Levy's sacred cows
By Editor
Saturday July 28, 2007 [04:00]
Sometimes it is difficult to believe President Levy Mwanawasa’s pronouncements that there are no sacred cows in his crusade against corruption. It is said that actions speak louder than words. So when Levy speaks, people will always wait to see what action will accompany his words. In most cases, we have witnessed a lot of contradictions and inconsistencies. Levy does not walk the talk sometimes.
Not so long ago, Levy said he would not protect any wrongdoer from facing the law and that he would apply the same standards regardless of who is involved in any case. This was shortly after he fired Claver Silavwe as Northern Province minister to pave way for investigations concerning the over K100 million imprest which Silavwe allegedly failed to retire or account for.
This was a good act confirming that Levy meant what he actually pronounced concerning the fight against corruption. Recently when we exposed a scam in the allocation of land at the Ministry of Lands, we saw Levy rise to the challenge yet again and suspended Frighton Sichone as Commissioner of Lands to pave way for investigations. In fact, he even fired then lands minister Rev Gladys Nyirongo who was also implicated in the scam. Rev Nyirongo was fired even before the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) completed its investigations against her.
And before that, a permanent secretary in the same ministry was sent on forced leave to facilitate investigations against her by the ACC. We also remember that a few years ago, Levy had fired John Mwaimba as deputy information minister because there were some allegations against him which he wanted exhaustively investigated by our investigating agencies. There are several examples we can cite.
But today, we are witnessing contradictions and inconsistencies in the way standards are being applied in the fight against corruption both from Levy and the ACC. There are serious allegations of abuse of authority of office against the Commissioner of the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) Ryan Chitoba and his deputy.
The ACC is also investigating Southern Province minister Joseph Mulyata for abuse of authority of office.
Looking at the way Silavwe, Sichone and Rev Nyirongo were treated, one would think that Levy would continue to demonstrate that there are no sacred cows in his fight against corruption by continuing to apply the same standards. In fact, one would think that it would be like pushing an open door for anyone to ask Levy to suspend Chitoba and Mulyata during this time they are being investigated.
Do we really need to remind Levy that in the interest of justice, Chitoba and Mulyata should either be suspended or sent on forced leave to facilitate meaningful investigations against them? If Levy saw the need to suspend Sichone who faced the same allegations of abuse of authority of office as Chitoba and Mulyata, why should it be difficult for him to apply the same standards in the case of Chitoba and Mulyata? Wouldn’t Sichone and Rev Nyirongo be justified in complaining that Levy acted unfairly against them, or that some people are more equal than others? Would it be fair for Levy to take offence if one suggested that his fight against corruption is selective?
It is normal practice everywhere that those being investigated should stay away from office until investigations against them are concluded. There are good reasons for this. Primary among them is that the suspect should not be given an opportunity to interfere with the course of investigations through their continued presence in office. That is why there are complaints at DEC concerning Chitoba’s continued stay in office even in the face of serious investigations against him. It is now alleged that Chitoba, using or abusing his power and authority, is doing all sorts of things to punish and frustrate all those officers at DEC whom he suspects could have reported him to the ACC.
We have heard that a number of officers have been demoted while others have been sent to remote parts of the country. This might be genuine administrative intervention by Chitoba. But coming at this time of investigations against him, this administrative action is likely to be misunderstood whether it is genuine or not. That is why it is necessary that any suspect ceases to perform official duties until he is cleared.
We are surprised that ACC director general Nixon Banda does not see anything wrong with Chitoba’s continued stay in office during this time of investigations. For investigations to be credible, there is need for the ACC or indeed any investigator, to remove all manner of suspicion. Assuming Chitoba is today cleared of all allegations against him, does the ACC expect the public to accept as genuine the outcome of those investigations?
When one is sent on forced leave or suspended to facilitate fair and objective investigations, it does not mean that they are guilty. All it means is that there is need to promote investigations that are above board and without blemish in the interest of justice both to the complainants and those complained against.
And this casual approach to serious issues is what will hinder this fight against corruption. It is true that there is no law in place to protect whistle-blowers, but there is need for the ACC to act in a manner that gives confidence to would-be whistle-blowers; that they would be protected even under this hostile environment.
That is why those who are genuinely interested in fighting corruption in our country should strive to ensure that there is something inserted in our laws to protect whistle-blowers. Most of the people involved in corruption are so powerful and influential that they can use their power and influence to protect themselves by “dealing” with the whistle blower.
Labels: ACC, CORRUPTION, DEC, EDITORIAL, RYAN CHITOBA
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Transfer of employees at DEC worries ACC
By Noel Sichalwe and Sandra Lombe
Saturday July 28, 2007 [04:01]
ANTI-Corruption Commission (ACC) director general Nixon Banda has expressed worry at the manner DEC Commissioner Ryan Chitoba is transferring employees suspected to be whistle blowers in the abuse of authority of office scandal. And Banda had indicated that ACC would ask Ministry of Home Affairs permanent secretary Peter Mumba to stop
transfers of DEC officers if it was established that they are possible witnesses.
Meanwhile, Banda has said investigations into Southern Province minister Joseph Mulyata's abuse of office allegations have reached an advanced stage. Addressing the press yesterday, Banda said the ACC was studying the matter to see how it could help. He said the reported transfer of DEC employees suspected to have been whistle blowers could have been an administrative matter.
"The current ACC Act does not contain the provision for the protection of whistle blowers but there is an Act that provides for protection of potential witnesses," Banda said.
"Some of these people are going to be our witnesses. We are studying to see how they can be protected. If some people will be found to be witnesses, we will ask the PS (permanent secretary - home affairs) to stop the movement of these people so they can testify."
Banda also said that ACC could not at the moment recommend whether Chitoba should be sent on forced leave or not.
"The matter is still under investigation, when we reach where it is necessary, then we will make recommendations."
ACC recently started investigating Chitoba for abuse of office involving about K1 billion.
Chitoba has transferred and demoted about 10 officers suspected to have leaked information relating to financial scandals surrounding the institution.
Banda confirmed the ACC was investigating allegations of suspected abuse of office against Mulyata and Chitoba.
He said he could not provide details of their enquiries into Mulyata and Chitoba for fear of jeopardising their investigations.
He said Mulyata was being investigated because he used his office to release Lusaka businessman Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba's Germinis bus before it could be cleared for overloading.
And Banda said the investigations in the allegations of corruption in the Ministry of Lands were still continuing and that ACC expected more arrests soon.
He said in the second quarter, three suspects, who included former lands minister Gladys Nyirongo, former commission of lands Frighton Sichone and Samuel Daka who was acting head of estates and valuation in the ministry, were arrested.
"We expect more to be arrested soon. However, it would not be appropriate for me to furnish you with further details of these cases at this stage as this would prejudice the investigations," Banda said.
He also said the process of ascertaining the value of properties was continuing.
Banda said so far 146 properties of industrial, residential, farm plots and six motor vehicles had been seized from the suspects.
"Soon we will be making recommendations to the Ministry of Lands on disposal of some of these properties," Banda said.
Banda said in the second quarter the commission had registered 14 new prosecution cases.
He said the convictions remained at four and two acquittals.
Banda said during the same period the commission received a total of 523 corruption and non-corruption reports.
