Load-shedding annoys Sata

Load-shedding annoys Sata
By Moses Kuwema
Fri 07 Dec. 2012, 12:00 CAT

PRESIDENT Michael Sata yesterday got annoyed with load-shedding at State House. And President Sata says he will not suspend Minister of Justice Wynter Kabimba unless the Anti Corruption Commission proves the allegations to him.

During the swearing in of Rollen Mukanda as ACC commissioner and the Teaching Service Commission members at State House yesterday in the morning, there was interruption in power supply thrice while President Sata was speaking.

The other two power interruptions happened shortly before President Sata walked into the room to swear in the commissioners.
The power outages incensed President Sata who took to task his principal private secretary Francis Chalabesa.

"You see the efficiency of Mr Chalabesa who is in charge of State House, nomba when we start getting load-shedding here, what about people in the compound? Where is Mr Chalabesa? He is not even here. Soko, where is your brother Mr Chalabesa?" asked President Sata.

Soko responded that Chalabesa was calling Zesco managing director Cyprian Chitundu. Shortly afterwards, Chalabesa came in and President Sata asked him if he was repairing the generator.

"Ba Peter Kasanda deputy Secretary to Cabinet mwamona mwaya leta abakote ati musunge State House. Mr Kasanda have you seen, you brought us an old man to be in charge of State House. If we have load-shedding at State House, what more in Kanyama? And you have this man Chalabesa very inexperienced in electricity issues," said President Sata.

Meanwhile, President Sata said the ACC should not have gone to the press to announce its investigations against Kabimba before proving anything.

"Madam Rollen, I want you to take some sanity to the ACC. If you ask judge Christopher Mushabati, how would you feel if somebody is investigating you in the Times of Zambia? Because if you are investigating somebody, that must be between you and that person and I will not suspend anybody unless you prove to me," he said.

President Sata said the law required the ACC to get permission from him as head of state before they could carry out investigations against a senior government official.

"You don't go to the press and say you are investigating somebody, that's the MMD way of doing things. If you ask judge Mushabati, he will tell you natural justice demands the accused to be heard. You don't go to the newspaper and say we are investigating. Give people the privacy which they also deserve as you also have," President Sata said.

Later as he led the people that were sworn in outside for a photo shoot, President Sata told justice Mushabati to advise ACC director general Rosewin Wandi not to be embarrassing his ministers in public.

"You Mr Mushabati, tell this woman to stop embarrassing my ministers. There is a way of embarrassing ministers, not like that," he said.

And speaking to journalists shortly after the swearing-in ceremony, Wandi said the commission would not try people in the media.

Wandi said the ACC would soon call Kabimba for interviews.
"…I don't think the instruction here is that the justice minister is not going to be interviewed. He is definitely going to be interviewed and it is a matter of time. We will be getting in touch with him soon," she said.

And President Sata hoped that the new members of the Teaching Service Commission would bring some sanity to the service.

"It is a pity because if I had a choice, all the men I would not have allowed them because you are going to deal with tender age. Today the Teaching Service Commission, I don't know what has gone to them, whether dogs have gone there and when you have men like these, what inspiration are you going to give to the Teaching Service Commission?" President Sata wondered.

He said the service needed a lot of inspiration and that issues of defilement and examination leakages could only be dealt with if the country had a dignified service and men running the commission.

President Sata urged the new service chairperson Jennipher Chiwela, whom he said he knew personally, to look at the recruitment of teachers and not allow people who were unqualified to be recruited.

Also sworn in as Teaching Service Commission members were Alfred Sikazwe as vice-chairman, Justo Chishimba, Agness Nyoni, Robam Mwaba, David Kandolondo and Janet Kayama as members.

And President Sata has with immediate effect created seven more districts.

The newly established districts are three in Western Province namely Nkeyema, Limulunga, and Mwandi, while the other districts are Luano, Chisamba and Chitambo in Central Province, and Shiwang'andu in Muchinga Province.

President Sata has directed the provincial leadership in Western, Central and Muchinga provinces to liaise with all the stakeholders, political parties and their royal highnesses in order for them to establish the centre where the district headquarters will be situated.