long-banned movement into a broad dialogue on reform in response to mass protests.
The clear implication in the cache of State Department cables was that US officials were skeptical of Suleiman's effort to depict the Brotherhood as "the bogey man".
Mubarak's government had long cited the Islamist threat to justify its years of authoritarian rule. A more pressing concern for Washington and its ally Israel, however, is what happens to the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and the Jewish state if the Brotherhood gains political clout in the post-Mubarak era.
"We decline to comment on any individual classified cable," US State Department spokesperson PJ Crowley said when asked about the documents seen by Reuters.
Accusations of extremism
In a cable dated February 15 2006, then-ambassador Francis Ricciardone reported that Suleiman had "asserted that the MB [Muslim Brotherhood] had spawned '11 different Islamist extremist organisations,' most notably the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and the Gama'a Islamiya [Islamic Group]."
Egyptian security forces crushed groups that targeted tourists, Christians, government ministers and other officials in a 1990s campaign for a purist Islamic state, and has kept a tight lid on them since.
The Brotherhood once had a secret paramilitary section, but it now says it is committed to promoting its policies through peaceful, democratic means. The government has been unable to prove any serious act of violence orchestrated by the movement's leadership for more than 50 years.
Mubarak, in an ABC interview on Thursday, blamed the Brotherhood for violence that erupted on Wednesday during protests in Cairo's central Tahrir Square. Independent witnesses said Mubarak supporters launched the attacks.
Suleiman, then Mubarak's top spymaster, was speaking to FBI director Robert Mueller, who was visiting Cairo in February 2006, the 2006 cable says.
The cable, which uses the spelling Soliman, said he had told Mueller that the Brotherhood was "neither a religious organisation, nor a social organization, nor a political party, but a combination of all three".
The cable went on: "The principal danger, in Soliman's view, was the group's exploitation of religion to influence and mobilise the public."
"Soliman termed the MB's recent success in the parliamentary elections as 'unfortunate', adding his view that although the group was technically illegal, existing Egyptian laws were insufficient to keep the MB in check."
The cable was referring to parliamentary elections in November and December of 2005 in which the Brotherhood made strong gains, although Mubarak's National Democratic Party kept a big majority.
Iranian 'threat'
In a cable dated January 2 2008, Ricciardone reported Suleiman as saying that Iran remained "a significant threat to Egypt".
Successive US administrations have seen Mubarak's government as a bulwark against Iran's influence in the Arab world, a perception the Egyptian leader has used to his benefit in securing billions of dollars in military aid.
"Iran is supporting Jihad and spoiling peace, and has supported extremists in Egypt previously. If they were to support the Muslim Brotherhood this would make them 'our enemy'," the ambassador reported Suleiman as saying.
In a cable dated October 25 2007, Ricciardone said Suleiman "takes an especially hard line on Tehran" and frequently refers to the Iranians as "devils".
The cables suggest US officials have consistently responded skeptically to the Egyptian government's dire warnings about the Brotherhood.
In a November 29 2005, cable to Mueller before his visit, Ricciardone said Egyptian authorities "have a long history of threatening us with the MB bogeyman".
"Your counterparts may try to suggest that [then President George Bush's] insistence on greater democracy in Egypt is somehow responsible for the MB's electoral success," he wrote. "You should push back that, on the contrary, the MB's rise signals the need for greater democracy and transparency in government."
"The images of intimidation and fraud that have emerged from the recent elections favour the extremists both we and the Egyptian government oppose. The best way to counter narrow-minded Islamist politics is to open the system."
In a follow up cable on January 29 2006, Ricciardone seemed to foreshadow the current unrest when he wrote to Mueller: "We do not accept the proposition that Egypt's only choices are a slow-to-reform authoritarian regime or an Islamist extremist one; nor do we see greater democracy in Egypt as leading necessarily to a government under the MB." - Reuters
Labels: EGYPT, HOSNY MUBARAK, WIKILEAKS
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US smuggles hostile clause into Chiadzwa diamond deal
Saturday, 05 February 2011 23:42 Top Stories
By Tafadzwa Chiremba
THE United States is alleged to have smuggled a hostile clause into a draft decision that granted Zimbabwe the greenlight to export its diamonds mined at Chiadzwa.
It is understood that the clause — 3(b) of the draft decision recently circulated by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) outgoing chairman Mr Boaz Hirsch — was politically charged to introduce stringent measures in Zimbabwe’s bid to sell its diamonds.
Observers feel that the clause subjects Zimbabwe to standards which no other country in the Kimberley Process is subjected to.
KPCS last month finally granted the country the latitude to sell its diamonds, including its stockpile, following a Draft Administrative Decision that was circulated by Mr Hirsch revealing that Zimbabwe had made “significant progress” in moving towards full compliance with KPCS.
“Plenary recognises that the Review Mission and KP monitor have confirmed the compliance with KP minimum standards of certain mining operations (that is Mbada Diamonds and Marange Resources).
“Plenary endorses exports of current production with immediate effect from the compliant mining operations,” read part of the circular by Mr Hirsch.
Sources close to the Brussels KP meeting that culminated in the Draft Administrative Decision revealed that the United States engineered the “politically charged and vague” clause which states that occurrence of violence, lawlessness and harassment would trigger suspension of Chiadzwa diamonds from exports.
Part of the clause read: “The KP Plenary calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to actively undertake all commitments so that the provision of security measures and internal controls in Marange should ensure the prevention of lawlessness and violence, particularly when involving Government entities, and to ensure the gradual demilitarisation and the reduction of smuggling in/from Marange.”
Zimbabwe has since challenged the clause, which has come to be known as the “violence clause”. -The Sunday Mail
Labels: CHIADZWA
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Cable reveals Biti's hand in Zimbabwe sanctions
By: Samantha Chidzero
Posted: Sunday, February 6, 2011 9:47 am
British Foreign Office Minister Henry Bellingham meeting Tendai Biti, Minister of Finance Zimbabwe in London, 29 September 2010. THE Movement for Democratic Change party has been working with the European Union in the maintenance and partial lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe, despite claims by that party that they have no control of decisions made in Brussels over Zimbabwe.
A confidential cable released on Friday by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks shows that MDC-T secretary general Tendai Biti has been making recommendations to the EU over who should, and who should not, remain on the sanctions list.
Despite media remarks by Biti that sanctions were hurting the economy and should be lifted, he has been advocating their "partial lifting".
The confidential memo released on Friday entitled "SOMALIA/ZIMBABWE/SOUTH AFRICA: UK MINISTERS ON RESOURCES, SANCTIONS, AND RELATIONS" quotes Biti suggesting the "partial lifting" of sanctions against eight parastatals and at least one individual and informing the EU of dead persons on the sanctions list.
Article continues below
The cable, which originated from the US embassy in London, in January 2010 says the EU "decided to support ... a minimal lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe by delisting the eight parastatals requested by Finance Minister Tendai Biti."