"Lusaka recorded the highest at 271 whilst Mongu recorded lowest at 17. Out of these, 240 were corruption related complaints whilst 283 were non-corruption related complaints and treated as information received," Banda said.
"Of the 523 cases, 110 were authorised for investigations while 413 were deemed not to be pursuable."
Banda said complaints against officials in the ministries, departments and agencies from January to July were 444 whilst complaints against the private sector totaled 222.
He said 75 cases were closed in the second quarter and said reasons for closing the cases varied from lack of evidence to non-availability of witnesses.
Banda said other cases had been recommended for administrative action by relevant authorities.
He said 14 arrests had been made in the second quarter for various corruption cases.
Banda said the commission undertook a number of programmes in efforts to enhance more stakeholders' involvement in institutionalising prevention to achieve its goal of reducing levels of corruption in the country.
He said through ACC's joint operations and exercises with other departments and institutions, the commission participated in the prevention of corruption in the enrolment of students at Zambia Enrolled Nurses schools countrywide.
Banda said the report had been sent to the Zambia Nursing Council and recommendations were yet to be discussed.
He said the commission participated in the prevention of enrolment of students at colleges of education countrywide and in the manner the recruitment of new teachers was done at the Ministry of Education.
"The programmes which are on going are the prevention exercise in the allocation of rooms to students at the University of Zambia in Lusaka, Passport Office, purchase of maize from farmers by the Food Reserve Agency and the fertilizer support programme among others," Banda said.
He said earlier reports on the above had left much to be desired.
The commission during the same period had various activities among them radio programmes, discussion fora, and youth festival and community education.
Labels: ACC, CORRUPTION, DEC, JOSEPH MULYATA, NIXON BANDA, RYAN CHITOBA
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Masebo invites TIZ to probe local authorities
By Joan Chirwa and Mutale Kapekele
Tuesday July 24, 2007 [08:31]
LOCAL government and housing minister Sylvia Masebo (above) has said she will authorise Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) to collect data on corruption levels among local authorities. During a discussion at this year’s annual conference of the Local Government Association of Zambia (LGAZ) in Livingstone last week, Masebo acknowledged that most local councils were not up-to-date in terms of accountability of resources.
She said her ministry had received a lot of complaints from members of the community against the council’s misuse of resources for personal gain.
“There are a lot of watchdog institutions in the country now and many more are coming up. They will ask you how you are disbursing money and we will not stop them. The environment has changed now and there is nothing like you are a minister, councillor or whatever. If you are found with a case to answer, the law will catch up with you,” Masebo warned. “I got a letter from Transparency International Zambia asking for permission to collect information on operations of local authorities and this data will be published. They will start with six councils and Chongwe is one of them. I believe this is the only way we will be up-to-date and be transparent in whatever we are doing as councils because our core responsibility is to deliver quality services to communities.”
The Office of the Auditor General has been revealing glaring financial irregularities in the misuse of public funds by different government departments amounting to trillions of kwacha.
International lending institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank last week urged the government to ensure high levels of accountability were attained among public workers for prudent use of national resources.
Promises have been made by the Ministry of Finance and National Planning that those implicated in the misuse of public resources would be dealt with accordingly.
Recently, a workshop was organised for all controlling officers in the country aimed at strengthening expenditure systems and accountability of public resources.
And Masebo noted that most local councils had been collecting enough revenue for service delivery but had failed to perform to expected standards because of prioritising personal emoluments.
“The problem is that you always want to give yourselves salary increments and you are forgetting that you are supposed to divide the resources you get between service delivery and workers’ salaries,” Masebo said. “You should allocate resources based on what is on the ground.”
Masebo further said most local councils need to update their books of accounts in line with the law so that they could be presented to Parliament.
“We have had serious issues with audits as the local authorities. This has caused a lot of problems,” Masebo said. “It is important to update these books of accounts. We seem to be getting a lot of complaints in terms of misapplication of resources. The worst part is when councils fail to respond to queries reflected in the report of auditors.
“There are councils like Kaoma, Monze, Kapiri Mposhi that up to now I do not know how far they have gone with responding to audit queries. You just sit on them especially when an officer is implicated.
“This should not be the case and that is why it will be important to engage watchdog institutions in assessing our performance so that we can improve on accountability.
“I want to warn you now that any council that sits on an audit query, more still where councilors have misused CDF Constituency Development Funds money, the ministry will use that to suspend that council. That is the only way people will get serious with their work. This system is giving all of us a bad image.”
Masebo advised that local councils must deal with audit reports decisively as they understand their operations better.
“You know better the issues because you are closer to them. If you think the audit report is not right, deal with that issue so that I can be satisfied you dealt with the problems correctly,” Masebo said. “We are in a very democratic environment now where there is no more hiding.
The atmosphere is very different now because it doesn’t matter who you are in society. Citizens and a number of watchdog institutions are very alert to ensure that resources are used prudently. These people have been writing letters complaining about councils. I personally do not like to have a bad name. I like doing my best in whichever sector I am in.”
Transfer of employees at DEC worries ACC
By Noel Sichalwe and Sandra Lombe
Saturday July 28, 2007 [04:01]
ANTI-Corruption Commission (ACC) director general Nixon Banda has expressed worry at the manner DEC Commissioner Ryan Chitoba is transferring employees suspected to be whistle blowers in the abuse of authority of office scandal.
And Banda had indicated that ACC would ask Ministry of Home Affairs permanent secretary Peter Mumba to stop transfers of DEC officers if it was established that they are possible witnesses.
Meanwhile, Banda has said investigations into Southern Province minister Joseph Mulyata's abuse of office allegations have reached an advanced stage.
Addressing the press yesterday, Banda said the ACC was studying the matter to see how it could help. He said the reported transfer of DEC employees suspected to have been whistle blowers could have been an administrative matter.
"The current ACC Act does not contain the provision for the protection of whistle blowers but there is an Act that provides for protection of potential witnesses," Banda said.
"Some of these people are going to be our witnesses. We are studying to see how they can be protected. If some people will be found to be witnesses, we will ask the PS (permanent secretary - home affairs) to stop the movement of these people so they can testify."
Banda also said that ACC could not at the moment recommend whether Chitoba should be sent on forced leave or not.
"The matter is still under investigation, when we reach where it is necessary, then we will make recommendations."
ACC recently started investigating Chitoba for abuse of office involving about K1 billion.
Chitoba has transferred and demoted about 10 officers suspected to have leaked information relating to financial scandals surrounding the institution.
Banda confirmed the ACC was investigating allegations of suspected abuse of office against Mulyata and Chitoba.
He said he could not provide details of their enquiries into Mulyata and Chitoba for fear of jeopardising their investigations.
He said Mulyata was being investigated because he used his office to release Lusaka businessman Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba's Germinis bus before it could be cleared for overloading.
And Banda said the investigations in the allegations of corruption in the Ministry of Lands were still continuing and that ACC expected more arrests soon.
He said in the second quarter, three suspects, who included former lands minister Gladys Nyirongo, former commission of lands Frighton Sichone and Samuel Daka who was acting head of estates and valuation in the ministry, were arrested.
"We expect more to be arrested soon. However, it would not be appropriate for me to furnish you with further details of these cases at this stage as this would prejudice the investigations," Banda said.
He also said the process of ascertaining the value of properties was continuing.
