Maravi

Oil corruption will be prosecuted - Malila

Oil corruption will be prosecuted - Malila
By Moses Kuwema and Kombe Chimpinde
Thu 12 Apr. 2012, 13:29 CAT

ATTORNEY General Mumba Malila says those involved in the oil procurement scandals will be prosecuted once Cabinet scrutinises the commission of inquiry's report. And Transparency International Zambia executive director Goodwell Lungu has asked law enforcement agencies to expeditiously investigate and prosecute the K2 trillion oil scam fraudsters.

But former energy minister Kenneth Konga says he is not aware of the K2 trillion lost by the government through corruption and other malpractices in oil procurement between 2007 and 2011.

Commenting on the revelations by Wynter Kabimba, the chairman of the commission of inquiry into the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) and oil procurement, that the government lost about K2 trillion through corruption, Malila said there would obviously be some recommendations from Cabinet to have the individuals involved prosecuted.

"I have not read through the report yet. I am sure it will be tabled in Cabinet. Once Cabinet looks at the recommendations and accept some of them, obviously there should be some recommendations to prosecute some individuals…together with the investigative wings, the prosecutions wings, the DPP Director of Public Prosecutions, Solicitor General and myself," he said.

Malila hoped the state would put up a strong case against those involved in the malpractices and corruption in oil procurement processes.

When presenting the inquiry report to President Michael Sata at State House on Tuesday, Kabimba said officers in the Ministry of Energy and Water Development, the ZPPA and the ERB were involved in corruption and malpractice through oil procurement.

Kabimba recommended that the government, through the law enforcement agencies, investigates individual officers and oil companies involved in oil procurement contract irregularities, malpractices and corruption during the period 2007 to 2011.

But Konga, who served as Minister of Energy during the period in question, said he was not aware of that amount of money being lost through corruption.

"I am not aware of the corruption and malpractices in the procurement process. What I would prefer is for me to get hold of the report, it is best to get a comprehensive story, then one can make an informed statement. But just getting statements of what has been said might be very difficult to base the statement on. I have not seen the report, I have not read the report so I am trying to see if I can get hold of the report to read what is contained in it. Then I can be able to say something..."

Meanwhile, former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy Peter Mumba said he welcomed deeper investigations into the matter.

Mumba said deeper investigations would help put the matter to rest and help Zambians know exactly where their money went.

"If at all that is true, there should be deeper investigations so that the people of Zambia know where their money went and with the possibility of getting that money so that it goes back to the people of Zambia, to assist the country grow and the people of Zambia access so many amenities. I think a surgical review or investigation should actually be carried out in order to get down to the bottom of it. I totally welcome the investigations that might be carried out," said Mumba.

And former Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) director general Samuel Chibuye said the investigative wings should do their work since the matter was dealt with at the highest level.

"Let's leave it to them because those of us who were involved in one way or the other in serving at institutions such as ZPPA, it will not be wise for me to comment because then…you never know you might jeopardise investigations. It is best to leave it to the investigators to do their work professionally," said Chibuye.

And in statement yesterday, Lungu stated that the law enforcement agencies need to move with a great sense of urgency on the matter to avoid overlooking and killing such cases as it had done in the past.

"We further call on the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) to turn the call by the Republican President that they are a moribund institution into positive action by awakening from the slumber," he stated.

Lungu stated that ACC could play a leading and critical role in fighting corruption if it could only perform to public expectation.

"We urge ACC to take the President's concern seriously as it had been our major concern as TIZ and many citizens. We believe ACC has the capacity of translating the challenge into positive and formidable actions," Lungu stated.

He stated that it was an undeniable fact that law enforcement agencies in certain cases have been slow in executing cases to the extent of abandoning very straightforward matters, resulting into the loss of billions and trillions of public funds.

"We have also continued to note with grave concern that despite the Auditor General's report containing massive evidence of corruption and misapplication of public funds, our law enforcement agencies have opted to become sleeping giants over these matters," stated Lungu.

Labels: GOODWELL LUNGU, KENNETH KONGA, MUMBA MALILA, OIL

posted by MrK @ 3:24 PM