The memo also revealed that Biti was instrumental in having Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa removed from the list: "UK ministers agreed to support within the EU the de-listing of (1) the eight parastatals requested by Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Tendai Biti, (2) any persons on the list who have died, (3) a Lebanese national (NFI), and (4) former ZANU-PF supporter Dr. Dumiso Dabengwa."
The confidential diplomatic dispatch put paid to claims that MDC-T has no control over the sanctions policy in Brussels.
It also shows the duplicity of the MDC-T within the inclusive Government.
Ironically, Biti's MDC-T party has been involved in the EU-Zimbabwe political dialogue team which seeks to normalise relations (including lifting of Art. 96 of the Cotonou Agreement and sanctions) alongside progress in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement.
A separate confidential cable released last week revealed that MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is also the prime minister in the inclusive Government, used a state visit to the US to plot regime change in Zimbabwe.
Last year the MDC-T said it has no control in the matter of sanctions after President Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party charged that the former opposition party had a hand in setting the sanctions and therefore should be held responsible for removing them.
Zanu-PF has maintained that it will not give in to anymore MDC-T demands as it was not playing its role in the lifting of sanctions.
Labels: EU, SANCTIONS, TENDAI BITI, TREASON, WIKILEAKS
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Zim sanctions illegal, says some EU members
By: Philip Murombedzi
Posted: Sunday, February 6, 2011 10:26 am
THREE confidential diplomatic cables released at the weekend by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks reveal serious divisions within the European Union over legality of sanctions against Zimbabwe. President Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party have always maintained that sanctions against Zimbabwe lacked legal value as they were not backed by a United Nations resolution.
The secret dispatch reveals that Germany has always been questioning the legality of the measures, with the UK pushing for their imposition without the appropriate UN resolution.
Greece, Spain and Italy are also unsupportive of the measures as they view them as largely illegal.
One of the cables revealed that "there has been some opposition to additional sanctions amongst EU partners".
"Germany continues to question the legality of some of the instruments, and some of the Southern European states (like Greece, Spain, and Italy) have their 'usual existential problems with sanctions'."
Under Chapter VII of the Charter, the Security Council can take enforcement measures to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such measures range from economic and/or other sanctions not involving the use of armed force to international military action.
Britain has been on a collision course over the sanctions with these four countries and the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown found it very difficult to get his way over the sanctions issue.
Non-EU countries like Russia and China have also expressed their disdain for the measures saying the situation in Zimbabwe does not pose a threat to international peace and security.
Brown tried and failed, to get the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe. This means that the measures imposed by the EU and US have remained illegal under international law.
Russia and China used their veto power within the UNSC to block any sanctions against Zimbabwe.
One of the cables reveals that Brown had his "nose bloodied" over the veto and turned to the EU to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe.
UNDERESTIMATED EU OPINION
Another cable leaked on Friday last week also showed that the UK underestimated China's opinion on the situation in Zimbabwe.
Then British minister for Africa, Lord Malloch-Brown thought China would vote against Zimbabwe or at least abstain from a crucial vote on Zimbabwe.
Malloch-Brown was quoted saying: "China will likely do the right thing because it does not want another human rights fight on its hands before the Olympics."
"Russia, however, was more problematic. President Medevev agreed to the G-8 Summit statement that implied sanctions, but seemed to walk back from that in statements he made today," read the cable.
China and Russia later used their veto powers to block the resolution to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe.
The sanctions have, therefore, remained illegal.
EU countries questioned the legality of economic sanctions against Zimbabwe without going through the United Nations. From The Telegraph (UK):
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2008/07/08LONDON1853.html
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SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE: UK LOOKS FOR WAY FORWARD, TURNS TO EU
FOR SANCTIONS
Classified By: Political Counselor Richard Mills, reasons 1.4(b/d).
¶1. (C/NF) The Foreign Office continues to treat the situation in Zimbabwe as a crisis. After the July 11 defeat of the U.S. draft UNSCR on Zimbabwe, FCO Zimbabwe Team Leader Ben Llewellyn-Jones said July 14 HMG will "give Zimbabwe a break in the Security Council for a little while," especially since Prime Minister Brown feels as though "his nose has been bloodied" by the Russians. Instead, he said, HMG will pursue EU sanctions. The UK is aiming for three measures: add an additional 36 or 37 individuals to the current asset freeze and travel ban; sanction approximately ten companies; and limit the exceptions that allow Mugabe and others in the regime to travel to the EU, as Mugabe did for the Lisbon Summit and the UN World Food Summit in Rome. The FCO has requested, to the extent possible, the USG provide names and details of companies already subject to U.S. sanctions. Embassy London requests the Department consider sharing company names and details with HMG to bolster the UK's argument for EU sanctions.
¶2. (C/NF) Llewellyn-Jones said there has been some opposition to additional sanctions amongst EU partners. Germany continues to question the legality of some of the instruments, and some of the Southern European states (like Greece, Spain, and Italy) have their "usual existential problems with sanctions." He said the U.S. could be helpful in two ways with specific groups of European countries. He thought a general demarche to the entire EU would be counterproductive. First, he suggested, the USG could approach UNSC member states in Europe to encourage them to weigh in the EU to push forward tougher EU measures. Second, he said, the USG could approach Eastern European states (like Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungry) to encourage them to support EU sanctions. Llewellyn-Jones said that Foreign Secretary Miliband thought that Russia's veto in the Security Council could be useful in engaging these states. Miliband's view was that these states could be encouraged to support EU sanctions "as advocates of democracy, unlike Russia." Miliband also specifically suggested that engaging Georgia to reinforce democracy would be fruitful. Llewellyn-Jones said HMG would approach Germany and the Southern European states separately.
¶3. (C/NF) Llewellyn-Jones also said Miliband had asked Her Majesty's Treasury to look into financial flows of funding to the regime to see what pressure, if any, could be applied that way. Visit London's Classified Website: XXXXXXXXXXXX TUTTLE
SOMALIA/ZIMBABWE/SOUTH AFRICA: UK MINISTERS ON RESOURCES, SANCTIONS, AND RELATIONS
Passed to the Telegraph by WikiLeaks 9:03PM GMT 04 Feb 2011
Ref ID: 10LONDON132
Date: 1/21/2010 13:46
Origin: Embassy London
Classification: CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Destination: 10LONDON89
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Tags: PREL,ETTC,PGOV,SO,ZI,SF,ZU,XW,UK
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LONDON 000132 SIPDIS NOFORN DEPARTMENT FOR AF/FO, AF/E, AND AF/S E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/21/2020 TAGS: PREL, ETTC, PGOV, SO, ZI, SF, ZU, XW, UK
SUBJECT: SOMALIA/ZIMBABWE/SOUTH AFRICA: UK MINISTERS ON RESOURCES, SANCTIONS, AND RELATIONS
REF: LONDON 89 Classified By: Political Counselor Robin Quinville, reasons 1.4 (b/d).
