Chirwa must stop his silly pronouncements - Scott
By Allan Mulenga
Wed 11 Dec. 2013, 14:01 CAT
VICE-PRESIDENT Dr Guy Scott has advised Professor Clive Chirwa against making silly public pronouncements over his Zambian citizenship. In an interview on Monday, Vice-President Scott said the government was not losing any sleep over Prof Chirwa's threats to renounce his Zambian citizenship.
"I don't know what he wants to achieve. He is facing some sort of investigation or charges. It makes no difference whether he even becomes a citizen of the moon. It doesn't make any difference, so we are not losing any sleep over it," he said.
"My advice to him is to stop making silly public pronouncements like that; 'I will throw away my citizenship', so what?"
Vice-President Scott said he renounced his British citizenship to become a Zambian a long time ago.
"He doesn't want to be a Zambian, that's all. I renounced my British citizenship many years ago to become a Zambian citizen. Now if he wants to throw away a Zambian passport, let him throw it away," said Vice-President Scott.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, GUY SCOTT
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Chirwa pleads not guilty to abuse of office
By Namatama Mundia
Fri 06 Dec. 2013, 14:01 CAT
PROFESSOR Clive Chirwa yesterday appeared in the Lusaka Magistrates' Court and pleaded not guilty to failure to disclose interest and abuse of authority of office charges.
And Lusaka principal resident magistrate Obbister Musukwa yesterday dismissed an application by former Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) chief executive officer Prof Chirwa's co-accused Regina Mwale that she should be tried in Kabwe, saying he had jurisdiction to try the matter.
This is in a case where Prof Chirwa, 58, of plot 206/101, Ibex Hill, an academician, is in the first count charged with failure to disclose interest contrary to the Laws of Zambia.
Prof Chirwa is in the second and third count jointly charged with Mwale, 50, an accountant of High Ridge in Kabwe and ZRL finance director for abuse of authority of office, after the duo allegedly authorised payment of K72,282,210 to Fallsway Apartments for the former's accommodation, an amount which was beyond the professors entitlement, an act which is arbitrary and prejudicial to the rights and interests of the government of Zambia.
When the matter came up, Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) senior legal and prosecutions officer Silumesi Muchula told the court that the matter was coming up for plea and he was ready to proceed.
But one of the defence lawyers Mulilo Kabesha said he was not ready as he had just been served with the indictment but Muchula insisted that he served the defence on time, a situation which prompted magistrate Musukwa to order that the parties retire to his chambers.
When they emerged from the chambers, magistrate Musukwa told Prof Chirwa that in the first count, it was alleged that on dates unknown but between November 1, and December 31, 2012, in Lusaka, being a public officer as CEO at ZRL, the accused recommended at a ZRL board meeting that Clavel Incorporated Limited, a company in which he was an officer and shareholder, be given a contract to train Zambia Railways employees without disclosing interest.
Asked if he understood the charge, Prof Chirwa responded in the affirmative but denied committing the offence.
After magistrate Musukwa read out the two counts of abuse of authority of office, Kabesha, who is representing Mwale, said he had preliminary issues.
Kabesha said the accused were alleged to have committed the offences in Kabwe and and that the court with jurisdiction on the two counts was the Kabwe court.
"We are aware that it's not mandatory; this court can hear it but for the sake of convenience to the accused persons, especially A2 (Mwale), it's our prayer that this court invokes section 77 of the CPC Chapter 88 of the Laws of Zambia and transfer the trial of the two counts to Kabwe," he said.
Prof Chirwa's lawyers from Simeza Sangwa and Associates were not party to the application.
Muchula submitted that the preliminary issue raised by Kabesha as regards jurisdiction of the matter was based on convenience only, adding that it was not supported by section 69 of the CPC.
"Section 69 of the CPC not only tries to replace where the offence was committed but also applies to the jurisdiction of where the accused was apprehended. The two accused persons were apprehended in Lusaka on 22nd November, 2013. The accused persons are amenable to this court," he said.
Muchula said the application of transferring of the matter was misplaced as it was supposed to be made in the High Court.
Ruling on the matter, magistrate Musukwa said he was guided by section 69, which he said was instructive.
He said his court had jurisdiction to try the mater as the accused were apprehended in Lusaka.
Magistrate Musukwa dismissed Kabesha's application and ordered that the accused take plea in the two counts of abuse of authority.
And Prof Chirwa and Mwale denied abusing the authority of their offences.
The second and third counts allege that the accused persons authorised the payment to Fallsway Apartments on unknown dates but between February 1 and March 2, 2013 in Kabwe.
Magistrate Musukwa adjourned the matter to January 15, 2014 for commencement of trial and extended the accused persons' police bonds.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA
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(LUSAKATIMES) Prof.Clive Chirwa re-arrested
Time Posted: November 22, 2013 2:16 pm
The Anti-Corruption Commission has today re-arrested former Zambia Railways Limited Chief Executive Officer Professor Clive Chirwa for Failure to Disclose Interest, and Abuse of Authority of Office contrary to the laws of Zambia.
Prof. Chirwa is charged with one count of failure to Disclose Interest contrary to section 28 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act No.3 of 2012.
Two days ago the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) discontinued the court proceedings against former Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) chief executive officer Clive Chirwa after state prosecutors applied to the court to have matter withdrawn. When the case came up for the commencement of trial Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) Senior legal and prosecutions officer Silumesi Muchula applied to the count to withdraw the matter after receiving instructions from the office of the DPP under section 88 (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code and would also consider the next course of action.
Details are that Prof. Chirwa, 59, between 1st November, 2012 and 31st December, 2012 as Chief Executive Officer of Zambia Railways Limited recommended at the Zambia Railways Board meeting that Clavel Incorporated Limited, a company in which he is a shareholder be given a contract to train Zambia Railways employees without disclosing interest contrary to section 28 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act No.3 of 2012.
Further, Prof. Chirwa is jointly charged with Ms. Regina Mwale, 50, a Finance Director of Zambia Railways Limited with two counts of Abuse of Authority of Office contrary to section 99 (1) of the Penal Code Cap 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
Details of the first count are that between 1st February, 2013 and 2nd March 2013 in Kabwe, Prof. Chirwa, whilst acting together with Ms. Mwale and others unknown, abused the authority of his office by paying Fallsway Apartments a total of K72, 282, 210 for accommodation for his benefit, an amount beyond Prof Chirwa’s entitlement an act which is prejudicial to the interest and rights of the Government of the Republic of Zambia.
In the second count, the details are that on dates unknown but between 3rd March 2013 and 2nd April 2013 in Kabwe, Prof. Chirwa, jointly and whilst acting together with Regina Mwale and others unknown, abused his authority of office by again paying Fallsway Apartments K72, 232, 210 for accommodation for the benefit of Prof. Chirwa an amount beyond Prof Chirwa’s entitlement an act which is prejudicial to the interest and rights of the Government of the Republic of Zambia.
Prof. Chirwa has since been released on Police bond and will appear in the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court on 5th December 2013.
Labels: ACC, CLIVE CHIRWA, RAIL
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Chirwa in court for abuse of office
By Moses Kuwema
Wed 11 Sep. 2013, 14:01 CAT
THE Anti-Corruption Commission has arrested former Zambia Railways Limited chief executive officer Professor Clive Chirwa for alleged corrupt practices involving over K280,000.00. In a statement, ACC corporate affairs officer Christopher Chibanku stated that Prof Chirwa was arrested yesterday and charged with two counts.
"In the first count, Prof Chirwa is charged with failure to disclose interest contrary to section 28 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012. Details are that Prof Chirwa, 59, between November 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012, as CEO of Zambia Railways Limited, recommended at the Zambia Railways Board meeting that Clavel Incorporated Limited, a company in which he is a shareholder be given a contract to train Zambia Railways employees without disclosing interest contrary to section 28 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012," Chibanku stated.
Chibanku stated that in the second count, Prof Chirwa was jointly charged with Regina Mwale, 50, a finance director of Zambia Railways Limited for abuse of authority of office contrary to section 99 (1) of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
He stated that details were that between November 1, 2012 and April 30, 2013, Prof Chirwa and Mwale, whilst acting together, abused the authority of their office by authorising a total payment of K289,128.84 to Fallsway Apartments of Lusaka for accommodation for the benefit of Prof Chirwa without following laid down procedures.
