Maravi

Hakainde's chameleon behaviour over Zamtel

Hakainde's chameleon behaviour over Zamtel
By The Post
Fri 13 Jan. 2012, 14:00 CAT

THE Zambia Daily Mail in its edition of yesterday carried a story quoting Hakainde Hichilema, the president of opposition UPND, questioning the government's sincerity in the manner they were proceeding with the Zamtel transaction that may face reversal.

Hakainde was quoted as having accused the PF government of only wanting or planning to reverse the controversial US$257 million transaction because they already had found another company that may buy Zamtel. "It's clear that there is corruption going on in the PF government," the Zambia Daily Mail quotes Hakainde.

"Right now, there is already a bidder or buyer of Zamtel by single-sourcing. They have identified a buyer through the same method they were complaining about."

This was yesterday. But this is not the first time Hakainde was commenting on the sale of Zamtel.

In The Post edition of Wednesday, June 16, 2010, we carried a story with a headline:

"Rupiah, his sons and Dora are guilty over Zamtel sale - HH." In this story, Hakainde charged that Rupiah Banda, his children, Dora Siliya and the team are guilty of corruption in the sale of Zamtel and they will never wash themselves clean.

In this story, Hakainde accused Rupiah and his sons and Siliya of benefitting from this dirty transaction.

"RP Capital Partners which valued Zamtel assets was contracted without tenders because they wanted kickbacks. There is no question about it…State House was involved, Dora, President Banda's children were involved," The Post quoted Hakainde.

He went on to say that president Banda and Siliya's verbal onslaught on Zambians and institutions opposed to the Zamtel sale showed that they were covering their corrupt tracks. Hakainde argued that many Zambians had opposed the transaction from its beginning but president Banda and his team did not heed the advice.

"It's extremely important that the people of Zambia do realise that we had raised the flag on the privatisation of Zamtel a long time ago, starting from the tender process where they appointed RP Capital Partners without tender against the Public Procurement Act of 2008," The Post quoted Hakainde.

"You are all aware that Mumba Malila, as Attorney General, had objected and that cost him his job, David Kapitolo director general of Zambia Tender Board Authority now Zambia Public Procurement Authority, he raised issues that cost him his job and several other people and I think you are aware that Chitundu at Zesco lost his job over the optic fibre network."

Hakainde said he still stood by his statement at the beginning of the Zamtel sale that it was a corrupt process. "There is no way Dora Siliya can try and wash this transaction clean, it has been a dirty transaction from day one. We did indicate to people that, ‘look, you never award a contract like that'. Firstly, they ignored local firms; secondly, family contracts resulted in the contracts of that magnitude and resulting in K70 billion to K80 billion public funds going into RP Capital Partners," The Post quotes Hakainde.

"I am sure you have followed that there is going to be a number of claw-backs on retrenchment payments, it's not that it's wrong, on investment. There is a paragraph where they are saying the government is going to reinvest that money.

Did they tell us how much money they are going to reinvest? You have sold a company so that you bring an investor, but you are now going to be responsible for reinvestment, from the same money you are going to be paid. That is all wrong."

Hakainde questioned the government's decision to sale Zamtel with the newly installed fibre network, which cost about US$85 million for only US$257 million, meaning that the rest of Zamtel's infrastructure was sold for only US$172 million. "If you look at other expenses or costs related to optic fibre network; first there is the Zamtel expenses on fibre optic, I think it is a substantial amount of money, I am told about US$70 million.

You are aware of the Zesco fibre optic network of about US$15 million. When you add the two, it is US$85 million - this is new investment. So already when you look at a real estate that Zamtel owns; that price of US$257 million is completely nothing," The Post quotes Hakainde.

"That is our contention. That the value is low, that the process was corruption and Dora Siliya herself was corrupt. No question about it. I am not surprised that they are all excited; maybe there is something they are sharing now. That is why they are all excited." Hakainde said the government should not have sold 75 per cent shares. "There was no need to dispose of 75 per cent; they could have disposed of 51 per cent and 49 per cent could be held by Zambians," The Post quotes Hakainde.

"This is our contention and nobody will bully us into submission as Rupiah Banda and Dora Siliya are trying to do. These two have demonstrated improper conduct, corrupt conduct in the sale of Zamtel. We will never stop talking about it."