1.(C/NF) Summary. UK ministers agreed new resources for the implementation of its Somalia policy at a January 18 meeting of the cabinet sub-committee on Africa. They also decided to support, within the EU, a minimal lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe by delisting the eight parastatals requested by Finance Minister Tendai Biti as well as a few individuals
-- a position initial agreed with EU partners in Brussels on January 21. Ministers also agreed that the UK's priorities for South Africa are to see it play a more effective role in Africa and to have South Africa's international agenda more aligned with the UK's. End summary.
Somalia: More Resources Approved --------------------------------
2.(C/NF) At a January 18 meeting of the sub-cabinet committee on Africa, UK ministers agreed reftel proposal to put more resources to its Somalia policy, Cabinet Office Senior Africa Advisor Paul Godrey and Africa Advisor Gareth Hughes told Poloff January 21. Godfrey said the UK's new total annual bilateral support to Somalia will be almost GBP 35 million (USD 56 million): GBP 23 million (USD 36.8 million) split evenly between humanitarian and development assistance; GBP 1.5 million (USD 2.4 million) for counter-terrorism; GBP 1.2 million (USD 1.92) in UK Navy operations; and GBP 9 million (USD 14.4 million) in conflict prevention funding. Ministers also agreed that if the international community puts additional resources to development assistance and agrees a comprehensive approach to Somalia, the UK would be willing to increase its development funding. Ministers also want to see that funding is spent in such a way that it has a tangible impact on the ground. Following the sub-cabinet committee meeting, the UK plans to raise Somalia and its development support from partners with various members of the international community, including the USG. Additionally, the UK plans to lobby hard within the EU to make Somalia a priority. Godfrey said the UK is already getting some traction on its EU lobbying efforts with EU High Representative Cathy Ashton.
3.(C/NF) Godfrey confirmed that the UK will open a "shadow embassy" for Somalia in Nairobi, hopefully during the summer of 2010.
Zimbabwe: Minimal Lifting of EU Sanctions -----------------------------------------
4.(C/NF) Godfrey said after "tortuous" discussions of the EU's sanctions on Zimbabwe, UK ministers agreed to support within the EU the de-listing of (1) the eight parastatals requested by Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Tendai Biti, (2) any persons on the list who has died, (3) a Lebanese national (NFI), and (4) former ZANU-PF supporter Dr. Dumiso Dabengwa. Godfrey said the EU already agreed initial consensus on this position at a meeting in Brussels on January 20. Godfrey said the sanctions are scheduled to be renewed for 12 months on February 20. Godfrey explained that UK ministers agreed that there had been some economic progress, but that there had been no real political concessions by ZANU-PF. ZANU-PF still controls the main levers of power, and any progress to date is still reversible.
South Africa: Needs to Be More Effective in AF, Better International Partner ---------------------------------------------
--
5.(C/NF) Godfrey said that in a brief discussion of the UK's relations with South Africa in the run-up to President Zuma's March state visit to the UK and the 2010 World Cup, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that the UK's priorities with South Africa are having it play a more effective role in Africa and making South Africa more aligned with the UK's international agenda. Godfrey said the latter objective became clear to Miliband after South Africa's difficult rotation on the UNSC and its "awkward squad" role at LONDON 00000132 002 OF 002 Copenhagen. Miliband said there is the sense that South Africa is a "moral arbiter" for the G-77 and African countries, and it is important to bring them on the UK's side. Visit London's Classified Website: XXXXXXXXXXXX ed_Kingdom SUSMAN
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2008/07/08LONDON1823.html
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2018
TAGS: PREL PHUM UNSC ZI UK
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE: UK OPTIMISTIC ON UNSC RESOLUTION
REF: SECSTATE 73173
Classified By: Political Counselor Richard Mills, reasons 1.4 (b/d).
¶1. (C) Per reftel, the Charge spoke on July 9 with FCO Minister for Africa Lord Malloch-Brown, who was optimistic there would be sufficient votes to pass the current UNSC draft resolution on Zimbabwe. Malloch-Brown suggested progress had been made with Moscow and Beijing in New York and at the G-8 Summit in Japan. In his view, China will likely do the right thing because it does not want another human rights fight on its hands before the Olympics. Russia, however, was more problematic. President Medevev agreed to the G-8 Summit statement that implied sanctions, but seemed to walk back from that in statements he made today. FCO Zimbabwe Desk Ben Llewellyn-Jones told us that the PM,s Foreign Policy Advisor, Simon MacDonald, called his Russian counterpart to lobby in favor of the resolution, but did not receive any assurances. When directly asked, the Russians did not say if they would veto. Given the current frosty UK-Russia relations, Malloch-Brown said USG engagement with the Russians might be more effective. He also questioned if Moscow would really want to use its veto on this issue.
¶2. (C) Malloch-Brown said Ouagadougou is "on our side" from what the UK Embassy in Burkina Faso is reporting, but that the Zimbabwean Foreign Minister's visit will test the depth of that commitment. On Libya, Malloch-Brown said that UK Foreign Secretary Miliband had telephoned the Libyan Foreign Minister, who was ambiguous but promised to be as supportive as possible. Visit London's Classified Website:XXXXXXXXXXXX LeBaron
Labels: EU, GORDON BROWN, SANCTIONS, WIKILEAKS CABLES, ZDERA
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COMMENT - The original cable
can be found here.
Cable reveals Biti's hand in Zimbabwe sanctions
By: Samantha Chidzero
Posted: Sunday, February 6, 2011 9:47 am
THE Movement for Democratic Change party has been working with the European Union in the maintenance and partial lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe, despite claims by that party that they have no control of decisions made in Brussels over Zimbabwe.
A confidential cable released on Friday by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks shows that MDC-T secretary general Tendai Biti has been making recommendations to the EU over who should, and who should not, remain on the sanctions list.
Despite media remarks by Biti that sanctions were hurting the economy and should be lifted, he has been advocating their "partial lifting".
The confidential memo released on Friday entitled "" quotes Biti suggesting the "partial lifting" of sanctions against eight parastatals and at least one individual and informing the EU of dead persons on the sanctions list.
The cable, which originated from the US embassy in London, in January 2010 says the EU "decided to support ... a minimal lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe by delisting the eight parastatals requested by Finance Minister Tendai Biti."
The memo also revealed that Biti was instrumental in having Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa removed from the list: "UK ministers agreed to support within the EU the de-listing of (1) the eight parastatals requested by Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Tendai Biti, (2) any persons on the list who have died, (3) a Lebanese national (NFI), and (4) former ZANU-PF supporter Dr. Dumiso Dabengwa."
The confidential diplomatic dispatch put paid to claims that MDC-T has no control over the sanctions policy in Brussels.