Chibanku stated that Prof Chirwa and his co-accused, who have since appeared in the Kabwe Magistrates' Court, have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
And in a similar development, the commission has arrested and charged two public officers for Choma Municipal Council for abuse of authority of office and uttering a false document involving K91,000.00.
Chibanku stated that the two officers, namely Killian Chibbunu, 49, a chief community development officer and Gabriel Malata, 47, a draftsman are alleged to have acquired eight pieces of land in Choma without following laid down procedures, which land they sold to unsuspecting members of the public.
He stated that the two are facing eight counts of abuse of authority of office each.
Chibanku stated that the accused persons appeared for mention in the Choma Magistrates' court yesterday.
Labels: CHRISTOPHER CHIBANKU, CLIVE CHIRWA, CORRUPTION, COURTS, ZAMBIA RAILWAYS
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PF vibrant - Kabimba
By Henry Sinyangwe
Wed 31 July 2013, 14:01 CAT
PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba says party members are not fatigued. And Kabimba, who is also justice minister, says the party will remain vibrant and deliver on its promises.
Reacting to Professor Clive Chirwa who has advised the PF to stick to the vibrancy in its original vision to raise the living standards of the people, Kabimba said the party was on course in terms of its manifesto.
Kabimba said not everything can go right in any government.
He said it was good that Prof Chirwa recognised that there were some things which were being done right under the current administration.
"You can't have a system where everything is going right. That only happens in heaven, certainly not on earth. There is no government that anybody can point at on this planet where everything is going on 100 per cent right," Kabimba said.
"What is important is that he has been able to acknowledge… to concede that there are certain areas where PF is performing better than MMD ever did."
And Kabimba said the party was going back to the old system under the Kaunda administration where all the schools and classes opened in January and no student lost any time in terms of academic service.
"We have four core programmes which we have prioritised in our manifesto and these are education, health, agriculture, local government and housing. And these two are followed by infrastructure development and tourism. Activities are going on in all these sectors. You can't say that these activities are evidence of fatigue. If anything, there is a lot of vibrancy. In fact in the area of education, for the first time, in 15, 20 years, the exam results for this year will come out before the end of the year," he said.
On Prof Chirwa's observation that the PF was in a learning curve in its one and half years' rule, Kabimba said the party was merely reconstructing the economy which had fallen under MMD rule.
"It has not been a learning curve, don't forget that this country is under a state of reconstruction. We come from what I refer to as an economic civil war under the MMD. So we have to reconstruct the financial, social and economic sectors in order to move the economy forward. It is not as if we took over an ideal situation. It was not.
We have to fight corruption which has been embedded in many of our institutions of governance, including the public service which is not easy. Most of the people were dipped in the MMD culture of corruption," he said.
Last week Prof Chirwa said there were signs of fatigue on the part of the PF in terms of ingenuity of vision to deliver on its promises.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, PF, WYNTER KABIMBA
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Prof Chirwa sees signs of fatigue in PF
By Henry Sinyangwe
Tue 30 July 2013, 14:01 CAT
THERE are signs of fatigue on the part of the PF in terms of ingenuity of vision to deliver on promises, says Professor Clive Chirwa. And Prof Chirwa says politics in his life is a thing of the past.
Prof Chirwa on Friday advised the PF to stick to the vibrancy in its original vision to raise the living standards of the people. He said the PF should re-look the policies it had put in place after winning the 2011 general elections.
"The political climate in the country is showing some fatigue in terms of ingenuity of vision to do things. I would have liked is to see the vibrant vision which the PF started with to be continued. But at the moment, you are seeing ups and downs in that vision. And once you see ups and downs in that vision, people start saying 'okay, perhaps things are going wrong somewhere'. So what we need to do is to go back and look at the policies which we had put at the beginning, when the elections were won," he said in an interview.
He noted that things were not going according to plan but there was progress, nevertheless, which he said was paramount.
"To me, progress is on. There are still things which are going right, but there are also things which are going wrong and, therefore, it's the wrong things now which they need to iron out in order to deliver what they promised the Zambian people," Prof Chirwa said.
"The one and half years have been a learning curve, like everybody else who comes into power, one and half years is not good enough to say these people can fail or succeed. When they come to two and half years, getting halfway the line, then you can judge them on exactly how they are doing."
He said there was need for policies that would earn the country more revenue from copper, the country's mainstay.
"Economically, I can see a lot of benefits in the second term of this particular Parliament from the things they have put forward, but those good things and good values in terms of economic performance of this country will always be dependent on copper. So if copper goes down, the economy goes down vice-versa," Prof Chirwa said.
"The only thing which I am a little bit worried about is last year, copper revenues were very low. In fact, inland revenue figures in some cases were a little bit lower than even the other year's. There is need for policies to maximise revenues from copper."
And Prof Chirwa says there is need to change the law so that when one moves from one party to another, they should not be allowed to contest the resulting by-election but only stand during general elections.
Asked whether he would consider getting into active politics Prof Chirwa said:
"My next step is not a political one; my next step is to remain a technocrat so that I can contribute to developing Zambia. Politics to me I think is my past. I do not want to come back into politics. I want to maintain my sanity and I will remain as a technocrat permanently."
On Zambia Railways, Prof Chirwa stated that his vision was the best avenue to achieving a modern railway with little money.
"What is transpiring now, where the Eurobond money is just going to be used for the rehabilitation is not correct for the simple reason that it is not enough and will be wasted before the rehabilitation part of the project is even completed," he stated.
He encouraged the new management to embrace his vision so that they can take the company forward.
"As a technocrat and not a politician - although I have helped political parties get into power through my understanding of economics, analytical and statistical skills - I will once again urge the engineers at ZRL to do what is right for the company. At present moment, Zambia Railways is losing too much money," stated Prof Chirwa.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, PF
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(LUSAKATIMES) There were some corrupt activities at ZRL involving Clive Chirwa and some board members-Chikwanda
Time Posted: July 18, 2013 8:17 am
MINISTER of Finance Alexander Chikwanda has told Parliament that his ministry is pondering to submit findings of an audit conducted at the Zambia Railways Limited to law enforcement agencies for scrutiny.
Mr Chikwanda says a team of auditors sent to the Zambia Railways Limited has revealed that there are some corrupt activities allegedly involving former chief executive officer Clive Chirwa and some board members.
He was winding up debate on the report of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the report of the Auditor General presented to the House by Chipangali member of Parliament (MP) Vincent Mwale (MMD) on Tuesday evening.
“We have taken appropriate steps, and in some cases we may even refer some of these issues to law enforcement wings…We benefited from the controller of internal audit who looked at Zambia Railways Limited and brought a report,” he said.
Mr Chikwanda said his ministry is reinforcing audit committees because they play an important role in the fight against corruption in parastatal organisations where the scourge is suspected to be taking place.
He said corruption in parastatal bodies and other organisations should be stopped because it is retrogressive.
“One way of getting our country to run better is for us to put our heads together, and where we see impropriety we should condemn it without any reservations,” he said.
Mr Chikwanda said Government is trying to make the offices of the Accountant-General and Controller of Internal Audit in his ministry more effective so that they can detect corruption.
“These offices are independent, and it is important that they should not be fused into each other…the office of Controller of Internal Audit can even watch over the activities of the Accountant-General,” he said.
Mr Chikwanda said because of its work, the PAC has instilled fear into some officers and forced them to do things properly for fear of being summoned to appear before it.
He urged the committee to be firm in executing its tasks, saying public resources should not be abused.
Moving the motion, Mr Mwale said PAC is concerned about financial abuse in government ministries and appealed to the Secretary to the Treasury to tighten regulation.
Monze Central MP Jack Mwiimbu (UPND) said people who abuse public funds should be taken to task and that PAC should be reformed to include other expertise such as law enforcement officers.
Lupososhi MP Chungu Bwalya (PF) said issues raised in the PAC report should be addressed, failure to which the country may continue grappling with them for a long time.
He said the office of Accountant-General should be turned into a constitutional office and that powers of internal controls should be vested in its function.
Katombola MP Derick Livune (UPND) said officers who misapply funds should be dismissed from their jobs to deter intending wrongdoers.
Labels: ALEXANDER CHIKWANDA, CLIVE CHIRWA, CORRUPTION, JACK MWIIMBU, ZAMBIA RAILWAYS
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Corruption probe report on Chirwa, ZRL board with DPP - Mukanga
By Kabanda Chulu
Fri 28 June 2013, 14:01 CAT
PARLIAMENT has heard that a report on corruption allegations at Zambia Railways that were levelled against former managing director Prof Clive Chirwa and the board has been submitted to the DPP.