Banda said so far 146 properties of industrial, residential, farm plots and six motor vehicles had been seized from the suspects.
"Soon we will be making recommendations to the Ministry of Lands on disposal of some of these properties," Banda said.
Banda said in the second quarter the commission had registered 14 new prosecution cases.
He said the convictions remained at four and two acquittals.
Banda said during the same period the commission received a total of 523 corruption and non-corruption reports.
"Lusaka recorded the highest at 271 whilst Mongu recorded lowest at 17. Out of these, 240 were corruption related complaints whilst 283 were non-corruption related complaints and treated as information received," Banda said.
"Of the 523 cases, 110 were authorised for investigations while 413 were deemed not to be pursuable."
Banda said complaints against officials in the ministries, departments and agencies from January to July were 444 whilst complaints against the private sector totaled 222.
He said 75 cases were closed in the second quarter and said reasons for closing the cases varied from lack of evidence to non-availability of witnesses.
Banda said other cases had been recommended for administrative action by relevant authorities.
He said 14 arrests had been made in the second quarter for various corruption cases.
Banda said the commission undertook a number of programmes in efforts to enhance more stakeholders' involvement in institutionalising prevention to achieve its goal of reducing levels of corruption in the country.
He said through ACC's joint operations and exercises with other departments and institutions, the commission participated in the prevention of corruption in the enrolment of students at Zambia Enrolled Nurses schools countrywide.
Banda said the report had been sent to the Zambia Nursing Council and recommendations were yet to be discussed.
He said the commission participated in the prevention of enrolment of students at colleges of education countrywide and in the manner the recruitment of new teachers was done at the Ministry of Education.
"The programmes which are on going are the prevention exercise in the allocation of rooms to students at the University of Zambia in Lusaka, Passport Office, purchase of maize from farmers by the Food Reserve Agency and the fertilizer support programme among others," Banda said.
He said earlier reports on the above had left much to be desired.
The commission during the same period had various activities among them radio programmes, discussion fora, and youth festival and community education.
Labels: LOCAL GOVERNMENT, SYLVIA MASEBO, TIZ
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Tone down on KK, Chiluba urges Levy
By Noel Sichalwe and Patson Chilemba
Saturday July 28, 2007 [04:00]
FORMER president Frederick Chiluba yesterday advised President Mwanawasa to tone down when dealing with Dr Kenneth Kaunda. And Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata has said that it is immoral for President Mwanawasa to refer to former president Dr Kenneth Kaunda as a chap. But President Mwanawasa has refuted The Post story in which he was reported to have referred to Dr Kenneth Kaunda as a 'chap' who was de-campaigning him to the international community.
Addressing the press at Lusaka International Airport before departure to South Africa for medical review, Chiluba said Dr Kaunda de-campaigned him the first day he entered office as Republican President in 1991 but that as Africans, people were not supposed to call elders by first names.
"Anybody older deserves a lot of respect whether he insults you or not. Ba Kaunda niba shikulu (Dr Kaunda is our grandfather). Whether he makes a mistake or not, it is very un-African to call him at that age and in his status as chap. No. Whether Dr Kaunda likes Chiluba or he doesn't, I think we just have to make sure that our customs are maintained. Ba Dr Kaunda ni ba shikulu. Tulakumana nabo pa airport limo limo pano (We meet here at the airport sometimes)," Chiluba told cheering supporters in the VIP lounge.
Chiluba reiterated the need to respect Dr Kaunda especially that he helped in the independence struggle.
"So I accord him the respect he deserves. So he is a founding father of our country, he was detained in Salisbury, Harare in Zimbabwe to fight for the independence of this nation with many others," Chiluba said although he did not make reference to the fact that he also detained Dr Kaunda on Christmas Day in 1997.
"They deserve the respect that is greatly required of them. I would ask my brother Mwanawasa to tone down when he is dealing with Dr Kaunda."
Chiluba also said this was a year of jubilee in the seventh year of the seventh month.
He said according to the Jewish calendar, this was the year of recovery in history to proclaim salvation and recovery in the name of Jesus.
He said he was going to South Africa in the name of Jesus.
"This crowd could not be bigger than this because the voice has been heard and that is what happens up in heaven. Angels surround the throne of heaven and peace and as we sing, we join them singing holy, holy the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the earth," Chiluba said.
"So we are already champions in the name of Jesus. We are going as conquerors, coming back as conquerors, living as conquerors, in Jesus name, amen."
Chiluba who was in a happy mood even cracked jokes with people that went to see him off among them Reverend Edith Mutale, Bishop Simon Mwale and Kasama Central Patriotic Front (PF) member of parliament Saviour Chishimba.
Chiluba was also seen off by jubilant PF cadres that were singing gospel praise songs which lured his wife Regina on the dance floor.
Apart from his wife Regina, Chiluba is accompanied by his spokesperson Emmanuel Mwamba, his personal physician Dr Justine Kangwa and two security officers.
And Sata has said President Mwanawasa's insults on Dr Kaunda would catch up with him after his term of office.
Commenting on the reference by President Mwanawasa to Dr Kaunda as a chap, Sata accused President Mwanawasa of being arrogant towards Dr Kaunda.
"Whether in law or age or political experience, it is not moral...it is immoral, he can not call Dr Kaunda as a chap. He's an eminent lawyer. That arrogance of fighting every body must stop. His advisors should advice him well," he said.
Sata said Dr Kaunda has all the right to speak on anything he deemed fit for the well being of the nation.
He said rather than attacking Dr Kaunda, President Mwanawasa would do well to take seriously Dr Kaunda's counsel on several important national issues.
"Because our President has not performed, he has no issues to defend or show to the country, so everything in Zambia is his enemy including a fly. When he sees a fly, its de-campaigning him," Sata said. "Dr Kaunda is a citizen of this country and has a right to comment on anything affecting the country. In fact he is in a stronger position to comment on anything based on his past experience because of the successes and failures he's had. President Mwanawasa must take seriously what Dr Kaunda says."
Sata wondered what had gone wrong with President Mwanawasa when he enjoyed closer relations with Dr Kaunda just a few years ago.
"What has gone wrong with Levy because when he took over he was very close to Dr Kaunda? He promised heaven on earth," Sata wondered.
Sata accused President Mwanawasa of dumping Dr Kaunda because he had passed his usefulness.
"All of a sudden as I have always told people that Levy has no permanent friends. He uses them and after that he dumps them. He worked hard with Dr Kaunda in dealing with Frederick Chiluba. Now he has found usefulness for Dr Kaunda not being necessary," he said.
And Sata said President Mwanawasa could today afford the luxury of insulting him (Sata) and other prominent people like Dr Kaunda because of the immunity that he was currently enjoying.
"He does all that because he's swimming in immunity but all those insults will haunt him in a few years to come. He can insult me because he knows we cannot return the insults because police will be on our doorsteps. Dr Kaunda was like that for 27 year, Chiluba for 10 years, and Levy is not like Dr Kaunda who didn't know when he would leave office but Levy knows," he said.
Sata further advised President Mwanawasa to listen to the people on the enactment of a new constitution.
He said President Mwanawasa risked being bruised if he continued to be stubborn over the constitution.
"It is the constitution through the third term that bruised the MMD and not Chiluba," he said.
Sata said President Mwanawasa would not have anyone to stand with after he leaves office because all his friends would desert him.