It also shows the duplicity of the MDC-T within the inclusive Government.
Ironically, Biti's MDC-T party has been involved in the EU-Zimbabwe political dialogue team which seeks to normalise relations (including lifting of Art. 96 of the Cotonou Agreement and sanctions) alongside progress in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement.
A separate confidential cable released last week revealed that MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is also the prime minister in the inclusive Government, used a state visit to the US to plot regime change in Zimbabwe.
Last year the MDC-T said it has no control in the matter of sanctions after President Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party charged that the former opposition party had a hand in setting the sanctions and therefore should be held responsible for removing them.
Zanu-PF has maintained that it will not give in to anymore MDC-T demands as it was not playing its role in the lifting of sanctions.
Labels: EU, SANCTIONS, TENDAI BITI, TREASON, WIKILEAKS, ZDERA
Read more...
Zim sanctions illegal, says some EU members
By: Philip Murombedzi
Posted: Sunday, February 6, 2011 10:26 am
THREE confidential diplomatic cables released at the weekend by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks reveal serious divisions within the European Union over legality of sanctions against Zimbabwe.
President Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party have always maintained that sanctions against Zimbabwe lacked legal value as they were not backed by a United Nations resolution.
The secret dispatch reveals that Germany has always been questioning the legality of the measures, with the UK pushing for their imposition without the appropriate UN resolution.
Greece, Spain and Italy are also unsupportive of the measures as they view them as largely illegal.
One of the cables revealed that "there has been some opposition to additional sanctions amongst EU partners".
"Germany continues to question the legality of some of the instruments, and some of the Southern European states (like Greece, Spain, and Italy) have their 'usual existential problems with sanctions'."
Article continues below
Under Chapter VII of the Charter, the Security Council can take enforcement measures to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such measures range from economic and/or other sanctions not involving the use of armed force to international military action.
Britain has been on a collision course over the sanctions with these four countries and the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown found it very difficult to get his way over the sanctions issue.
Non-EU countries like Russia and China have also expressed their disdain for the measures saying the situation in Zimbabwe does not pose a threat to international peace and security.
Brown tried and failed, to get the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe. This means that the measures imposed by the EU and US have remained illegal under international law.
Russia and China used their veto power within the UNSC to block any sanctions against Zimbabwe.
One of the cables reveals that Brown had his "nose bloodied" over the veto and turned to the EU to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe.
UNDERESTIMATED EU OPINION
Another cable leaked on Friday last week also showed that the UK underestimated China's opinion on the situation in Zimbabwe.
Then British minister for Africa, Lord Malloch-Brown thought China would vote against Zimbabwe or at least abstain from a crucial vote on Zimbabwe.
Malloch-Brown was quoted saying: "China will likely do the right thing because it does not want another human rights fight on its hands before the Olympics."
"Russia, however, was more problematic. President Medevev agreed to the G-8 Summit statement that implied sanctions, but seemed to walk back from that in statements he made today," read the cable.
China and Russia later used their veto powers to block the resolution to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe.
The sanctions have, therefore, remained illegal.
Labels: EU, MARK MALLOCH-BROWN, SANCTIONS
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Chiluba should never be allowed to forget that he is a thief
By The Post
Sun 06 Feb. 2011, 04:00 CAT
A society that does not uphold the highest standards of morality is on a slippery slope to self-destruction.
Civilisation, as we know it, can only be sustained if societies observe basic rules and regulations that make it possible for people to live together. A lawless society can never support effective development. And as we have consistently stated, the individual does best in a strong and decent community of people with principles and standards and common aims and values. And this is rooted in a straightforward view of society.
We all must strive to maintain the morality of our society. This means that there must be shame when wrong things are done either by ourselves or other members of society. A society that loses a sense of shame and shock when immoral activity overruns it is nothing less than an animal farm where rules may not be respected by the dwellers.
Again, as we have stated before, the best government in the world, the best parliament and the best president, cannot achieve much on their own. And it would also be wrong to expect a general remedy from them only. Freedom and democracy include participation and therefore responsibility from all of us.
When something has gone wrong, we should all rise to condemn it. And wrongdoers should not be allowed to go scot-free – they should be punished. This is not hatred for the individual. Even in God’s scheme of things, there is a place for the punishment of wrongdoing. We are told of purgatory and hell. We are told that God sends people to these places. For what? For correction and punishment. Can it be said that God is hateful or unfair in doing so?
There is need for us as a nation to insist on the firm and clear implementation of the laws that we have made for ourselves. Thieves and all sorts of corrupt elements need to be punished in order to protect society. We should be ashamed that we have a government that seems to side with thieves and corrupt elements. A government that fails to stand on the side of the people when grave injustices are committed sees no contradiction in championing the causes of thieves.
This is what the suspension of Frederick Chiluba’s UK lawyer underscores. Another society which did not even suffer the financial loss that we suffered is not prepared to accept wrongdoing in its midst. A lawyer who assisted Chiluba and his tandem of thieves to steal from the Zambian people has been made to face the temerity of his own actions. And this is not the first lawyer connected to Chiluba to be dealt with in this way in the UK. Last year, we reported that another lawyer who facilitated Chiluba’s plunder was barred from practising law in the UK for the rest of his life. This is how seriously the UK fraternity of lawyers takes the issue of integrity and honesty in its midst.
We should be ashamed as a nation that when our courts and our government are falling over themselves to launder and sanitise these thieves, those who facilitated their crimes are facing punishment many thousands of kilometres away. What is wrong with us? How do we hope to develop if we are going to allow people that we entrust the responsibility to run affairs of state on our behalf to steal and get away without punishment? We can see that today, Chiluba even has the boldness to demand assets that he acquired criminally which were forfeited to the state to be returned to him. This is what we have observed in the Tedworth case that we have been reporting on. Chiluba feels so confident that today he can demand these things. If what he was doing in buying those properties was legal, why did he have to go and register a company in Panama, a well-known tax haven where people who have got illicitly acquired wealth like to hide it? And why didn’t he do it directly in his own name? What was shameful about buying property? But this is not the point. The point is today, we have a government that has no shame in encouraging Chiluba to behave in the way that he is behaving. A shameless thief, a person who has been found to have misappropriated millions of dollars of our people’s money, can stand and demand the proceeds of his crimes.
What is even more worrying is our government’s complicity in Chiluba’s crimes. The Zambian government gets a favourable judgment in a matter it had taken to the London High Court requiring Chiluba to pay back over US $45 million to the Zambian people and this government conspires to ensure that even this is not paid back. The government knows that even the house Chiluba lives in today is a proceed of his crimes against the people. And yet they are not prepared to recover that property.
Whilst all this is happening in our country, our friends in the United Kingdom are saying no to this kind of impunity. They are punishing their own people for the crimes they assisted to be committed against our people. What more can one ask for in terms of international solidarity? What more can one expect from fellow human beings than to feel our pain in their own chests and deal with those who abuse us?