Responding to UPND Zambezi West member of parliament Charles Kakoma who wanted an update on the findings of the investigations at Zambia Railways, transport minister Yamfwa Mukanga confirmed that investigations had been concluded.
"The report has been given to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) who shall decide whether to prosecute or not," he said.
MMD Chembe member of parliament Mwansa Mbulakulima asked if the findings would be availed to the public but Mukanga responded that security investigations were usually not made public.
"But anybody found wanting will face the wrath of the law," he said.
Earlier, Mukanga presented a ministerial statement on the dissolution of the Zambia Railways Limited board and the retirement of the managing director.
Mukanga disclosed that Prof Chirwa did not recognise the authority of the board in that he disobeyed most of the instructions given to him.
He said Prof Chirwa never took the initiative to raise any complaints against the board to the ministry but opted to raise issues in the media.
"The board served him written warning letters whose messages he ignored, consequently the board charged him. Upon refusing to exculpate himself, the board informed the minister that Prof Chirwa should be dismissed but while the minister was still studying the matter, Prof Chirwa went to the media to attack the board, which later decided to release information to the media regarding Prof Chirwa's misconduct," Mukanga said.
But UPND Kalomo member of parliament Request Muntanga asked why the government had again appointed a managing director without constituting the board.
"Why appoint a CEO before the board is established? Is this the reason the managing director never respected the board and it has happened again?" asked Muntanga.
In response, Mukanga said there was no board at the time Prof Chirwa was appointed and that there was no anomaly when President Sata made the appointment.
MMD Mafinga member of parliament Catherine Namugala asked when the new board would be appointed while Vubwi's Eustarckio Kazonga wanted to know if the position of managing director would be advertised.
Mukanga responded that the board would be appointed soon.
"We are in control and people should not mislead the nation. Dr Atanga is the best person to resolve problems at ZRL since he understands the problems facing the company," he said.
"Also Dr Atanga is acting and cannot be confirmed without board approval and we are following his performance."
Labels: CHARLES KAKOMA, CLIVE CHIRWA, CORRUPTION, MWANSA MBULAKULIMA, YAMFWA MUKANGA, ZAMBIA RAILWAYS
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Chirwa's demands surprise Katele
By Godfrey Chikumbi in Kawambwa and Henry Sinyangwe in Lusaka
Mon 29 Apr. 2013, 14:01 CAT
DR KATELE Kalumba says he is surprised that Professor Clive Chirwa made demands that were beyond what Zambia Railways could afford to give him, especially that the company has not been productive for many years.
And the Institute of Directors (IoD) says appointing boards after a chief executive officer has been employed is a recipe for anarchy in some institutions as reporting lines are distorted.
Dr Kalumba, a former foreign affairs minister in the MMD government, said Prof Chirwa did not come to Zambia to amass wealth but to sacrifice a little in order to resuscitate Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL).
Zambia Railways is pending investigations following accusations and counter-accusations of abuse and corruption by the board and Prof Chirwa.
The board and Prof Chirwa have since been suspended indefinitely, pending investigations by the Anti Corruption Commission.
A week ago, five former Zambia Railways board members alleged several illegal and unapproved actions by Prof Chirwa, including an alleged attempt to shift company headquarters to Lusaka, staying in an apartment that costs KR72,000 per month as well as appointing himself chair of the tender committee of Zambia Railways Limited.
But Prof Chirwa dismissed the allegations as nonsense, and, on the other hand, alleged that board officials were claiming allowances whenever they called for a meeting with the permanent secretary and the minister.
Dr Kalumba said Prof Chirwa's demands had portrayed him as someone who only wanted to benefit from Zambia instead of using his knowledge and skills to contribute to the development of his home country.
Dr Kalumba said he and many Zambians expected Prof Chirwa to make sacrifices as a Zambian.
He explained that Zambians respected Prof Chirwa's technical competence, which was why President Michael Sata asked for his contribution in rebuilding ZRL.
"I don't think President Sata made a mistake to appoint Professor Chirwa as Zambia Railways chief executive officer. He respected his technical competence and many Zambians expected him to make some sacrifice. We are a poor country; if we had money, we would have asked a foreigner to help us rejuvenate ZRL. He is a Zambian and not a foreigner who would not care about the demands," Dr Kalumba said.
"I'm told he was holding a very lucrative position as a consultant but I don't think he came home rather to be richer than he was before. He came to Zambia because he wanted to make some sacrifice."
He said it was wrong for Prof Chirwa to think he was doing Zambia a favour by accepting to work as chief executive of ZRL because he owed to Zambia whatever he is.
Dr Kalumba, who described Prof Chirwa as an intelligent and gifted man, said the suspended ZRL chief executive officer had a wrong approach to work and that made him create enemies if he had any.
"It's like we are pleading for him; it is not a question of doing Zambia a favour because Zambia has already done them a favour. It is for them to give back to Zambia. We are not pleading helplessly; we are saying 'dear fellow Zambians, give back to Zambia what Zambia has given you. Help your brothers and sisters'," said Dr Kalumba.
And IoD president Julu Simuule stated that he was concerned that some state-owned enterprises did not have boards up to now.
"The Institute of Directors of Zambia wishes to raise concern on what has transpired in the recent case of Zambia Railways…in relation to corporate governance, it is our strongly considered view that boards and managements in these state owned enterprises (SOEs) once constituted are fully inducted in good corporate governance. The pace at which this is done is quite critical for timely decision making and enabling those charged with governance duties appreciate their roles and responsibilities and hence effectively and appropriately discharge them," he stated.
"It is also a concern to us as IoDZ that some boards are appointed way after the chief executive officers have been appointed, thereby making reporting lines not clearly defined. There is also a greater need to develop respective board charters for all SOEs which set out the role, composition and responsibilities of the board of directors."
Simuule stated that timely appointment of independent and competent directors in such institutions should be put as top priority.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, KATELE KALUMBA, ZAMBIA RAILWAYS
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Chirwa moves out of Fallsway Villa
By Staff Reporters
Wed 24 Apr. 2013, 14:01 CAT
PROFESSOR Clive Chirwa has moved out of the luxurious Fallsway Villa Apartments in Lusaka where he was lodging and paying K72 million per month.
And President Michael Sata yesterday suspended Professor Chirwa as Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) chief executive officer, pending investigations by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) on corruption allegations.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has threatened to withdraw the US$120 million Eurobond fund from ZRL if it is not quickly utilised.
And Prof Oliver Saasa says Prof Chirwa wants to live a lavish lifestyle.
A check at Fallsway Villa apartments where Prof Chirwa was lodged, established that he had since checked out to an unknown residence.
Sources at the apartments located on Thabo Mbeki Road said that Prof Chirwa had moved out around midday just after President Sata suspended him.
The sources said Prof Chirwa had been aware of his suspension because he spent most of the time at State House on Monday.
And in a letter to Prof Chirwa dated April, 22 2013, President Sata said that Prof Chirwa was suspended due to several corruption allegations levelled against him.
"I am suspending you from duty and you will be on half pay; and as part of other conditions, you will have to vacate the lodge and wait in the Zambia Railways Limited accommodation until the matter is completed," read President Sata's letter in part.
"By copy of this letter, the Anti-Corruption Commission has been instructed to carry out full investigations concerning the allegations of corruption."
And President Sata has appointed transport and communications permanent secretary Dr Muyenga Atanga to take charge of the company.
"...this will require you to take charge of the rail line including the inter mine rail, which is so critical to the running of the mining sector," said President Sata in a statement issued by his special assistant for press and public relations George Chellah.
Five former ZRL board members on Saturday alleged several illegal and unapproved actions by Prof Chirwa, including an alleged attempt to shift company headquarters from Kabwe to Lusaka, staying in an apartment that costs KR72,000 per month as well as appointing himself chair of the tender committee of ZRL, which allegations Prof Chirwa dismissed as nonsense.
On the other hand, Prof Chirwa alleged that board officials were claiming allowances whenever they called for a meeting with the permanent secretary and the minister.
The five members, Mark Chona, chairman, Prof Saasa, Geoffrey Mulenga, Irene Mbewe and Jonam Mwansa, dismissed Prof Chirwa's claims.
And Prof Saasa, who was vice-chairperson of the board, said Prof Chirwa's suspension was long overdue.