"Where are all Dr Kaunda's friends? At the funeral of Dr Kaunda's grandson we were unable to fill St Ignitius Church, which would have been completely different when he was in office. So my appeal to Levy is to take care," said Sata. "He's just bluffing over the constitution because as he says, Zambians are forgetful."
During a meeting with MMD officials in Livingstone on Tuesday, President Mwanawasa accused Dr Kaunda of de-campaigning the MMD government in foreign countries he had been visiting because he (Dr Kaunda) hated the ruling for getting him out of power.
"I used to plead with President Chiluba to sign his cheque and when he did, I personally went to give it to him. Now the chap is de-campaigning me just because he hates my party for removing him from office," President Mwanawasa said. "Kaunda should forget about the grudge he has for the MMD and just accept that things are better than they were before."
But President Mwanawasa has refuted the story which appeared in the July 26 edition of the Post newspaper under the headline: "This chap KK is de-campainging me -Levy."
According to a statement from State House special assistant for press and public relations John Musukuma, President Mwanawasa never said what was attributed to him.
Musukuma said President Mwanawasa said democracy was supposed to promote peace and understanding in the nation to calm incidents of potential friction and tension among people.
He advised The Post "to give democracy its true meaning and avoid sensationalism, hatred and tendencies of division in its reporting as these will not be cured even by the best constitution."
"The word 'chap' is not my language," President Mwanawasa said.
"I take strong exception to this as I never referred to Dr Kaunda as 'this chap'. The report by The Post is also unethical as the meeting quoted was a party executive and a closed door meeting. The Post journalist/s reports from hearsay as all pressmen were specifically asked to leave."
President Mwanawasa said it was true that he talked about Dr Kaunda in answer to a question asked by one of the party officials why he was tolerating Dr Kaunda and PF president Michael Sata to unfairly talk ill of him.
He said he responded that Dr Kaunda would not have brooked the amount of criticism and would have been quick to deal with such people by detaining him.
President Mwanawasa further said Sata being a disciple of Dr Kaunda would never have tolerated the kind of attacks he had been making.
He said the party official said: "Mr President, you must also be a dictator instead of treating these people with kid groves."
In response, President Mwanawasa said: "As far as I am concerned, Mr Sata is a finished person. By detaining him, I would make him feel that he was important and feared! I have allowed him to continue making his statements about me in the hope that the people will not take him seriously."
President Mwanawasa noted that on Dr Kaunda, he said words to the effect that he regretted that Dr Kaunda appeared to reciprocate the kind of treatment, which he had offered him as a parent and as a founding father of the nation.
He said he strongly talked to Chiluba to pay Dr Kaunda his pension as he was entitled to by law.
He said when Dr Kaunda's first cheque was prepared, he took it to his Kalundu house.
"Immediately when I became President, I directed for his pension to be regularly paid. He was given a furnished house, provided with motor vehicles, security and administrative staff who included an administrative secretary and a personal secretary," President Mwanawasa said.
"I further directed all our missions abroad to receive Dr Kaunda at the airport each time he visited their country of accreditation and give him all the courtesies. I am aware that he is entitled by law all these things but I have insisted that this law should be respected because of my policies that govern under my leadership 'shall be of laws and not of men.' Dr Kaunda knows for how many years after his retirement he was not being paid his perks and yet the law was there."
"When I travel abroad during the few occasions that it becomes necessary for me to talk about him, I speak about him fondly. Not only has he chosen to speak ill about me or to imply from his statements that I am incapable, he has openly campaigned against me and my party as was the case in the last presidential and parliamentary elections.
Yes I said I did not deserve this treatment by Dr Kaunda and that he had been rather unkind in his remarks about the MMD, the government and myself despite the many things which I have done for him. I commented however that whether I really deserve this, the people of Zambia would judge."
On the MMD presidential aspirants, President Mwanawasa said the contents of the story could only be intended to antagonize him against his MMD colleagues.
President Mwanawasa said he informed the meeting that it was not in the interest of the party for him to step down before the 2011 general elections.
He said he proposed a meeting of 'food for thought' that the party could require of him to stay on as party president until elections day and that as the convention, they could elect a presidential candidate who would be the actual 2011 presidential candidate.
President Mwanawasa said this would enable him lead the party and be at the head of the tripartite elections. He said this would all be within his two terms both as party and Republican President.
"I intend to pass this message to all our party organs. You think over this proposal, you can communicate your views later," he said. "I stressed the importance of selecting a presidential successor who had integrity and who would treat fundraising for the party as paramount importance because the party needed to be sufficiently funded to enable it discharge its operations. I have seen very little of this from my colleagues during the time I have served as party president."
President Mwanawasa denied that his proposal to stay in office until elections day was for the period outside the stipulated time. He said when the convention would be held, he could not have served his five years of the second term.
On the constitutional conference, President Mwanawasa said he was explaining to party officials the differences between the constitutional conference and the constituent assembly.
He said in order for the current constitution to be amended to give power to the constituent assembly, the process would be long and costly to the nation with the prospect that this process may fail to achieve the desired result.
"By legislating for a constitutional conference which would have no powers to make or alter the constitution but would pass its resolutions to Parliament for enactment, this is relatively simple and less time consuming," he said.
President Mwanawasa said since all members of parliament would be members of the constitutional conference, there was a high probability that they would vote to legislate whatever the constitutional conference would adopt.
He said the fact that the method was inexpensive, less acrimonious and would make it possible for Parliament to legislate those provisions which were not contentious and defer those that required a referendum.
"It is possible for an agreement to be made on almost 80 per cent of the document," he said. "At the end of the day except for this explanation, there was no difference between a constituent assembly and a constitutional conference. You can call it whatever you want, constituent assembly, constitutional conference, convention, national indaba, it is all in an exercise of semantics."
Labels: CHILUBA, KENNETH KAUNDA, MWANAWASA
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Ethiopia triumphs over Starbucks; wins rights to coffee
By Emad Mekay and Jim Lobe
Updated Jul 18, 2007, 11:02 am
WASHINGTON (IPS/GIN) - A deal between Starbucks and Ethiopia that ends their trademark dispute and offers more benefits to Ethiopian coffee farmers has been hailed as a potential model for other poor nations to follow. The deal allows Ethiopia to better use the modern trading system and especially the system’s often-controversial intellectual property rights provisions.
“This agreement represents a business approach in step with 21st-century standards in its concern for rights rather than charity and for greater equity in supply chains rather than short-term profits,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, an advocacy organization that has been campaigning on behalf of Ethiopia since last October.
“Harnessing market forces and allowing poor countries to benefit from intellectual property rights are keys to creating fairer and more equitable trade. In a modern economy, companies must bring their business models in line with the demands of good corporate citizenship, which goes beyond traditional philanthropic approaches to dealing with poverty,” he added.
Activists say that developing countries can now tap intellectual property rights to increase export revenues and improve the security of that income.
The Ethiopians’ strategy of patenting their coffee could show the way to other countries that remain mired in poverty even as Western corporations get rich off their products. One key aspect of the Ethiopian experience is that they worked from within the modern intellectual property system to help poor farmers.
“Ethiopia’s initiative shines a new light on such arrangements between powerful buyers and their developing world suppliers,” said Ron Layton, founder of Light Years IP, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that is dedicated to the use of intellectual property rights to help the poorest countries.