We should be ashamed that we have a government that is prepared to protect a thief and refuse to recover what he has stolen. This is the same government that feels no shame to go and line up at DFID asking the British people to give us aid. How much more shameless can we be as a people? We allow people that we employ to run our affairs to steal from us. Having stolen from us, we also allow them to keep their loot and then go to the international community to beg for aid. Worse still, we allow this situation and then wake up and go to international financiers to borrow money which our children and their children’s children will have to pay back. Our country’s debt, we are told, is now approaching US $4 billion. And it’s not very long ago that we were battling to service a debt of US $7 billion that was created over 27 years. In less than three years, we are talking of a debt burden of close to US $4 billion when we just recently had a complete debt write-off. And this is not a debt write-off that was given to us too easily. Many people in our country and abroad had to spend sleepless nights lobbying and literally begging those that we owed money to forgive our debt. Today, we have a government that sees no contradiction in protecting corruption whilst increasing the country’s debt burden. This is a government that feels no pity for the vast majority of our people who are living in frightening poverty. It is these people that are paying the highest portion of the tax that corruption is on a people. They expect us to continue to underwrite their corruption. We should pay for their greed and vanity.
It is said that people get a government that they deserve. We say this because it is us, the ordinary people, who should feel the revulsion of these contradictions that are being foisted on us. It is us who can say no to this nonsense. Is this the government we deserve?
Until we begin to demand accountability from our leaders in ways that make it clear to them that we expect no less, they will continue to overlook the interests of the majority. We will be looking at other nations longingly and wishing that the accountability that they get from their leaders could be brought to our country. But this won’t happen on its own; we have to fight for what is ours. We have to demand it. And it is our duty to create such accountability among our leaders in our country. If we don’t do it, no one else will do it for us. Not even the most strict donor conditionalities on aid will stop them from being corrupt and getting away with impunity.
Our friends in the United Kingdom have shown us that they will not excuse abuse of their system to assist thieves. We need to demand such a standard, if not higher, for ourselves. Chiluba went about accusing the UK government of being imperialistic because of the case against him in that country. But today we can see that long after his friends here buried our people’s demands for justice against him, the people of the United Kingdom, especially those in the legal profession, are still extracting some justice for our people. We should never grow tired of demanding justice and fighting evil. Chiluba should never be allowed to forget that he is a thief.
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Labels: CORRUPTION, COURTS, FREDERICK CHILUBA
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Another UK lawyer loses licence over Chiluba’s thefts
By George Chellah and Chibaula Silwamba
Sun 06 Feb. 2011, 04:01 CAT
FREDERICK Chiluba’s syndicate lawyer Mohamed Iqbal Meer’s practising licence has been suspended for three years because of his dealings involving the stolen Zambian government money. This is according to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal findings and decision, which have been filed with the Law Society.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority, who were the applicants in the matter, were represented by David Burton while Mohamed Iqbal Meer of Meer Care and Desai was represented by David Morgan of RadcliffesLeBrasseur.
Meer’s firm was used to launder money stolen from the Zambian government by former president Chiluba’s (left) syndicate.
The tribunal heard that Meer sent 125,000 pounds to a Swiss outfitter who made suits and shoes for Chiluba.
He paid 50,000 pounds for the education of Chiluba’s children using the Zambian government’s money. Meer also supplied Chiluba with bundles of cash when he visited London and assisted him to build up a property portfolio in Brussels.
Below is the Tribunal’s finding and decision
Allegations
The allegations against the respondent were that he had:
1. Contrary to the provisions of Rule 1 of the Solicitors Practice Rules 1990 compromised or impaired or had been likely so to do, either or both of the following:
(i) his independence or integrity; (ii) his good repute or that of the solicitors’ profession.
The particulars were that he had: (a) permitted money to pass into and out of his client account when there had been no underlying legal transactions or the provision of legal services and where he had merely been acting as a conduit to receive and pass on/return monies to clients or third parties. “(b) failed to be alert to the very substantial sums of money passing through client account and the circumstances relating to their distribution which should have put him on inquiry as to their authenticity or legitimacy. (c) failed to investigate or to adequately consider the possibility that his firm had been utilized to facilitate money-laundering or other illegal activity. It was alleged that the responded had been grossly reckless.
2. Contrary to Note (ix) to Rule 15 of the Solicitors’ accounts Rules 1998 failed to exercise caution when asked to provide banking facilities through his client account.
Factual Background
The respondent, born in 1940, was admitted as a solicitor on the 1 December 1987. His name remains on the Roll of Solicitors.
At all material times the respondent had been carrying on practice as Meer Care & Desai from 97-99 Park Street, London W1K 7HA.
The Attorney General of Zambia had brought proceedings in the Chancery Division of the High Court in London seeking the recovery of monies. Those monies had been misappropriated during the presidency of Dr Chiluba and had been partly laundered through London bank accounts operated by the respondent’s firm and that of another firm of London solicitors.
The two firms had been the first and second defendants in those proceedings together with 18 other defendants. The trial of that action had taken place between 31 October 2006 and 27 February 2007 with judgment being handed down on 4th May 2007. The trial had been heard in private so that criminal proceedings in Zambia against Dr Chiluba and others would not be prejudiced.
The High Court Judge, Mr Justice Peter Smith, had found that the respondent had dishonestly assisted in the removal of money from the Republic of Zambia. The Court of Appeal had allowed the respondent’s appeal against the finding of dishonesty against him but otherwise the High Court judgment had been undisturbed.
A report, dated 18 August 2006, and a Supplementary Report of 26 January 2007 by Grant Thornton UK LLP, instructed as joint expert, and presented to the Court as agreed expert evidence, had traced monies passing through the respondent’s client account back to the Zambian Ministry of Finance. That expert forensic accountancy evidence had not been disputed by the respondent in the court proceedings. The total sum paid from Zamtrop, an account at Zanaco – a branch of the Zambia National Commercial Bank in London, to the respondent’s client account, as detailed in the Supplementary Report, had been $6,401,020.17.
The respondent had operated office and client accounts from National Westminster Bank Plc in North Audley Street, London. As at the date of the Law Society’s Forensic Investigation Report (the Report) 17 October 2003, the firm had one office account and client accounts in Pounds Sterling, US Dollar, Australian Dollar, Euro and South African Rand.
Persons and Bodies relevant to the proceedings
Zanaco – Zambia National Commercial Bank – a Zambian government owned bank. It had a London branch from which the respondent received payments into his client account.
Zamtrop – the name given to an account at Zanaco in London – monies had been paid into that account from Zambia and then paid into the Respondent’s client account.
ZIS – Zambia Intelligence Services – the Zamtrop account had been opened and/or maintained for the benefit of that organization.