"If he was left out, that wouldn't have been fair; we just said he should step down to make sure that we, as individuals, do not interfere in the investigations," he said.
"The law should see to it that we are out to make sure that thorough investigations are undertaken. I think the charges that we levelled against him and the charges that he leveled against us are sufficient for the public to know the truth."
Prof Saasa urged the ACC to extend investigations to former board members of the company.
"I feel very happy when I realise that government has stepped in now to do the probe. That should not spare all of us, including Chirwa and myself, to be subjected to investigations," he said.
"To me, this is happy hour. The President is actually endorsing what the board has been saying about the man. He should not be there and there is no way we can justify him to continue at that place."
Prof Saasa said the probe instituted would make the public know the truth about the happenings at ZRL.
"We understand that he has also been ordered to move out of Fallsway apartments. For me, that means that as the board, we have been vindicated because that was only one of the many charges against many. He has also levelled a big charge against us too, where he claimed that we had so many board meetings," he said.
"I don't know how he defines board meetings; which is extremely unfair to us. That allowance paid to us, that is KR2,600, is below the standards allowances in other parastatals. But since it is in the public domain, it would appear as if we are just denying things. It is only the probe that will decide the truth."
And Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) president Lee Habasonda welcomed Prof Chirwa's suspension, saying it would provide an opportunity for both parties to exculpate themselves.
"The development will give Prof Chirwa and dissolved board members chance to clear themselves because the monies involved are too huge to go without proper explanation," said Habasonda.
And works and supply minister Christopher Yaluma said the suspension of Prof Chirwa and dissolution of the board would not affect the operations of ZRL.
Yaluma disclosed that the government would constitute another board soon.
He said the dissolution of the board was done to help the ACC carry out an effective investigation.
"There must be continuity, so the government has put in place contingencies to ensure that we sustain the continuity without at any given point derailing the plans that have been put in place for Zambia Railways Limited. We are going ahead; it is business as usual," Yaluma explained.
Asked to clarify whether the K248 million salary, K72 million per month in rentals as well as an offer of 25 per cent stake in Zambia Railways were part of the package given to Prof Chirwa, Yaluma, who could not disclose the actual contents of the contract, said that the emoluments agreed on were not as exorbitant as the ones claimed.
He, however, said that Prof Chirwa had bargained earlier for an adjustment to his salary and an offer of 25 per cent stake in the parastatal at the end of his contract earlier, which the government rejected.
And finance deputy minister Miles Sampa said the ministry was monitoring the recipients of the US$750 million infrastructure bond, which was sitting idle in some parastatals.
"Obviously, Zambia Railways by now should be implementing and utilising that money but they are more occupied on internal wrangles than implementing the programmes. Even the Ministry of Health, we allocated the funds for UTH and we haven't seen any construction going on there or that they have bought a new dialysis machine or a new CT scan. We haven't seen that happening and yet we have already indicated to them that they have US$29 million. We haven't seen that happen at Kitwe, Ndola or Livingstone General Hospital," he said.
Sampa said the government intended to reallocate the funds to other needy economic areas as opposed to leaving the money lying idle.
"We will be monitoring all the recipients, and if there is any recipient showing a sign of abuse or taking time to utilise the money... this money is not meant to be idle, it is supposed to be ploughed into the economy so that in the long run, we have the desired economic impact on the nation. That is how we will justify it and the spill-over facilities will be able to generate adequate income to meet the cost of this Eurobond. Where we will see recipients delaying or not using the money on time, we will not hesitate to recall those funds and reallocate them to other needy economic areas," he said.
Sampa said the road sector was utilising the money following a warning last year when some money was returned to the treasury.
"The road fund is running out, so they have moved pretty quickly. They have done well from last year when we warned that they were not using the money allocated to them. They are way ahead of schedule in terms of utilisation," Sampa said. "We will not hesitate as a ministry to recall these funds from these state-owned enterprises that are dragging their feet and reallocate them to other state-owned enterprises or projects that we believe can quickly have an impact on the economy."
And on his facebook page, Sampa posted: "As sang by Puff Daddy 'The More Money You Get: The More Troubles you See.' $120M into Zambia Railways, 'Things Fall Apart'. We are sending a boma Auditor to position there permanently. Pali Eurobond; Wina azamangiwa..."
And Zesco managing director Cyprian Chitundu recently said the utility had so far used $30 million of the US$255 million it benefited from the US$750 million Euro-bond for the construction of the 120 megawatts Itezhi-Tezhi power plant while Zambia Railways had not yet started using the US$120 million from the Eurobond as it was in the process of awarding contracts.
On the falling copper prices, Sampa said there would be no impact on Zambia's economy as most of the copper had already been sold at a higher price.
"So the impact on the international market is not instant on the Zambian market. The long-term outlook of copper is that the price will remain relatively stable-to-high, so this is only a short-term setback. We believe the kwacha will be stable and we expect it to strengthen more so with the Statutory Instrument that is coming up in the next few days," he said.
The Statutory Instrument to be signed by the minister of finance is a follow-up to the amended Bank of Zambia Act that would state specifics on the movements of foreign currency.
Sampa said the Statutory Instrument was expected to correct the current anomaly in the amount of money coming into local banks from the exports.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, MUYENGA ATANGA, ZAMBIA RAILWAYS
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Board's claims are nonsense - Chirwa
By Allan Mulenga and Gift Chanda
Mon 22 Apr. 2013, 14:00 CAT
PROFESSOR Clive Chirwa yesterday dismissed as nonsense the dissolved Zambia Railways Limited board members' claims that he wanted to live a lavish lifestyle and was making corrupt undertakings.
And government has dissolved the Zambia Railways Limited board with immediate effect. But dissolved board chairperson Mark Chona hoped investigative wings would move in to investigate allegations the board levelled against Prof Chirwa.
In an interview yesterday, Prof Chirwa, who is Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) chief executive officer, explained that he differed with the board members because he was opposed to misuse of company funds through unnecessary board meetings.
"Dissolved board members' claims are nonsense. What happened was that at the beginning, when I came from United Kingdom to take up this position, yes, I had a letter which I brought with from my lawyers to negotiate my contract. And that negotiation was carried out and that was the end," he said.
"There was nothing which I was claiming apart from what I was claiming at the beginning when the negotiations began. That was concluded and I am not claiming any more. We went into negotiations like any other CEO going into a contract, and that is all I did."
Prof Chirwa said board members had been getting unnecessary sitting allowances through unplanned board meetings.
"There were differences because I stopped the misuse of company money to actually have board meetings which are unnecessary in order to get sitting allowances…if somebody goes to see the minister or to see the PS (permanent secretary) and claim sitting allowances, that was nonsense. That is what led to that (differences)," he said.
"We had 28 meetings in total and it has accumulated to KR470,000 instead of spending, for this quarter, KR58,000, which is actually the money we are supposed to spend. Remember that we haven't had the meeting itself which is a scheduled board meeting which is on April 30, 2013. Per sitting, it is KR3,000 for the chairperson and KR2,600 for board members. When I stopped this, things started going bad."
Prof Chirwa explained that board members used to claim allowances whenever they called for a meeting with the permanent secretary and the minister.
He said allowances were necessary if someone had done some work.
"But if somebody wants to go and see the minister or the PS and claim sitting allowance, that is unacceptable," he said.
Prof Chirwa said it was shocking that Zambians had a culture of demanding unnecessary allowances.
"I am very surprised that people in Zambia have got this attitude of getting allowances. This thing should come to an end," he said.
"Perhaps this story of Zambia Railways will bring up some sanity within the allowance culture where without doing anything, you get allowances. This should be stopped once and for all."
Prof Chirwa said he was shaken about the manner in which former board members executed their functions.
"In fact, I am totally shaken. This is something that does not exist in Europe. If somebody is running a company, like a CEO, he is the one running a company, not the board chairperson who is non-executive. I am really surprised, very surprised," said Prof Chirwa.
On the shifting of ZRL headquarters from Kabwe to Lusaka, Prof Chirwa said it was not his proposal but it was a decision made by the previous administration.
"When I came to take up this position, I found that RSZ (Railway Systems of Zambia) headquarters offices were here in Lusaka. It is actually the board that proposed that we should actually move here. We just maintained the decision which was done by the board we inherited from the previous administration," he said.
On his stay at Fallsway Luxury Apartment, Prof Chirwa said it was not his intention to stay there, but it was management's decision.
"I am not the only one who is staying at the apartment, even some government officials stay there," he said.