Traditionally, intellectual property rights have been used to benefit international corporations and have been blamed for keeping life-saving medicines out of the hands of needy people. According to Light Years, between 90 percent and 95 percent of product value is taken by the distribution chain of products that come from poor nations. Only a few producers have any real control over their products.
But last year, Ethiopia set out on a mission to challenge that. Its coffee sector launched a plan to take better advantage of its intellectual property rights.
The poor African nation first applied for the trademark registrations of its specialty coffee brands in the United States, Canada, Japan and other countries. It succeeded in registering several, including Harar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe.
The country’s leaders also began negotiating with coffee roasters to sign agreements acknowledging the right of Ethiopians to control these brands, but the U.S. coffee franchise Starbucks dragged its feet and declined to give Ethiopian coffee farmers the right to control their coffee trademarks, even though it had originally promised to do so.
This prompted aggressive campaigns against the Seattle-based company.
Anti-poverty campaigners criticized the cash-laden Starbucks for repeatedly ignoring its social responsibility pledges. The campaigners raised awareness about the issue by running newspaper ads, making phone calls and firing off mass e-mails. Thousands of activists worldwide took part in the crusade to pressure the coffee company, one of the world’s largest and most profitable.
Finally, Starbucks agreed to sign the deal, which now lets Starbucks use and promote Ethiopian coffee brands in markets both where trademarks exist for the brands as well as where they may not.
The deal is expected to generate more income for Ethiopian farmers. Currently farmers get only a fraction of the export price. Retail prices for specialty coffees can be anywhere from five to 15 times larger than export prices.
Under the new deal, farmers instead would be able to base their export prices more closely on the retail value of their coffees.
There are 15 million people in Ethiopia who are dependent on the country’s coffee sector. Coffee is among the most valuable commodities in Ethiopia, one of the world’s poorest countries. Starbucks purchases approximately 5 percent of its high-quality Arabica coffee from African countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya.
Labels: COFFEE
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Huge uranium deposits found in Kariba - Dr Mwansa
By Joan Chirwa
Thursday July 26, 2007 [04:00]
EQUINOX Minerals Limited has announced that it has found significant uranium deposits at its Lumwana project in North Western Province. And mines minister Dr Kalombo Mwansa has said huge uranium deposits have been found in Kariba.
Equinox initiated a uranium feasibility study (UFS) at Malundwe in North Western Province, and results indicate intercepts above 0.3 per cent of uranium.
Company president and chief executive officer Craig Williams said the drilling programme currently underway appeared to be defining discrete and coherent mineralised zones with significant uranium grades at Malundwe.
“In addition to this Malundwe work, Equinox is proactively exploring additional regional uranium targets within its 1,355 km2 Lumwana Mining Licence and Equinox’s regional tenements,” stated Williams in his comments on the uranium drill results.
“Recent heliborne radiometric surveying and reprocessed fixed wing radiometric data has proven very successful in identifying and delivering numerous additional uranium channel anomalies for our teams to investigate outside of the UFS. “
Williams states that the results suggest further uranium potential in the region as the company works to expand the total Lumwana uranium resource.
Uranium within the Malundwe and Chimiwungo copper deposits at Lumwana occurs as discrete uranium-enriched zones that will be mined separately during the copper mining operation.
The resources would be revised on completion of the current UFS programme.
The company’s UFS drill programme commenced in April 2007 and comprises approximately 16,000m in 160 drill holes that will extend along a 2km strike length of the Malundwe copper deposit within the currently designed main Malundwe open pit.
On completion of this drilling programme, drill hole collar spacing will average 50m x 50m and in some areas the density will have been increased to 25m x 25m to increase statistical definition of the resources.
And Dr Mwansa said preliminary exploration works in Kariba have revealed huge deposits if uranium in the area.
“There is a lot of prospecting going on. I can tell you that there are signs of uranium deposits in Kariba and in North Western Province as well. Although copper is being mined there, uranium has also been found,” Dr Mwansa said.
“The ministry has already established a document to govern the mining of uranium. This document is currently with the Ministry of Justice and after the process is over, people will be invited to get licenses for the mining of uranium.”
Labels: EQUINOX, KALOMBO MWANSA, KARIBA, URANIUM
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Utilise resources gained from mineral royalties - Chinyanta
By Joan Chirwa in Livingstone
Thursday July 26, 2007 [04:00]
ZAMBIA should utilise resources gained from mineral royalties to improve the road infrastructure in the country, chairman and chief executive officer of Loita Holdings Corporation Justin Chinyanta has said.
And a prominent Zambian businessman, Guadenzio Rossi, has urged the government to identify and support a local airline that could act as a national carrier in an effort to boost tourism in the country.
Chinyanta noted that the growth in mining activities in the country needed improved road network to reduce congestion created by heavy trucks delivering equipment to different mines.
He said the road network in the country was currently inadequate considering the enormous growth in the economy, therefore the need to increase effort in developing the infrastructure.
“Maybe the mineral royalties can help in improving road infrastructure to accommodate the growth in the mining sector,” said Chinyanta during a presentation of recommendations on infrastructure to the 5th ZIBAC conference which convened here early this week.
“There are immediate transactions in the pipeline but there is need for an integrated framework but this should not hold those transactions in the pipeline. Roads are currently very highly congested because of the mines. The mines should therefore be used as an anchor client for the project of increasing road infrastructure.”
Chinyanta further said the government had indicated during discussions that there were currently no resources to finance the construction of new roads, specifically in the interest of the mines.
“We considered whether the government could finance such projects but government representatives during the discussion said that it was not possible. The co-operating partners also said it was not possible to finance road projects specifically to save the interests of the mines,” Chinyanta said.
“This is where I think taxes collected from mining companies could help in expanding the road network in view of the growth in the mining sector.”
And making recommendations on behalf of the tourism sector, Rossi said the government needed to support an already established airline which could stand in as a national carrier.
“In view of the absence of a national carrier, government is encouraged to identify and support a Zambian air company to stand in as a national carrier that will help to support tourism,” Rossi said.
He also called for the reflection of tourism as a priority sector in the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Act of 2006.
“Relevant incentives for tourism should also be clearly stated in the ZDA Act for present and future businesses. The timeframe will be determined by the programme of ZDA,” he said.
“The enactment of the tourism and hospitality bill by the end of December 2007 is also something which needs to be considered as well as the review of the Environmental Impact Assessment fees by December 2007. An audit of fees and licences should also be carried out starting with Livingstone as a model by December 2007.”
Labels: MINING, TOURISM, ZDA
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Economic competition vital - Daka
By Florence Bupe
Thursday July 26, 2007 [04:00]
SCIENCE, Technology and Vocational Training minister Peter Daka has observed that economic competitiveness is essential for the provision of high quality standards. Speaking at the opening of the National Training Course on Quality Management Systems ISO 17025 at Cresta Golfview Hotel yesterday, Daka said it was vital to have healthy economic competition in every institution as a way of ensuring sustainable quality management.
“It goes without saying that economic competitiveness of any establishment is directly linked to the quality of goods and services provided by such institutions. Quality management is indeed an essential tool in ensuring that such establishments are able to have their fair share of the market if only their goods and services ascribe to the highest quality,” he said.