AFS – Access Financial Services – a company for which the respondent had acted. It had been described in a letter of 20 December 2002 to the Law Society as “a financial institution incorporated in Zambia and duly registered and regulated by the Reserve Bank of Zambia (Central Bank) and authorized by the Zambian Government to act as a financial institution in Zambia”. It had acted for corporate and individual clients and for the ZIS and it had introduced many of its clients to the respondent. The respondent had described in his letter of 17 April 2003 how he had made payments on behalf of clients of AFS. When monies had been transferred from the Zamtrop account they had been credited to client ledgers in the name of AFS, said by the respondent to be “for ZIS”.
Faustin Kabwe – AFS chief executive officer and a director of AFS. He had held the same position for Access Leasing Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of AFS. He had been a long standing client of the respondent. He had informed the respondent when to expect credits from the Zamtrop account and had given instructions for the money to be distributed. On 24 November 2004 the Attorney General of Zambia had obtained a worldwide freezing injunction against Mr Kabwe (and others) in his capacity as a defendant in civil proceedings brought by the Attorney General of Zambia.
Irene Kabwe – Faustin Kabwe’s wife and 55 per cent shareholder in AFS; she and their children had resided in USA (New York) and she had also been a defendant in the same civil proceedings brought by the Attorney General of Zambia.
Mr Xavier Chungu – Director General of the Office of the President of Zambia during the presidency of Dr Frederick Chiluba. He had been a joint and then a sole signatory to the Zamtrop account. The respondent had met him after Mr Kabwe had made an introduction. No attendance note had been kept of the meeting. He had also been a defendant in the same civil proceedings brought by the Attorney General of Zambia.
Aaron Chungu – Director of AFS with Mr Kabwe and had given instructions with him to the respondent as to how money was to be distributed. He had also been a defendant in the same civil proceedings brought by the Attorney General of Zambia.
Francis Kaunda – Chairman of AFS and a defendant in the same civil proceedings brought by the Attorney General of Zambia.
In order to investigate and establish the facts, on 2 April 2003, the respondent had been interviewed by Mr Uddin and Mr Fletcher, investigation officers employed by the Law Society. Prior to that on 21 and 22 August 2002, the respondent had had discussions with Mr Uddin.
Access Financial Services (AFS) and Mr Faustin Kabwe had both been long standing clients of the respondent. Mr Kabwe had been the chief executive officer of AFS and its majority shareholder. He had controlled AFS. The chairman of AFS had been Mr Francis Kaunda and AFS had worked for the Zambian Government. During the discussions in August 2002, the respondent had stated to Mr Uddin that monies had been paid into and out of the firm’s client account in circumstances where there had been no underlying legal transaction and where the firm had been effectively providing banking facilities to AFS and/or Mr Kabwe.
The respondent had stated that the firm had not received specified sums of money for specified purposes but had received and transmitted monies as instructed by Mr Kabwe. The firm had not known, at any time, what sums were going to be credited to its client account, only that sums were to be credited and that Mr Kabwe had complete discretion as to what was to be done with such monies. Monies had been sent out of and back into Zambia via the firm’s client account.
The respondent had explained to Mr Uddin that he had not been required to apply legal skills because the monies had not been processed as part of the provision of a legal service but he had been providing what the respondent had described as a “secondary services”. While often monies from Zambia would be remitted back to Zambia, sometimes monies would be disbursed, on instructions, to various recipients.
The respondent had also explained, when giving evidence in the court proceedings, that he had had a long relationship with Mr Kabwe, who had introduced clients to the firm. In April 1995, Mr Kabwe had made contact with the respondent in London and had informed him that he was setting up a new company called Access Financial Services Ltd, the purpose of which would be to provide financial services to businesses in Zambia. Mr Kabwe had wanted the respondent’s firm to act as the company’s London solicitors.
Subsequently, in the Autumn of 1995, at the Churchill Hotel in London, Mr Kabwe had introduced Mr Chungu, the Director of the Zambian Intelligence Services (ZIS), to the respondent and it had been that introduction that had resulted in the relationship with Zamtrop and the movements of monies. The respondent had not been paid for those services, which had not been in connection with legal work and which he had described as secondary services.
The respondent had accepted that he had been requested to provide such secondary services by both Mr Kabwe and Mr Chungu. However, his meeting with Mr Kabwe and Mr Chungu had not been documented by way of any file note or letter of confirmation of instructions. The respondent had been aware that AFS would be carrying out unspecified financial services for ZIS and that ZIS would be using both AFS and the respondent’s client account to disguise its role. He had assumed subsequent transactions to have been related to those services.
Between November 1995 and April 2001, large sums of money had been credited to the respondent’s client account. The Forensic Investigation Report had revealed that substantial sums of money had been transferred, from time to time, from the Zamtrop account in Zanaco on behalf of AFS. The monies had been credited to the firm’s client account, usually in US Dollars, pending the receipt of instructions from Mr Kabwe as to what to do with them. It had been a recurring feature of the receipts that they had not been made to enable the firm to carry out any legal transactions in which they had been instructed to act as solicitors.
The firm would receive instructions from Mr Kabwe, from time to time, to disburse sums of money; sometimes but not always, the same sums as had been received. Those instructions, which the Report had noted had invariably been complied with immediately and without enquiry, had been to disburse sums to a variety of recipients in various countries.
The evidence given by the respondent in the High Court proceedings had been to the effect that he had received monies into his client account in substantial sums and had distributed such monies to third parties on the instructions of Mr Kabwe, whom he had trusted. He had failed to pay any or any proper regard to the Law Society’s warnings to the profession on money laundering.
The Forensic Investigation Report had contained a summary of the individual amounts of US Dollars and Sterling received into the respondent’s client account in seven client account ledgers under the names of Mr Kabwe and/or AFS and of the payments out of client account from those ledgers. Over a period of about seven years, the respondent’s firm had received approximately $9.48 million and 69,000 pounds of which some $7.82 million had come from the Zamtrop account. The balance had been accounted for as “repayment of loans to AFS” ($1.11m and 7,000 pounds) and “other sources” ($536,000 and 62,000 pounds). The report had also contained a detailed analysis of all the amounts received and what had happened to those sums.
Payments made from client account had also included substantial sums in cash paid to Mr Kabwe, amounting to some $64,000 and 43,000 pounds, and not linked to any legal transaction. Transfers of amounts of $408,000 and 4,000 pounds had been made to Mrs Kabwe, as well as payments to educational establishments of $137,000.
Payments of $987,000 to Cave Malik a firm of solicitors had been made by the respondent. He had explained to Mr Uddin, the Law Society’s investigator, that Cave Malik had been acting for AFS on certain legal transactions and that it had not been possible for the funds to be sent directly from AFS to Cave Malik although the reason for that had been unclear.