On the claims that he had appointed himself board chair of the tender committee of ZRL, Prof Chirwa said it was procedural that the chief executive officer of the company assumed the position of the chairperson of the tender committee.
On the allegation that it rejected his demand of US$560,000 annual salary (or K248 million per month) and a 25 per cent shareholding in ZRL at the end of his five-year contract, Prof Chirwa said it was common practice and part of his contract.
Prof Chirwa also said the board was dissolved because some of the board members were unproductive.
"They have been holding meetings and meetings. They want to start throwing dirt at me. All these things are documented. I came here to do my work. I didn't come here to be bothered. These people are very unproductive. They have been saying Clive Chirwa here and there'. They are just peddling lies. There are only a few people who are doing this," he said.
And the government has dissolved the board of Zambia Railways in a bid to bring "sanity" to the institution.
Communications minister Christopher Yaluma told The Post in an interview yesterday that the board was dissolved on Thursday last week.
He said a new board would soon be put in place to propel the turnaround of Zambia Railways and a thorough forensic audit into the operations and expenditures of the company would be conducted.
"To revamp ZRL, we need to have a harmonised environment. The environment should be highly conducive to achieve what we want to achieve. We need to have a stable climate with sound relationship between all the stakeholders involved. In an event of having various discrepancies or perceived misunderstandings, it will make the challenge very difficult for the government to achieve our intended goals. So it is in this spirit of trying to ensure we achieve our goals of rehabilitating ZRL and bring it to what it once used to be that we have taken our first step as the government to dissolve the board of Zambia Railways," he said.
"The board in reality was dissolved on Thursday and the letters were written. The only thing that was remaining was to have the letters picked. I wrote the letters late on Thursday and I signed them but we left for Mongu with the President and so they couldn't be circulated."
Asked if the board was in any way hindering the turnaround of ZRL, Yaluma said was not quite so.
On the board's claims of public resources abuses by the rail firm and if any probes would be instituted, Yaluma said the government would definitely institute investigations.
During a press briefing yesterday, Chona, who served as board chairperson of the Task force on Corruption, said, he smelt corruption in the running of the ZRL.
"We have provided the information, it is up to our friends the investigating team to act," he said.
The members said they were not bitter with the decision taken by government to dissolve them but accused transport minister Christopher Yaluma of pulling a fast one on them.
Four members, Chona, vice-chairperson Professor Oliver Saasa, and members Geoffrey Mulenga and Jonam Mwansa said they had recommended to Yaluma that Prof Chirwa be fired following irregularities in the managing of the railway firm.
"He Yaluma agreed during the meeting we had with him and said he would inform State House to proceed with our recommendation but the next thing we hear is that he was going to see the head of state to fire us…," Prof Saasa said.
He said it was a pity that the board was at the mercy of politicians.
"Boards are supposed to be independent. Boards must hire and fire. The point we are making is that you find that the tail is wagging the dog when it should be the other way round [because it is the dog that wags the tail. But because there is someone holding on to that tail, giving it so much strength to be able to wag the whole dog, it was not the case," he said.
And Mulenga said the dissolved board officials were not bitter about being fired.
"We are very happy we are out of this problem, we can have peaceful sleep instead of thinking about what is going to happen next," Mulenga said.
"But the next board, who will replace us, if it has the people's interest at heart, will definitely not tolerate what Prof Chirwa was advancing. Good corporate governance demands that the CEO of the company is far away from tender processes."
The members maintained that Prof Chirwa's counter allegations that they were demands huge sums of money in sitting allowances were ridiculous.
"It is a heap of nonsense that we demanded to be paid K500 million," said Mwansa.
Five ZRL board members on Saturday alleged several illegal and unapproved actions by Prof Chirwa, including an alleged attempt to shift the company headquarters from Kabwe to Lusaka.
The five members, Chona, chairman, Prof Saasa, vice-chairman, and members Geoffrey Mulenga Irene Mbewe, Mwansa, dismissed Prof Chirwa's statements carried by the Daily Nation newspaper to the effect that they were demanding up to K500 million in sitting allowances.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, MARK CHONA, ZAMBIA RAILWAYS
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Our rail system will surpass that of SA - Chirwa
By Henry Sinyangwe
Fri 18 Jan. 2013, 13:30 CAT
PROFESSOR Clive Chirwa says Zambia's rail system will surpass that of South Africa in the next five years owing to a strong strategy put in place for its resuscitation.
And a board for Zambia Railways has been constituted, with Mark Chona appointed as chairperson.
Professor Chirwa, who has been given a five-year contract to revamp the country's railway system following the failed concession between government and Railway Systems of Zambia, said yesterday during the announcement of the board that his team was determined to bring in new technology in the railway sector that would be better than that of South Africa.
"We will bring in better trains, better passenger coaches and everything else, perhaps even better than South Africa. South Africa has yesterday's technology. We are bringing in new technology which will enable us move this country forward," he said, adding that his desire was to work hard to meet the people's expectations.
"We have a vision which we have already presented to the board and we are presenting it to the nation on the 31st of January at an open forum where people will be able to listen on how we intend to build Zambia Railways.
"I would like to thank his Excellency President Sata for looking up to me, to say that 'okay, he is a son of Zambia who can do something for us' and I accepted that offer and I have come home and its good to come home and I want to do something for Zambia and I will try so hard to make sure that the expectations of the Zambian people are upheld and we will within three years see a railway system which we want to build together with the board."
And transport, communications, works and supply permanent secretary Dr Muyenga Atanga said the government was satisfied with the calibre of the appointed board members for Zambia Railways.
These include economic consultant Professor Oliver Saasa who is the board vice chairperson, commerce permanent secretary Stephen Mwansa, finance permanent secretary Pamela Chibonga, retired Zambia Railways employee Richard Chipanama, mechanical engineer Geoffrey Mulenga, private lawyer Ireen Dzeko Mbewe, business management consultant Jornam Mwansa, Solicitor General Musa Mwenye, and Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) chief executive officer Zindaba Soko.
"Most people are saying that we have been quiet, especially after the announcement by our leaders that Zambia Railways was repossessed to do away with the concession and that government took the initiative to source for somebody who can steer this system to progress. Government first needed to put in place a board which was a very important initiative. There was need to ensure that a properly selected board was put in place and that board is very important…," said Dr Atanga who is part of the board as a representative of the government.
And Chona said those who may have encroached on Zambia Railways land should move to pave way for its rescuscitation.
"Those holding on to ZR assets and those who may have encroached on the land which belongs to the company, this property belongs to the Zambian people and farmers, if you don't produce, it will be a white elephant railway system unless it has something to carry, so you must produce," said Chona.
Prof Saasa observed that most sectors of the economy had lagged behind due to the poor transport infrastructure.
"We have a major challenge in the state of infrastructure and the degree to which that infrastructure compliments and supplements the growth that we have recorded. This is where the railway system and roads come in because without the infrastructure that feeds in and supports the growth we have recorded, you will discover that most of the sectors will not record higher gains in terms of growth. The railway system has hampered this growth in the last 10 years," said Prof Saasa.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, OLIVER SAASA, RAIL, ZAMBIA RAILWAYS
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Chirwa needs enough space to revamp ZRL - Kavindele
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Thu 06 Dec. 2012, 11:20 CAT
COMMERCE minister Robert Sichinga and other politicians should give Prof-essor Clive Chirwa enough leverage to execute his duties of revamping Zambia Railways (ZRL) without political interference, says Enoch Kavindele.
Kavindele, who is former Republican vice-president, warned that Prof Chirwa was bound to fail as managing director of the run-down ZRL if political interference was not tamed.
Kavindele was commenting on a meeting last week in which Korea Railroad Corporation, talking to Sichinga, had offered to help revive Zambia's rail network through human resource training and provision of locomotives "at no cost".
"Government should just leave him Prof Chirwa to come up with the plan to resuscitate Zambia Railways without political interference," Kavindele said. "Prof Clive Chirwa is bound to fail if political interference takes root. Government, having employed Chirwa, should give him free hand to resuscitate Zambia Railways."
He also said Sichinga was interfering with the work of the Ministry of Transport and Communication which was responsible for running of ZRL.
"The idea of Korea Railway talking to the Minister of Commerce and not the Minister of Transport and Communication means the Minister of Commerce Sichinga is tying Chirwa and minister of transport to an issue that hasn't been discussed fully or not aware of," he said.