The National Training Course has been organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under the theme ‘Quality Management Control Using Nuclear and Related Technologies’. IAEA mobilised K1.2 billion and offered staff training to facilitate the establishment of a Cancer Centre at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).
Daka urged course participants to ensure that they utilise the training opportunity to impact positively on the Zambian economy.
Labels: COMPETITION, IAEA, PETER DAKA
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Slow implementation of programmes delays poverty reduction - Hamukoma
By Joan Chirwa
Friday July 27, 2007 [04:00]
ZAMBIA Business Forum (ZBF) chairman Passmore Hamukoma has said the inertia on implementation of programmes negates acceleration of wealth creation. Hamukoma said the slow implementation of certain programmes could also delay poverty reduction and the increase in local and foreign investment.
“It is true we have made some progress in some areas but have had inertia in other areas. Is it the lack of understanding? Looking at those of us that have been given the task, the answer is a resounding no,” said Hamukoma during the just-ended 5th Zambia International Business Advisory Council (ZIBAC) conference in Livingstone.
“Then what went wrong? This inertia on implementation negates the acceleration of wealth creation, poverty reduction and the increase in local and foreign investment. The lack of implementation will ensure that successes in the reform programme elude us as a nation.”
Hamukoma said the private sector was committed to the task of enhancing economic development in the country.
“The Zambia Private Sector agrees that we should review outstanding issues and tackle them and pressing reforms should be tabled,” Hamukoma said. “The challenge for us is to remain resolute in our desire to see Zambia attain greater heights in economic development. We need to remain proud of achievements and find lasting solutions in those areas that we have not performed as expected.”
He further said the private sector fully endorses the realisation that Zambia needs a private sector driven economy.
“To achieve this, there is need for reforms both in policy and policy implementation,” Hamukoma said. “The PSD Reform Action Plan has had positive and reflective aspects to it which require careful thought if we are to see the programme through. This requires commitment to the cause, courage to challenge the underlying assumptions and the will to implement. In order to do this, there must be pragmatism and I repeat concerted will to achieve the deliverables.”
He said the private sector had in the last two years been in the realm of the PSD and spent its energies and resources in implementing projects under the working groups tirelessly.
Labels: PASSMORE HAMUKOMA, POVERTY, ZBF, ZIBAC
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Chitoba acts on 'suspected' whistleblowers
By Noel Sichalwe
Friday July 27, 2007 [04:00]
DRUG Enforcement Commission (DEC) Commissioner Ryan Chitoba (right) has transferred and demoted about 10 officers that are suspected to have leaked information relating to financial scandals surrounding the institution. This follows Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigations into the abuse of office allegations against Chitoba and his deputy Jacob Koyi.
Among those transferred is Jackline Chisi who has been taken from headquarters to Solwezi.
Chisi was also demoted by seven ranks from that of senior human resource personnel to a clerk while a Malambo, assistant commissioner, has been transferred to Ndola.
Others are Mercy Lungwane, an assistant investigations officer who has been transferred to Mpulungu, Patson Chiwala, a senior investigations officer and his wife Hope Chiwala, an investigations officer who have been posted to Kabompo while Mable Lumbwe, a clerk officer has been posted to Kasama.
Bridget Kafwimbi, an investigations officer has been taken to Kasempa, Chansa Chibwe, a senior investigations officer has been transferred to Kabwe, Justine Phiri, a senior investigations officer has been posted to Mansa and Anice Luwi, an assistant investigations officer has been posted to Mpulungu.
Sources said Malambo was transferred after querying and asking Stephen Chiyanzo, Chitoba’s nephew, to exculpate himself for carrying a loaded firearm when he was not entitled to do so.
The sources said when Chitoba heard of the incident, he wondered why Malambo queried Chiyanzo without seeking permission from command. He then decided to transfer Malambo for chastising Chiyanzo.
In his exculpatory letter, Chiyanzo who is assistant investigations officer stated that he got the gun for protection after knocking off from work late. He said the crime rate in his residential area was high and he wanted to secure himself.
Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) president Reuben Lifuka on Wednesday called on President Mwanawasa to suspend Chitoba and Koyi to pave way for investigations on abuse of office allegations.
“We fear that the patriotic DEC officers that have given us this information will be exposed as long as Mr Chitoba and Mr Koyi still remain in the office. This is why the President should suspend the two commissioners to pave way for investigations,” he said.
Labels: CORRUPTION, DEC, RYAN CHITOBA, TIZ, WHISTLE BLOWERS
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Suspend DEC commissioner, Lifuka urges Mwanawasa
By Noel Sichalwe
Thursday July 26, 2007 [04:02]
TRANSPARENCY International Zambia (TIZ) president Reuben Lifuka has called on President Mwanawasa to suspend Drug Enforcement Commissioner Ryan Chitoba and his deputy Jacob Koyi to pave way for investigations into the abuse of authority of office allegations.
TIZ president Reuben Lifuka said yesterday said President Mwanawasa should suspend Chitoba and Koyi to allow the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) conduct their investigations into the allegations professionally.
Lifuka said there were a lot of expectations from Zambians especially that ACC was investigating the head of another law enforcement agency.
"We hope to see ACC move with seriousness and conduct the work professionally," Lifuka said.
"If the ACC can use all the time, the investigations might help in the fight against corruption. We fear that the patriotic DEC officers that have given us this information will be exposed as long as Mr. Chitoba and Mr. Koyi still remain in the office. This is why the President should suspend the two commissioners to pave way for investigations. Let the investigations take place in an atmosphere that does not support suspicions. This is why the ACC need to protect the whistle blowers. We would like the due process of law to take its course. The allegations are serious and they affect an important watchdog like DEC and any delay will have an impact on the whole fight against corruption."
He said the ACC should dispel the perception that it was not moving fast in its investigations on DEC.
Lifuka said TIZ played its role by presenting the allegations to the ACC on behalf of patriotic DEC whistle blowers.
He said ACC should not erode the confidence that people had in the institution by delaying the investigations.
TIZ executive director Goodwell Lungu also said ACC should move faster in its investigations and ensure that the employment of various DEC officers was secured.
Lungu said a number of DEC officers presented TIZ with the complaints, which TIZ handed over to ACC for investigations.
He said the allegations had solid documentary evidence of bank statements and vouchers that made the ACC investigations easier.
He said ACC should be seen to be proactive in the matters especially that the issues had reached the media.
Lungu said TIZ was ready to provide the necessary support to ACC in terms of information and the list of properties alleged to have been bought in suspicious ways.
He was however, said TIZ was happy with the feedback they were receiving on the manner investigations were proceeding.
He said the DEC workers did not want to present the complaint to ACC for fear of being identified as whistle blowers.
Lungu said if it would be established that some DEC officers who were been charged for various allegations were whistle blowers, the ACC should find a way of protecting them.
"We seek ACC to move and protect these DEC officers," Lungu said. "We feel a precedent should not be set to see people who raise concerns about malpractices being harassed."
On Tuesday, police spokesperson Bonnie Kapeso said a warn and caution statement had been recorded from assistant DEC commissioner Nason Banda for being in possession of official documents contrary to the State Security Act.
Kapeso said Banda was warned and cautioned together with DEC accountant Oakley Simwiinga on July 20.
He said police also interviewed Chitoba's secretary Lubona Mutakwa but that no statement was taken from her.