30. The Forensic Investigation Report had referred to other payments amounting to $1.8m and £155, 000. Some ten payments from client account had been made on instructions from AFS and/or Mr Kabwe, although the Respondent had said that he had not known why the specific monies had been paid out other than as a provision of a “secondary service” i.e. the provision of banking facilities.
31. Some $150, 000 had been made “as loans” although the respondent confirmed that he had simply made payments on the instructions of AFS and had not acted in the setting up of the loans or provided any legal services connected to them.
32. The respondent’s professional indemnity insurers had declined to afford indemnity insurance in connection with any claims arising from the instructions from Mr Kabwe/AFS. That declinature had been upheld at arbitration on the ground that the respondent had not provided services as a solicitor in the course of his practice, following a challenge by the respondent.
Preliminary matter
33. Mr Morgan told the tribunal that the respondent admitted the second allegation i.e. that contrary to note (ix) to rule 15 of the Solicitors Accounts Rules 1998 he had failed to exercise caution when asked to provide banking facilities through his client account.
Documentary evidence before the tribunal
34. Inter alia, the Tribunal reviewed the Rule 4(2) Statement and the documentary exhibits attached to that statement, including the forensic investigation report dated 17 October 2003. The tribunal also had the benefit of the agreed expert tracing evidence prepared by Grant Thornton for the High Court proceedings, the Respondent’s first statement, dated 8 September 2006, made within those proceedings, as well as excerpts from the transcripts of the evidence given by the Respondent.
35. The Judgment of Mr Justice Peter Smith dated 4 May 2007 in the High Court proceedings and the Judgment of the Court of Appeal dated 31 July 2008 were both considered by the Tribunal, as well as a Statement in Response to the Tribunal proceedings, dated 10 November 2010, together with its exhibits. References on behalf of the Respondent were also reviewed by the Tribunal.
Oral evidence from the respondent
36. The Respondent relied on his Statement in response to the Tribunal proceedings, dated 10 November 2010, together with its exhibits.
37. In relation to the payments that he had made to Mr Kabwe, after he became aware of the allegations against Mr Kabwe following the publication of articles in the Zambian press in June 2002, the Respondent insisted that he had believed at the time that those payments had been appropriate.
38. The Respondent explained that he had made a payment from AFS funds of $7,500 to Mr Kabwe’s lawyer in Zambia believing it to have been a legitimate payment because it had been a firm of lawyers. A further payment of $75, 000 had been made to Cave Malik. That payment, the Respondent said, had been made from credits in the name of Harptree Holdings Ltd; a separate company from ASF and owned by Mr Kabwe.
39. The Respondent stressed that he had been told, during the meeting at the Churchill Hotel, by Mr Chungu that ASF would be working for ZIS (the Zambian Intelligence Services). He insisted that he had no reason to suspect the bona fides of either Mr Chungu, the head of the Zambian Securities Services, or of Mr Kabwe, whom he had known in a professional capacity for some 30 years. Indeed, the Respondent said that he had believed that he had been helping a democratic, multi-party Zambia. The funds had been coming from a bank owned by the government of Zambia, based in London. Moreover, the fact of the monies passing into and out of client account had not been hidden in that all transactions had been fully recorded in his firm’s accounts.
40. In cross-examination, when detailing his professional history, the Respondent accepted that he had been aware of the concept of money laundering but had not been actively involved in dealing with it as an issue in his work and had believed it to be mainly related to drugs and crime.
41. In relation to the fact that some $7.1 million of Zambian Treasury money had passed through his client account, the Respondent said that he had been horrified and damaged professionally by the events. However, he insisted that while looking back he could accept that he had been foolish and naïve, and might have been negligent, he found it difficult to accept that he had compromised his independence or integrity.
42. The respondent agreed that he had never seen any documentation to confirm that the monies being paid into his client account had in fact belonged to ASF. He had believed it to be ASF money because Mr Kabwe had told him that it had been and because ASF had been working for ZIS.
43. The Respondent agreed that he had trusted Mr Kabwe and had never asked about the reasons for the financial transactions. He had acted on Mr Kabwe’s instructions in writing and could not recall whether he had ever thought to ask for explanations. While he was now aware of a payment of some $200,000 from his client account to a mens’ outfitters in Switzerland, at the time he had probably assumed that it had been to a financial institution. The Respondent agreed that he had been aware that he had been making payments in respect of school fees and while with hindsight he should have been suspicious, he had not been so at the time.
44. The Respondent explained that he had seen himself as acting as a man of affairs for an overseas client and had not considered that he had had any right to ask that client about the origins of payments in or the purposes of payments out. While agreeing that maybe he should have enquired a bit more, the Respondent said that it would have been very difficult for him as it would have been prying into his client’s business.
45. In relation to the payment of $75, 000 that he had made in October 2002, some four months after he had become aware of the allegations of fraud against Mr Kabwe, the Respondent agreed that at that time he had no longer trusted Mr Kabwe. He also agreed that he failed to properly assess the risk involved in making that payment in that he could not have been sure of the origin of the money in the Harptree account. The respondent said that as he had been sending the money to Cave Malik, he had not considered it a risk.
Moreover, Harptree had not been mentioned in the reports in the Zambian Press.
46. In relation to the payment of $7,500 to Mr Kabwe’s lawyers, the respondent explained that he had probably paid the money out of ASF funds on the written instructions of Mr. Kabwe. At the time he had not thought about the possibility of it being money belonging to the Zambian Treasury, although he had been aware of the serious allegations of fraud and corruption involving Mr Chungu, Mr Kabwe and AFS. In any event he had felt the need to wait to see what the Zambian authorities would do.
Findings as to Fact and Law
Allegation 1 – compromised or impaired independence or integrity and/or his good repute or that of the solicitors’ profession.
47. The Applicant had explained that the allegations related to the flow of money through the Respondent’s client account which had often, although not exclusively, been circular in nature in that monies had gone back to source. If not circular, monies had been disbursed on instructions to various recipients. The Applicant had referred to the common features of such movements of monies as being the absence of legal transactions, the absence of knowledge as to why the monies had been passing through client account and the absence of explanatory documentation on the matter files. Moreover, the recipients of the monies had not been clients but third parties who had no connection with any legal transactions. The Applicant had submitted that effectively the Respondent had become a banker for Mr Kabwe and AFS. The Tribunal accepted those submissions.
48. The applicant had referred to the Respondent’s evidence in the High Court as being entirely supportive of the allegations. He had submitted that to have simply trusted Mr. Kabwe and to have acted, as he had done, with so much money, which had in fact been stolen from the Republic of Zambia, the Respondent had been grossly reckless.
Moreover, as well as providing no legal work, the Respondent had acted in secret by not telling his partner of the meeting with Dr. Chungu and by not recording that meeting or the instructions arising from it.
The Respondent’s departure from the standards expected from solicitors had been, the Applicant had submitted, very substantial. Again the tribunal accepted those submissions noting only that the Respondent’s partner would have access to and involvement with the firm’s accounts in which all the transactions had been recorded.