"I have not been in government for a while now and I don't know how these ministries have been aligned or realigned but the issue of rail, let it be left to line ministries who have over the years done a lot on the issue of Zambia Railways and I know the Ministry of Transport has done a lot of study on this issue."
Kavindele said there were tangible records currently to show that services given to the country "at no cost" ended in costing Zambia billions of kwacha and also landing ministers involved at odds with the law.
"Bob should take cognizance of free services which have been offered to Zambia," said Kavindele. "There is no free lunch and Bob should know that. This is just a sweetener for Korean Railway to get into Zambia Railways without a competitive tender process. So, that is my friendly advice to my close friend, Bob. [If somebody tells you I am helping you at no cost, he Sichinga has to be very careful. There is nothing like that."
The Korean Railway which attended the Zambia Investment Forum (ZIIF) said it had a lot of locomotive engines which they could spare Zambia.
Last September, the government cancelled a 2003 concession agreement to a South Africa's New Limpopo Bridge Projects Limited (NLP) to run a state-owned railway under the local company - Railway Systems of Zambia.
And last November, President Michael Sata appointed Prof Chirwa as Zambia Railways Limited chief executive officer, replacing Knox Karima, who has been retired in national interest.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, ENOCH KAVINDELE, ROBERT SICHINGA, ZAMBIA RAILWAYS
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Chirwa promises Zambia a 21st century rail system
By Kombe Chimpinde
Tue 20 Nov. 2012, 11:59 CAT
PROFESSOR Clive Chirwa says Zambia should have a 21st century rail system by the end of his tenure of office. But Charles Milupi says that Prof Chirwa must not only work towards modernising the rail system but also make it commercially viable.
Outlining his strategies for revamping the system currently in a state of disrepair, Prof Chirwa said his aim was to establish an electric-powered and high-speed railway system, typical of a 21st century nation.
"It has to electrified. If we do not electrify, then it will be too expensive for us. We don't have coal so we are going to electrify it. Electrification may not come from Zesco, we have to build our own electric system to maintain the running of the rail," he said.
Professor Chirwa said that his task would commence with a market research.
He said this would be followed by reviewing the conditions of service of workers and a budget estimate.
Prof Chirwa said at the end of his three-year-contract, the railway should making billions of dollars as well create jobs.
"This is a multi-billion dollar company and now it is doing a hundred thousand dollars. So if we revamp it, that is a hell lot of money we will be making and it is the greatest opportunity to employ as many people as possible for our young people and to make sure we take it forward," he said when he appeared on Muvi TV on Sunday.
"Our cargo unit is not bad but what we don't have is the passenger unit. We are going to bring in new coaches which will be manufactured here.
"ZRA will be at the nucleus of a cluster of different companies, which will be manufacturing goods that will go to the revamping of the railway system to build locomotives. ZAMEFA (Zambia Metal Fabricators) for example is the key part of our plan so we are creating a new industry era."
But Milupi, said in an interview that Prof Chirwa's plan were brilliant and achievable.
He however cautioned that consideration of the availability of the necessary resources was vital.
"I have no doubt he can do it. What I would advise him is to make an assessment of what the situation is. He has to sit down and find out the exact cost because I feel it will cost more than that and if we borrow, over how many years are we going to recoup that In terms of the volume of the business unit?" he said.
Milupi said in addition to modernising the rail, Prof Chirwa must ensure it was commercially viable and sustainable to produce a return on investment.
"He must understand that in Zambia, they are many other interested parties. He also needs government support to be able to borrow this money. He also needs expertise to work with?" he said.
Milupi said Prof Chirwa should not be tempted to work at the pace of politicians but according his own pace
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, ZAMBIA RAILWAYS
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Prof Chirwa must be given support, says Kashita
By Kombe Chimpinde
Mon 19 Nov. 2012, 15:50 CAT
ANDREW Kashita says Professor Clive Chirwa must be given the necessary support and space to transform the operations of Zambia Railways.
Commenting on President Michael Sata's appointment of Prof Chirwa as Zambia Railways chief executive officer, Kashita, who is also former works and supply minister, said he had no doubt that Prof Chirwa would deliver.
"I have no doubt that Professor Chirwa is an excellent and competent man for the job. I have confidence that he will transform the operations of the railway service which was destroyed by selfish people," Kashita said.
"It is also good that he is tied to a timetable (contract). I only hope that those people who have got their so-called favoured candidate, employee will not frustrate him. Let him sort out the problems that are there. I am quite sure that as he gets his job and sits in office, he will tell us the exact detail of what he intends to do."
Kashita hoped he would not experience the same disappointment he had when former Food Reserve Agency executive director David Matongo, whom he thought was the right man for the job was relieved of his duties within a short period of time.
"He went there, had a lot of competence but he never settled, he never sorted out the problems there and he never even told us what had happened. When Professor Chirwa comes on board, let us allow him to give us his plan. He is an engineer with drive and self-motivation," Kashita said.
"I am quite sure the communication and transport minister will be around to assist when he needs support in any particular area," he said.
He added that an effective and reliable railway service was vital in the country to reduce the cost of doing business that continues to rise.
Prof Chirwa has given himself three years to transform Zambia Railways.
Labels: ANDREW KASHITA, CLIVE CHIRWA, MICHAEL SATA, ZAMBIA RAILWAYS
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Chirwa gives himself 3 years to rebuild ZR
By Ernest Chanda
Fri 16 Nov. 2012, 13:00 CAT
PROFESSOR Clive Chirwa says his love for Zambia and patriotism have compelled him to come and help rebuild Zambia Railways. President Michael Sata yesterday announced the appointment of Prof Chirwa as chief executive officer of Zambia Railways.
"It gives me an opportunity now to offer my services to my country in a tangible manner whereby a product will be produced at the end of the day," he said in an interview.
"I'm sacrificing quite a lot to come back to my country and this is my patriotism which I want to show in order to build this thing up to the end. You can understand that I'm losing a lot in terms of overall revenue and in terms of my style of life, to come back and help my country."
Asked what vision he had for the company, Prof Chirwa responded: "We will From front page reconstruct the whole Zambia Railways from scratch because there's nothing there left. So, it's something which we are starting from ground stage to very highly technological railway which you're going to see in three years' time."
Asked if he would persuade other Zambians in the Diaspora to emulate his patriotism, Prof Chirwa answered in the affirmative.
"I'm going on what you call a recruitment spree in the Diaspora to actually bring some of the Zambians who are highly technologically advanced; not only in engineering but in all the fields, to come and help rebuild Zambia. We are going to create job opportunities," said Prof Chirwa.
"In the next three months, we'll start the recruitment, perhaps the biggest in Zambia, to start rebuilding the railway infrastructure which we have completely lost. I would like to say to the nation, 'thank you for bringing back your son'. And I would like to thank His Excellency the President for this opportunity to ring me and offer me this job. He has seen in me someone who can change the railway system in the country. On that account, I wish him well so that he can see what we can produce out of the railway system."
According to a statement released yesterday by President Sata's special assistant for press and public relations George Chellah, Prof Chirwa's five-year appointment is with immediate effect.
Prof Chirwa replaces Knox Karima, who has been retired in national interest.
"I have deemed it appropriate and opportune to appoint you Chief Executive Officer of Zambia Railways Limited. Your appointment is with immediate effect for a period of five (5) years," stated President Sata.
"Millions of tonnes of both our imports and exports which should have been transported by rail were diverted to road transport, in the process exerting a very severe toll on our roads. The cost to the economy has been and is unsustainable,"
President Sata expressed confidence in Prof Chirwa's ability to transform the country's railway infrastructure.
"Government has taken a positive move in this direction by allocating K640 billion for the rehabilitation of the rail line," stated President Sata.
Meanwhile, the head of state has given Karima a one-month notice in which to facilitate a smooth hand-over to the incoming chief executive officer.
Prof Chirwa is a lecturer at Bolton University in the UK and distinguished Professor of Automotive and Aerospace Structures and chairman of Automotive and Aerospace Engineering.
He is also editor-in-chief of The International Journal of Crashworthiness and adviser to UK, Australia, USA, EU, Japan, Canada and Singapore governments on trans-safety, among many other internationally recognised credentials and achievements.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, ZAMBIA RAILWAYS
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Sata appoints Clive Chirwa as Zambia Railways CEO
By The Post
Thu 15 Nov. 2012, 13:40 CAT
President Michael Sata has appointed Professor Clive Chirwa as Zambia Railways Limited Chief Executive Officer. Prof. Chirwa replaces Mr. Knox Karima, who has been retired in national interest.