And Lusaka lawyer Kelvin Bwalya has complained that his clients were being harassed by police on suspicion that they leaked information relating to the corruption scandals at DEC.
Bwalya complained that police were harassing his clients - Nason Banda, an auditor Francis Ngwenya and Simwiinga for no reason.
He said police had raided the trio's homes with search warrants in their attempt to recover some information or documents relating to the alleged scandals at DEC.
Bwalya said unfortunately, police did not find any tangible documents on the trio but still confiscated their cell phones and laptops.
"This is pure harassment because my clients are innocent," Bwalya said.
He said it was sad that police were intimidating innocent people to shift attention from what was happening at DEC.
However, sources said Chitoba who is a former Central Province commanding officer was using Inspector General of Police to intimidate some DEC officers on suspicions that they were leaking information.
"This is purely to divert the attention from the scandals happening at DEC," the source said.
Chitoba and Koyi are alleged to have been abusing their authority of offices through unretired imprest and questionable promotions.
According to investigations conducted in DEC and according to available documents, Chitoba on December 8, 2006 dubiously obtained a K20 million loan from the DEC revolving fund meant for junior officers' operations.
Sources said in an ideal situation, Chitoba was supposed to get a loan from leaders fund at the Ministry of Finance because of his senior position.
On October 25, 2006 Chitoba further obtained K27.7 million under cheque number 001159 for excess leave days from the money, which was not provided for personal emoluments.
Later on October 2, 2006, he obtained imprest in the amount of K12.5 million for him to travel to Austria for 10 nights but he never traveled and the money was not returned.
Chitoba further on October 3, 2006 obtained about K6 million imprest under cheque number 001084 to travel to Johannesburg but he never went and money was not returned.
Further on March 10, 2007, Chitoba got about K6 million imprest under cheque number 001084, which was not retired. He later obtained imprest amounting to K3.7 million under cheque number 005640 for a trip, which was not undertaken.
He further obtained about K20 million on July 21, 2006 under cheque number 003871 to travel to Botswana but only traveled in October and he never retired the receipts.
For Koyi, On October 25, 2006 he obtained imprest of K10 million under cheque number 007746 for a farmilisarisation tour of Northern Province operations. However, the trip was not undertaken and the money was not retired or refunded.
Later on May 4, 2006 Koyi obtained imprest amounting to K1.4 million under cheque number 0011511 for a local trip but he did not go anywhere and the money was not retired or reimbursed.
Koyi further got an imprest of K1.6 million for a local trip which was never undertaken and the money was not reimbursed. He also got another K1.1 imprest for a local trip to carry out investigations but the activity was never carried out and the money was not reimbursed.
Chitoba and Koyi further allegedly promoted their children working for DEC in strange circumstances.
According to available information, on February 21, 2006 Chitoba appointed his son Brian as an investigations officer.
On May 24th, 2006 DEC chief training officer Beatrice Mpanga nominated Brian to attend the leadership workshop from June 5 to 9, 2006 which was organized by DEC.
After the workshop, Chitoba on June 29, 2006 promoted his son Brian from being an assistant investigations officer to investigations officer.
The promotion came while Brian was still on his probation period.
"I am pleased that in the exercise of powers vested in the Commissioner, Drug Enforcement Commission under section 4(1) of the first schedule to CAP 96 of the Laws of Zambia, I hereby appoint you investigations officer, salary scale PSS/07 with effect from 29th June, 2006," Chitoba stated in a letter of promotion to his own son.
Chitoba again promoted his son on February 21, 2007 as senior investigations officer.
He is also alleged to have appointed Mwelwa Koyi, the son to his deputy Jacob Koyi as office orderly on November 16th, 2006.
According to his job application on April 18th, 2006 Mwelwa applied as an assistant security officer. He completed grade twelve in 2002 at Kabulonga Boys High School after obtaining a General Certificate in Education.
The statement of results for 2002, indicated that the highest grade that Mwelwa got was a credit in English language.
On February 2007, Chitoba questionably appointed Mwelwa to a senior position as assistant security officer and congratulated him for the deserved appointment. He is also alleged to have appointed his wife's sister as his secretary to replace Lubona Mutakwa.
Chitoba is further alleged to have bought a house a house in a dubious way.
According to the loan application form, Ryan Chitoba as deputy commissioner on June 4th 2004 applied for a K100 million house loan from DEC. Chitoba with national registration number 173898/66/1 obtained a loan on pensionable establishment to purchase house number 6857, Olympia Extension in Lusaka.
The house loan was approved by then senior assistant commissioner Sylvester Liywali. The offer of the house along Chainama road was confirmed in a letter from the landlord Reuben Banda to Chitoba on May 13, 2004.
"I am pleased to offer you plot number 6857 Olympia Extension, Chainama Road for sale. The price is K270,000,000 net of tax. Note that the offer and acceptance will constitute part of the agreement for sale of property," Banda wrote to Chitoba.
Informed sources said Chitoba used some money from the DEC to pay for the purchased house.
After buying the house, Chitoba occupied it and leased it to DEC although the cheques for rentals were paid in the name of the Banda who sold him the house.
Further, on December 7th, 2006 Chitoba obtained about K20 million from DEC operations account after disguising it as an application for a household loan and it was later authorized by his deputy Jacob Koyi.
Later on March 23, 2007 Chitoba got another K20 million from the operation account meant for junior officers to conduct their work.
The K20 million loan was under the agreement for household loan. The money was given under voucher number SF/DEC/446.
Labels: DEC, TIZ
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HH, Emily urge Levy to respect Dr Kaunda
By Brighton Phiri
Friday July 27, 2007 [04:00]
OPPOSITION UPND president Hakainde Hichilema has asked President Mwanawasa to treat Dr Kenneth Kaunda differently. Commenting on President Mwanawasa's statement that Dr Kaunda was ungrateful and that he had forgotten that it was he (Mwanawasa) who persuaded former president Frederick Chiluba to pay him his benefits after 1991, Hichilema said he would not use the words President Mwanawasa used against Dr Kaunda if he were in his position.
He said it could be for the benefit of the country if President Mwanawasa found time to sit down with the former leaders and address their views.
Women for Change (WfC) executive director Emily Sikazwe yesterday asked President Mwanawasa to have respect for Dr Kaunda. Mazabuka Central UPND member of parliament Gary Nkombo said it was an insult for President Mwanawasa to claim that the MMD leadership had done more than Dr Kaunda.
Sikazwe said it was embarrassing for President Mwanawasa to continue demeaning Dr Kaunda.
“It is sad reading that President Mwanawasa continues to demean Dr Kaunda when under our Zambian traditions, he is supposed to be his father and that he deserves his respect,” Sikazwe said.
Sikazwe reminded President Mwanawasa that Dr Kaunda’s emoluments did not depend on his personal mercy because they were constitutional.
“It makes sad reading each time Dr Kaunda speaks out, President Mwanawasa refers to his emoluments when he is entitled to them,” she said.
She further reminded President Mwanawasa that Dr Kaunda was entitled to freedom of expression.
Sikazwe said it was embarrassing for President Mwanawasa to compare the MMD government’s achievements to that of Dr Kaunda’s.
“President Mwanawasa must know that Dr Kaunda served longer than any of the two MMD presidents. It is extremely embarrassing for President Mwanawasa who will assume the SADC chairmanship to embark on battles which he will not win,” she said.