Hakainde reminded president Banda to learn from what was happening in Ghana where former president John Kufuor had sold Ghana telecom to UK's Vodafone.

"When John Kufuor was president of Ghana and John Atta-Mills was the opposition leader, they Atta-Mills and opposition parties objected to the way in which they telecoms company was sold. I think John Kufuor thought it was a joke. When John Atta-Mills went into government, they are restructuring that transaction," The Post quotes Hakainde.

"We cannot say that because there is a contract signed even though the process towards signing that contract was corrupt, we should be bound by it. It means that you can go and commit a crime to start with and then legalise it and then say, ‘I have already signed a legal contract'. Not even common sense allows that."

This is what Hakainde was quoted by The Post as having said in its edition of June 16, 2010. Contrast this with what Hakainde was quoted as having said in the Zambia Daily Mail of yesterday!

And again, this was not the first time Hakainde was being quoted by the media on the sale of Zamtel. In The Post edition of February 9, 2009, Hakainde charged that there was an ugly face of corruption in the government's partial privatisation of shares. He said president Banda's government was ignoring legal procedures on the sale of Zamtel because of corruption.

"There is a process you follow; the procedures are there…the procedures are very clear but the issue is not whether the procedure is there or not, the issue is that you have a corrupt team that is beginning to ignore legal provisions…This is what you see in the procurement of petroleum, maize and now the privatisation of Zamtel…They are in a hurry to pocket money. It's because of appetite for money. I can tell you that the people of Zambia are looking, they are not foolish and time will come when the chickens will come home to roost…I ask the people of Zambia to fight on; to resist this dilapidation which is being brought about by the MMD government. There are too many things that smell a rat…"

And featuring on Radio Phoenix's Let the People Talk programme on February 20, 2009, Hakainde said president Banda and vice-president George Kunda must tell the nation why they must not acknowledge that they have failed the public on the Zamtel issue.

"We are also aware that there is a related party who is associated with RP Capital Partners, is it RB Capital Partners? Now I can see the minister struggling and I know Dora very well.

I feel sorry for her. I think she is a messenger. She finds herself being a messenger of a well-orchestrated plan to actually take money from public coffers, US$2 million. And let's not debate about whether the MoU is legally binding or not. The intent is very clear.

I am told RP Capital Partners are already working on the assignment. When you are telling a lie, it shows and the Vice-President was very busy telling the nation that there was nothing wrong. Mr Vice-President, are you saying that your Attorney General is irrelevant? Are you saying that to tell RP Capital using inside information is not wrong? The President I think mishandled himself on this matter…This is pure corruption."

Hakainde has capitulated and cannot say these things today. The people involved are today his political partners in the MMD-UPND pact. But what he said when he was free to speak his mind and tell the truth on these issues still stands. And this is what Michael Sata is today correctly and justly pursuing on behalf of the Zambian people.

And given this background, it is easy to understand why Alexander Chikwanda, our Minister of Finance, is today saying that taking the government to court over public companies that were acquired in a corrupt manner is not sustainable and will not be accepted. We agree with Alexander when he says that "while Zambia strives and will continually and consistently strive to attract foreign investment, that era of dubious investments through corruption is gone and gone forever.

Dragging government to court in cases where some public officers breached our laws and there was a proven fraudulence by investors is not sustainable exercise even under international law".

Just because those who corruptly bought 75 per cent of Zamtel shares are foreigners then they should get away with corruption and be allowed to keep that which they fraudulently acquired! Corruption is corruption regardless of the nationality of who is involved in it.

The corrupt nature of this transaction was well-analysed and articulated by Hakainde. But because of political dishonesty, Hakainde today cannot speak the same words, the same language on this issue. He has changed colours like a chameleon. Let's not follow chameleons. Let's give Michael and his government the full support on this issue because they are right.

There is no abuse or ill-intention that one can justifiably insinuate from what they are doing. Hakainde is just trying to hide his treachery and unprincipled behaviour over this issue by accusing Michael and his government of ill-intention.

LAP GreenN will not be allowed to keep the fruits of corruption. And this will send the right message to all foreign investors in this country not to engage in corruption because it will take them nowhere and they will risk losing everything. Whatever this may cost, it will be worth it because it will prevent this type of corruption in future.

Labels: CORRUPTION, DORA SILIYA, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, RP CAPITAL PARTNERS, ZAMTEL

posted by MrK @ 7:54 PM