"I have deemed it appropriate and opportune to appoint you Chief Executive Officer of Zambia Railways Limited. Your appointment is with immediate effect for a period of five (5) years," read President Sata's letter to Prof. Chirwa in part.
The Head of State stated that the rail line has deteriorated beyond description during the concession to Railway Systems of Zambia, which the Government recently terminated.
"Millions of tonnes of both our imports and exports which should have been transported by rail were diverted to road transport in the process exerting a very severe toll on our roads. The costs to the economy has been and is unsustainable," President Sata stated.
President Sata further stated that it would take a lot of effort to sort out the country's rail line including the inter-mine rail, which is so critical to the efficiency of the mining sector.
"However, I have confidence in your ability to use your vast reservoir of knowledge to help our country to revamp the railway network that results in a rail system that will create the necessary economic impetus," President Sata stated.
"Government has taken a positive move in this direction by allocating K640 billion for the rehabilitation of the rail line."
Meanwhile, President Sata has given former Zambia Railways Limited Chief Executive Officer Mr. Knox Karima a one month notice in which to facilitate a smooth hand-over to the incoming Chief Executive Officer.
The President has thanked Mr. Karima for the services rendered during his tenure of office.
Prof. Chirwa is a distinguished Professor of Automotive & Aerospace Structures and Chair of Automotive & Aerospace Engineering. He is also Editor-in-Chief of The International Journal of Crashworthiness and Advisor to UK, Australia, USA, EU, Japan, Canada and Singapore Gov. on Trans Safety among many other internationally recognised credentials and achievements.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, MICHAEL SATA, ZAMBIA RAILWAYS
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COMMENT - The clueless neoliberal opposition parties have
hired their own consultant to see how they can sully the image of Zambia, get donor aid flows to stop and make the country ungovernable. That is the well established method, tried and tested in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and many other places.
Our aspirations clash with selfishness
By The Post
Wed 29 Aug. 2012, 10:10 CAT
The observations and criticisms of Hakainde Hichilema made by Professor Clive Chirwa are valid. And because they are valid, they deserve to be made. We agree with Clive that as long as Hakainde continues with his highly defective understanding of politics and analysis, UPND will continue to face an uncertain future.
If Hakainde continues with his type of politics, UPND and himself will never be in power, will never win an election. The most the party will do is to remain a regional party, a party of Southern Province.
In a true multiparty political dispensation, power is not won at all costs. There are principles, values and standards and common aims on which political competition takes place. In a true multiparty political dispensation, the contest for political office is not a fight for survival but a competition to serve.
And in such a contest, not everything is open for destruction. One cannot look for electoral victory on the back of national failure. There is a certain amount of loyalty, of patriotism expected from every politician and political party. And this is why it is rare to find political parties in Europe or America that are funded by foreign interests.
[Not so much since the Citizens United decision. - MrK]
But here, everything goes. And we have politicians and political parties that think they cannot win an election without being supported by the British High Commission or United States Embassy in Lusaka. They seem to be more loyal, more committed to following the advice and wishes of foreign diplomats. And they have hired themselves to be used by foreign governments against the interests of their own country and their own people.
Their hope for electoral victory seems to lie with the British High Commission or American Embassy. They don't care even a bit about the international position of their own country. They are very ready to say and do things that work to disadvantage their own country internationally and otherwise. They seem to be always ready to work with all sorts of imperialists to weaken their own country. They behave as if they are people without a country.
We know that right now there are all sorts of so-called experts being brought in by foreign missions in this country to do all sorts of political or political economy research with a view to finding ways of how to effectively deal with what they don't like in the governance of this country.
But unfortunately for them, the world has changed and many things have changed. The monopoly they had on knowledge and on money is no longer there. Things can now change without them. Their wish is no longer our command.
Last year, they were backing Rupiah Banda and the MMD and they never gave Michael Sata and the PF any chance of winning. But their ignorance about what is going on in this country, about the feelings of our people was demonstrated by how the Zambian people voted.
A similar pattern is starting to emerge in Zimbabwe. Their own research is revealing the opposite of what they had been hoping for. Despite their heavy support, political, financial and otherwise to Morgan Tsvangirai and MDC, Zanu-PF's popularity is rising.
It is therefore useless, a waste of time for any Zambian politician to frequent the British High Commission or the United States Embassy in Lusaka, or their residences, thinking that doing so will put them in power.
Michael's success in last year's elections was never secured on the basis of friendship or meetings with foreign diplomats, be it the American Ambassador or the British High Commissioner to Zambia. As a matter of fact, Michael never frequented foreign embassies the way Nevers Mumba and Hakainde have been doing. Instead, he frequented the compounds where the masses of our people live, to learn their hardships.
Contrast Michael's approach with that of Hakainde or Nevers! They are deceiving themselves, thinking that their declining political fortunes will be improved by foreign diplomats. How? Anyway, desperate people resort to desperate things. But Hakainde and Nevers' own personal deficiencies as politicians will not be compensated for by the imperialist activities of foreign missions in Zambia. The British or Americans don't vote in this country.
And their influence in our politics is exaggerated. In most cases, they are even very ignorant about the psychology or thinking of our people. They are often deceived by the opinions of the few Zambian elites they dine with or hire as consultants. These people are just cheating them; they know very little about the politics of this country.
Michael and the PF won last year's elections without the support of or help of the British or American governments. And because of this, they can't believe that Michael and the PF had no money, won that election without money. They are being deceived and they are deceiving themselves that Michael and the PF were funded by the Chinese and that's why today this government is going soft on the Chinese.
There are many things in this world that money can't buy. Rupiah had all the money and their support but failed to buy the hearts and souls of the Zambian people. Even Hakainde, who claims to be very rich, failed to buy the support of the Zambian people.
The election was won by a man, a political party without money. Anyway, we understand that imperialists and their lackeys believe and rely so much in money. Everything to them is calculated on the basis of price. No one can compete with them in matters of money. Yes, they have money. But other people also have something else more powerful than money and that is consciousness.
We know very well what imperialism is trying to do in this country right now. We are much wiser today, our eyes are much more open today and we are capable of seeing things for ourselves, of thinking for ourselves, of analysing things for ourselves and of making our own conclusions.
The vultures and mercenaries they are hiring to do all sorts of things for them, to analyse things for them, to give them all sorts of information are cheating them and they know very little about the political character of our people. Their agents will never govern this country on account of the support they are giving them.
If they are truly committed to democracy as they want everyone to believe, then they should give Michael and the PF a chance to govern, to make mistakes and correct them instead of trying to find ways of undermining them, of making them unpopular within a very short time of being in government.
As for our opposition leaders who think selling their hearts and souls to imperialism will make them leaders, governors of this country, they are deceiving themselves.
After more than 47 years of independence, our people know the value of independence no matter how much imperialism tries to make them believe that their independence means nothing. And as such, they will not accept indirect colonialism through all sorts of imperialist agents. Our independence will be defended with ever-increasing levels of vigilance.
The decisions on how this country is governed will be made by the Zambian people and no one else.
Of course, we should always strive to be educated and informed by the views of others but we should always let our decisions be a product of our own conclusions. And as Nelson Mandela once observed, "imperialism has been weighed and found wanting" and "the peoples of resurgent Africa are perfectly capable of deciding upon their own future form of government and discovering and themselves dealing with any dangers which might arise".
As such, "we need to exert ourselves much more, and break out of the vicious cycle of dependence imposed on us by the financially powerful; those in command of immense market power and those who dare to fashion the world in their own image". We have the capacity to bring about the change and progress we desire. What we need to guarantee is the right of our people to directly participate in decision-making processes and in electing their own leaders in free and fair elections.
For these reasons, we urge our politicians to be more and more patriotic, more and more loyal to their people and their country. And in the multiparty democratic setup that we today find ourselves in, we urge for a loyal opposition.
A loyal opposition also encourages those in government to be more tolerant and respectful of the role of the opposition. Very few governments in the world, including in our western democracies, would tolerate an opposition political party that is not loyal to the fundamental legitimacy of the state and to the democratic process itself.
But here, it seems this doesn't matter.
