No visitors for Dora
No visitors for DoraBy Mwala Kalaluka
Sat 07 Jan. 2012, 12:40 CAT
DORA Siliya yesterday instructed staff at Fairview Hospital where she is ‘admitted' not to allow anyone access to her admission room without obtaining her consent.
And a docket on former mines minister Maxwell Mwale's use of a Chinese mining firm to pay duty for his campaign bicycles is before the Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration.
Siliya, who is ‘admitted' at the lavish hospital, which has a hotel-like ambience, told an official from Fairview Hospital Customer Service that she was not ready to talk to anyone.
This was after The Post went to the hospital to interview Siliya over assertions she was feigning illness to evade police interrogations.
The customer service officer only identified as Siphiwe who called the former transport minister on her mobile phone, assured Siliya that no one would be allowed to pay her a visit without her consent.
Earlier, sources said that Siliya, a parliamentarian for Eastern Province's Petauke Central Constituency under the opposition MMD, was expected to appear in court yesterday upon arrest on Thursday.
Siliya, who is also MMD spokesperson, was expected to appear before a team of combined investigators from the Drug Enforcement Commission DEC, Anti-Corruption Commission ACC and Zambia Police, but kept the officers waiting from about 14:00 hours till late in the afternoon on Thursday.
Police spokesperson Elizabeth Kanjela said on Thursday Siliya could not appear after her lawyer Sakwiba Sikota informed the police that she was unwell.
But sources said yesterday that officers had been dispatched to verify whether indeed Siliya was unwell and admitted to a hospital as claimed.
"We sent some officers to verify whether it is true she has been admitted or not and they have not come back yet," the source said.
But Kanjela said in an interview yesterday that Siliya was unwell.
"She was by yesterday admitted at Fairview Hospital. So we can only do that summon when she is well," said Kanjela.
In 2009, Siliya ordered the cancellation of a duly awarded contract for the supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of ZATM-RADAR at Lusaka now KK and Livingstone now Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula international airports to accommodate SELEX Sistemi Integrati, a company from Italy single-sourced to carry out the works.
Siliya's conduct was contrary to professional advice from officials in her ministry, the National Airport Corporation Limited NAC and the procurement authority.
Former president Rupiah Banda once described her as 'Smart Dora'.
And sources said the matter where Malambo MMD parliamentarian, Mwale, was recently warned and cautioned over the manner in which his campaign bicycles were procured had been taken before the DPP.
The sources, who are involved in the probe, said Mwale would be arrested should the DPP issue the instruction after consideration of the docket.
Investigators say there was corruption in the manner the said campaign bicycles were procured as Mwale allowed a Chinese firm, Zhongui Mining, allegedly awarded a suspicious mining licence when he was at the helm of the Ministry of Mines, to clear the duty for the bicycles.
Mwale is already appearing before Lusaka chief resident magistrate Joshua Banda charged with the offence of failing to account for over 200 bicycles reasonably suspected to have been stolen.
Labels: CORRUPTION, DORA SILIYA, DPP, MAXWELL MWALE, ZAMTEL
posted by MrK @ 6:01 PM
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