49. The Applicant had submitted that principals should always know why money is passing in and out of client account and that the circumstances had demonstrated that the Respondent’s firm’s client account had been operated by the Respondent as a respiratory for the money pending a direction from AFS/Mr Kabwe in a situation where the Respondent had failed to make any proper professional enquiries. The Tribunal agreed and found that to have been the case.
50. Referring to the Supplementary Report of 26 January 2007 by Grant
Thornton UK LLP, the Applicant had submitted that the individual traces of monies had shown the receipt of monies from the Zambian Ministry of Finance to Zamtrop and thence to individual ledgers of the Respondent's client account. Payments out from client account, on the instructions of AFS/Mr Kabwe, had shown repetition, a circular flow of money and the provision of banking facilities for others involved in substantial misappropriation of money in that inter alia the Respondent had paid cash, school fees and credit card bills. Again the Tribunal accepted that position.
51. While accepting that under cross-examination the Respondent had appeared to have conceded that his actions had caused some damage to the reputation of the profession, Mr Morgan had submitted that the Respondent had not compromised or impaired his independence or integrity.
52. Mr Morgan had noted that some legal services had been provided to AFS. Moreover, he had submitted that it was important for the Tribunal not to apply today's standards when considering transactions taking place some years ago and handed to the Tribunal referred to a summary of the relevant money laundering regulations and guidance.
53. Mr Morgan had reminded the Tribunal that Mr Kabwe had been a long time client and work colleague of the Respondent. Mr Kabwe and Mr Chungu, the Head of the Zambian Intelligence Services, had told the Respondent that ASF would be carrying out services for ZIS and that ASF would be receiving monies. Mr Morgan had referred the Tribunal to the Respondent's evidence in the High Court proceedings and to the comments of the Court of Appeal. He had submitted that the Respondent had been stupid and naïve believing himself to have been more worldly than in fact he had been. Unknowingly, he had been sucked in to an intelligent scam. Monies had appeared to have been coming from impeccable source and the Respondent had believed that he had been following appropriate instructions.
54. Having fully considered all of the extensive evidence, as well as the helpful submissions of Mr Barton and Mr Morgan, the Tribunal found the allegation proved and fully substantiated on the facts. The Tribunal was satisfied, so that it was sure, that in permitting monies to pass into and out of his client account when acting for Mr Kabwe and AFS without any enquiry, the Respondent had compromised his independence and integrity and his good repute and that of solicitors' profession.
55. In assuming the role of “a man of business”, the Tribunal was satisfied that the Respondent had lost or ignored his ability as a solicitor to form independent judgments of transactions. His conduct in his relationship with Mr Kabwe and with ASF had involved very serious failings in terms of professional misconduct.
56. The Tribunal was extremely concerned that following the meeting in the Churchill Hotel in 1995, the Respondent had failed to make a detailed attendance note and to seek confirmation of his instructions in writing. Thereafter, the Respondent had received monies from various sources and disbursed monies to various sources, opening accounts in the names of non-clients, all without question or inquiry.
57. The Tribunal did not accept that the Respondent had been unaware of the issue of money laundering. As a solicitor, he had been under a duty to follow the guidance provided to the Profession by the Law Society and he had failed to have regard to those warnings and to exercise proper caution in relation to the vast sums of money passing in and out of his client account over a period of some seven years. In this the Tribunal was satisfied that the Respondent had not been merely negligent but reckless. He had an obligation to ascertain what had been happening and he had decided not to ask appropriate and pertinent questions.
58. The Tribunal considered that the recklessness of the Respondent had increased as the amounts of money and diverse payments had increased.
In particular, the Tribunal found that there could be no excuse whatsoever for the two payments made by the Respondent in 2002 following the allegations of fraud and corruption in the Zambian press. In both cases the Respondent had sought to justify his actions by saying that he had been following his client, Mr Kabwe´s instructions, while acknowledging that at the time he had not trusted him. The Respondent had appeared to have taken no regard of the possibility, which he had acknowledged in evidence, that the monies that he had handed over, could properly have been traced back to the Zambian Treasury and had not been acquired legitimately.
59. The Tribunal noted that in doing something out of the ordinary for clients i.e. “acting as a man of business”, the Respondent had had no regard to the assessment of risk in such situations.
Allegations 2 - Contrary to Note (ix) to Rule 15 of the Solicitors’ Accounts Rules 1998 failed to exercise caution when asked to provide banking facilities through his client account.
60. This allegation was admitted and the Tribunal found it to have been fully substantiated on the facts.
Mitigation
61. Mr Morgan reminded the Tribunal that the Court of Appeal had exonerated the Respondent of any dishonesty. He submitted that the damage to the Profession had been limited by the nature of the mainly overseas press coverage.
62. Mr Morgan referred the Tribunal to the various references submitted on behalf of the Respondent including one from former President Mandela and to the Respondent’s previously blame-free and long career law.
63. The Respondent might have been naïve, stupid and foolish but, Mr Morgan submitted, he had not realised what had been happening until it had been too late. Mr Morgan also referred again to the lower general awareness of money laundering when the events had taken place some eight to 15 years ago.
64. Mr Morgan detailed the personal and financial consequences of the Respondent and his wife, who had been a salaried partner in the firm, of his involvement with Mr Kabwe and with AFS from the commencement of investigations in 2002 to the present. Although the Respondent did not wish to practise again, he was involved in charitable work from which, if he were to be struck off, he feared he would have to resign.
Application for costs
65. The Applicant sought an order for costs to be subject to detailed assessment if not agreed.
Sanction and Reasons
66. Having taken all the representations and references into account, the Tribunal determined that given the absence of any dishonesty and the fact that it did not consider the Respondent to be a danger to the public, the penalty of striking off was not appropriate or necessary.
However, in the light of the Tribunal’s findings of recklessness, a penalty of suspension for a period of three years was appropriate and the Tribunal so ordered.
Decision as to costs
67. The Tribunal was satisfied that the proceedings had been properly brought and that accordingly there should be an order for the Applicant’s reasonable costs to be paid by the Respondent to be subject to detailed assessment if not agreed.
The Order of the Tribunal
68. The Tribunal Ordered that the respondent, Mohamed lqbal Meer of c/o David T Morgan, 9 Gray’s Inn Square, London, WC1R 5JF, solicitor, be suspended from practice as a solicitor for the period of three years to commence on the 23rd day of November 2010 and it further Ordered that he do pay the costs of and incidental to this application and enquiry to be subject to a detailed assessment unless agreed between the parties to include the costs of the Investigation Accountant of the Law Society.
Dated this 31st day of January 2011
On behalf of the Tribunal
JN Barnecutt
Chairman
Labels: CORRUPTION, COURTS, FREDERICK CHILUBA
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