Our opposition needs to change its approach if it has to remain relevant and be trusted with power. A lot of commitment and effort is required to make an opposition respectable and trustworthy. The type of opposition we are seeing from Hakainde and his friends does not inspire that respect and trust. And their imperialist friends are not helping matters; they are actually making the situation worse. And this is why such practices are being rejected in Latin America and many parts of the Third World today.
They are still stuck to the same old colonial methods of trying to create or promote factions among the people. They are not doing anything to unite the people. All the time they are looking for factions to promote and set against each other. There is a certain amount of national unity, of common aims, standards and values that we all need to adhere to in order for our country to move forward.
A country divided in factions fighting each other every day cannot be in a strong position to solve any of its people's problems. But today we have imperialists focusing even on demographic issues they don't even understand well, analysing our politics on the basis of tribe and other things that divide and weaken the people. This is what some of our weak souls in politics are falling into; this is what some of our desperate intellectuals are hiring themselves out to do, of course at a price, for the imperialists under the guise of being political consultants and analysts.
Clearly, our aspirations are clashing with the lack of understanding; selfishness, colossal interests. We have no alternative but to struggle without respite for the unity and dignity of our people. The unity of all our people is absolutely necessary. We should rise above petty personal differences and controversies that sometimes turn us into enemies because of the intrigues, ambitions or the machinations of imperialism. We must not allow anybody or anything to divide us. We must use political formulas and negotiations to solve those problems which make some of us occasionally oppose each other.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, UPND
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COMMENT - These guys are completely irrelevant to the political debate. They are playing the victim card for the international press. This shows the emptyness of both the UPND and MMD, and neoliberal ideology. They have nothing to fall back on when they are out of power, other than to get back into power. They have no message for the nation.
Chirwa sees no future in UPND
By Kombe Chimpinde and Henry Sinyangwe
Tue 28 Aug. 2012, 10:50 CAT
PROFESSOR Clive Chirwa says he sees no future in the UPND with Hakainde Hichilema at the helm because of his defective analysis of politics.
"The opportunity has been lost. I have been speaking to a number of people who were in the party and most of whom have left the party after the elections and they are saying 'the party is going nowhere'. What they (members) need to do is recapitalise by looking in a different direction," said the US-based automotive and aerospace engineer.
Prof Chirwa said President Michael Sata's victory had vindicated him because he had warned an adamant Hichilema to swallow his pride and work with President Sata by accepting to be his vice-president in the failed pact.
Professor Chirwa said he was shocked to even hear of a planned alliance between MMD and UPND, because it would never work.
He explained that Hichilema's animosity towards President Sata was as a result of his refusal to work with President Sata in the PF-UPND pact.
He said Hichilema was regretting for moving out of the pact prior to last year's elections and was therefore not surprised at the animosity and anger the UPND leader was unleashing on the President lately.
"I don't get surprised at HHs animosity. I have had some dealings with HH during those negotiations which we used to have. We would try to agree and after some time, the position (Hichilema's) changes. It was a little bit difficult," he recalled.
Prof Chirwa said attacks by Hichilema on the President Sata were derived from bitterness and envy as they could not be substantiated.
"Which is a terrible mistake to me. He (Hichilema) made a terrible mistake of not listening to me. He listened to other people who were giving him stories which made him think he was popular in the country. If he had listened, he would have been vice-president or whatever. He made a mistake and he regrets it," he said.
"If you remember even the data and calculations I made concerning the differences in popularities between the two parties, I could see that PF could win on their own. This is why I advised His Excellency President Sata, to say 'you can go it alone now because I can see that this alliance can never work'."
Prof Chirwa said it was unfortunate and undemocratic to have leaders who always waited for other leaders to fail so that they could take up their positions at the expense of national development.
"It's very unfortunate, like any society if you had enemies before elections and you could not work together, after the elections, you must come up again and start working together. What we are seeing from reading in the newspapers of the vow which is coming out from HH is not constructive," Prof Chirwa said.
"He (Hichilema) should stop it. What we need is to make this country develop. If you feel something is wrong, perhaps you should say that we should suggest what should be done, rather than start putting bricks in front of the wheels so that you stop that machine working."
Prof Chirwa said he was however ready to contribute to national development by advising the current government to ensure the nation benefited from its natural resources.
Prof Chirwa said he was ready to lead the country when an opportunity presents itself in future.
In the future sometime, not now it can be the time that I feel I am ready now to come full time in Zambia then I will look at that. But at the moment I do not want to put myself in that position. I know I can help Zambia in many ways, not just becoming the president but I can help Zambia build good things and add value to our natural resources as an engineer, said Prof Chirwa.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, UPND
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HH and UPND are selfish - Chirwa
By Chibaula Silwamba
Fri 28 Oct. 2011, 08:20 CAT
HAKAINDE Hichilema and the UPND are selfish and that is why they are still in opposition, says UK-based UPND party member Professor Clive Chirwa. In a telephone interview from Chongqing in China, Prof Chirwa said the UPND and Hichilema had made a terrible mistake by not listening to his advice that they merge with Michael Sata and the PF ahead of the elections.
He said Hichilema refused to take up the vice-presidency of the PF-UPND pact because he deceived himself that he was more popular than Sata. President Sata was elected in the September 20 elections after beating incumbent Rupiah Banda.
"I was extremely disappointed that Hichilema didn't get my advice. In fact, I told him before the elections that he was not talking and doing the right thing when he refused to bring UPND together with PF. I told him that PF has popularity," Prof Chirwa said.
"I told Hichilema in his eyes in his office that, ‘no, Mr Sata is more popular. The figures which you have are completely wrong'. This was the selfishness of Mr Hichilema and the people who surrounded him. Those are the people who ruined the pact. He would have taken it on board but the people who were advising him completely misled him, thinking he was more popular than Mr Sata."
He said he predicted that the PF and Sata would win.
"The week before the election, on the 15th of September, I wrote a letter to the PF leaders to say that ‘next week all the Zambians will be celebrating Mr Sata's victory' and it's true when 20th came, he had victory, because I could see that," Prof Chirwa said.
"UPND made a terrible mistake by not listening to me and now what I was predicting has actually happened."
He said some top members of the UPND opposed the pact with the PF because they were selfish and did not want to relinquish their responsibilities and powers to competent people.
He said now many senior members of the UPND were regretting after the PF victory.
"I have spoken to a few of them, who are within UPND and they have regretted their decisions. I have received nearly seven emails from the people within the UPND national management committee telling me that ‘Professor, you were right. Why didn't we listen to you?" Prof Chirwa said.
"I told them that, ‘you did not listen to me because you had different agenda. You were not for the nation. If you were for the nation you would have actually taken the offer which was put on the table by PF and everybody else'."
He said selfishness had landed the UPND in enormous disaster.
"It has ended up in enormous disaster because it's inconceivable for the UPND to be actually talking to MMD. The MMD government ruined the country and I was telling them UPND before that ‘these MMD people are corrupt. You cannot get in bed with them. It's virtually impossible. You must change your tact and start moving away from them'," Prof Chirwa said.
"I even wrote a letter to the secretary general of UPND, of course I might not disclose the content of the letter, but I was so displeased."
He observed that in the past the UPND was more progressive than the PF, but now the tables had been turned upside down.
Prof Chirwa said he supported President Sata's agenda and his speech to Parliament.
"The speech in the Parliament was the speech which I could have written but I didn't write, it was his Excellency Sata who wrote it. That speech gave everything that I wanted to move Zambia into the new century," he said.
Prof Chirwa said President Sata's speech gave Zambians opportunities for employment and change of the constitution to eradicate poverty.
He said President Sata's agenda was progressive and urged Zambians to support his Presidency.
"The government of progressive thinking has come on board and the agenda they have put forward is progressive and I want to contribute to that agenda. So far, I am extremely pleased with the government. President Sata has chosen ministers who are adequate in their intellectuality to bring real change to the Zambian people," Prof Chirwa said.
"It's extremely important that now Zambia moves forward in a real way, not all those things we were hearing from MMD with their corrupt tendencies. Time now is to say, ‘congratulations PF'."
Prof Chirwa said he would come to Zambia in December to present lectures in Lusaka and Ndola about technology transfer and national development.
He said he wants to help the Sata-led government to achieve its goals.
"I will be putting real figures and opportunities for Zambians to build the industries, the infrastructure, the medical care and every single part of society so that everybody has a house, food, etc," said Prof Chirwa.
"I will bring all the technology to Zambia to help Zambia develop. I will be looking forward to the government to help me in this to eradicate poverty."
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, PF, UPND
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