Nkombo said it was shameful for President Mwanawasa to call Dr Kaunda, who was a statesman and an internationally recognised leader, a chap.
“By any standard Dr Kaunda, going by his age, he is not only an old man but an internationally recognised figure who deserves respect,” Nkombo said.
He warned President Mwanawasa that it would spell doom for him if he continued resenting Dr Kaunda’s views.
He said President Mwanawasa’s attack on Dr Kaunda confirmed that his ability to restrain from reacting to divergent views was deteriorating.
“Just last week, President Mwanawasa got into an open fight against Zambia International Business Council chairman Lord Simon Cairns and now he is attacking an old man,” he said.
He said President Mwanawasa’s remarks on Dr Kaunda were tantamount to insults.
“President Mwanawasa is even younger that Dr Kaunda’s first born son Panji...it is a taboo for President Mwanawasa to call Dr Kaunda a chap,” Nkombo said.
“We can’t afford to have a head of state who whenever he opens his mouth he antagonises someone. It can take President Mwanawasa a phone call to talk to the old man if he has something to say. Otherwise it is an insult for President Mwanawasa to tell Dr Kaunda that he has done more than him. Can he compare himself to the infrastructure which Dr Kaunda built? What has MMD got to show as compared to Dr Kaunda’s schools, hospitals, health centres and parastatals?”
During a meeting with MMD officials in Livingstone on Tuesday, President Mwanawasa accused Dr Kaunda of de-campaigning the MMD government in foreign countries he had been visiting because he (Kaunda) hated the ruling party for getting him out of power.
“I used to plead with President Chiluba to sign his cheque and when he did, I personally went to give it to him. Now the chap is de-campaigning me just because he hates my party for removing him from office,” President Mwanawasa said.
“Kaunda should forget about the grudge he has for the MMD and just accept that things are better than they were before.”
Labels: EMILY SIKAZWE, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, KENNETH KAUNDA, MWANAWASA, UPND, WFC
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I absorbed The Post's criticism in 1991 - KK
By Brighton Phiri
Thursday July 26, 2007 [04:02]
Dr Kaunda yesterday said he absorbed The Post's criticism in 1991 with humility. In his congratulatory message to The Post's 16th anniversary that falls today and apparent reflection of his experiences with the newspaper in 1991 before the downfall of his government, Dr Kaunda advised those in positions of power to receive The Post's criticism positively as he did under the UNIP government.
"I wish those in office can receive Post criticism correctly...I am not asking them to do what I did not do...I don't want them to say I am advising them wrongly because I stood and faced the same criticism," Dr Kaunda said. "I received The Post criticism with humility because I considered it healthy and constructive. Even now I consider that criticism as constructive."
Dr Kaunda said he did not see any personal hatred in The Post attacks when he was at State House because he realised that the paper's journalists were writing as they saw things unfold.
"The Post journalists were writing about issues that they saw in their own opinion was going wrong. I had no hard feelings with that because it provided checks and balances," he said.
When asked to explain how he handled the pressure from his colleagues who demanded for the closure of the paper, Dr Kaunda said: "Closing the paper never crossed my mind...I knew that The Post did not know what was causing all those problems that we were going through. I don't hold anything against the paper."
Dr Kaunda said The Post's continued provision of constructive criticism and investigative reporting confirmed that the paper had no favourites among the people who aspire to serve Zambians.
He said there was every reason that Zambians could join The Post in celebrating their 16 years of existence because it was really an outstanding achievement for the country.
Dr Kaunda said The Post should be commended for providing quality leadership on issues that affected ordinary people.
"You young men and women at The Post speak truthfully without fear regardless of who is involved in any position. Whomever you write about, you do so truthfully," Dr Kaunda said.
"Any society needs that type of journalism because it helps to build the nation. Young men and women carry on with your clarity of thought. Young people, the struggle continues...Aluta continua."
And Dr Kaunda announced the death of his grandson Daniel Zunda Banda, the son of his Zimbabwean based daughter M'sata and James Banda.
"I wish to inform all friends and relatives that we have lost an 18-year old boy. In these days of HIV/AIDS, it is only proper that we tell the nation what he has died of. Our young boy has died of cancer," he said.
According to Dr Kaunda, Daniel would be buried today in Kapiri Mposhi.
Labels: KENNETH KAUNDA, THE POST
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Reflecting on our past 16 years
By Editor
Thursday July 26, 2007 [08:34]
Today marks 16 years of The Post’s existence, 16 years of our existence. As is the case during anyone’s birthday, there is a lot to be said; a lot to be reflected on. We also have a lot to say about ourselves, a lot to reflect on about these 16 years of our existence. However, we will say just a little because if we are to say everything about our experiences and lessons during the past 16 years, all the pages of our newspaper might not be enough.
And in saying that little, we will anchor the narration of our experiences and lessons on one or two points in our mission statement which was adopted in February 1991. The first point is:
“Our political role is to question the policies and actions of authorities and all those who wield or aspire to wield social, economic and political power over the lives of ordinary people”. The second point is: “We shall aim to protect and promote the newly emerging democratic political culture in which the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals are guaranteed through campaigns on issues that arise from our own investigations, reporting and analysis.”
But before we dwell on these two points, we want to say a few things about our existence. Sixteen years ago, we started as a small weekly newspaper on a small rented property with very few members of staff numbering below thirty. Today, we are a leading newspaper operating from our own premises in various locations with a number of full time employees standing at around three hundred dotted in all parts of the country.
While it was not possible for us, 16 years ago, to distribute the newspaper to all parts of the country using our own means, today we are able to reach all corners of the country in record time using our automobiles. By the way, this costly activity is unprecedented in the history of the media in Zambia. There are more success stories than failures we can narrate.
But in a nutshell, we can only state that we started as a young baby faced with the challenging or learning life. We had a lot to learn and more skills to perfect. We were not afraid to make mistakes because we realised that if one never made errors or mistakes, one might not discover the correct or most expedient way of doing things.
Thus, we have perfected - through making mistakes and learning from them - our practice of journalism over the years. We have also improved our various skills and subsequently improved our style of managing the newspaper as a business. All this was achieved not without difficulties. We endured all the unfavourable seasons and trying moments, knowing that little by little the measure is filled. We constantly reminded ourselves that persistent effort helps to complete a task.
Today, The Post is a huge success media story, thanks to our loyal readers and advertisers who have stood with us through thick and thin. Without their unflinching support, we could not have withstood all the turbulent times especially during the Chiluba regime. These readers and advertisers have stood with us through thick and thin. So when we talk about The Post’s success story, most of that success could not have been achieved without their determined support coupled with that of our committed and hardworking workforce. As stated earlier, we can fill the pages discussing this issue.
For now, we want to look at our journalistic role in connection with our mission statement. Part of our mission is to question the policies and actions of authorities and all those who wield or aspire to wield social, economic and political power over the lives of ordinary people. Another aspect of our mission is to protect and promote the newly emerging democratic political culture in which the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals are guaranteed through campaigns on issues that arise from our own investigations, reporting and analysis.
Over the years, this is what we have strived to do. And in doing this, we have several times been misunderstood, insulted, defamed, slandered and even maliciously prosecuted by the enemies of the truth; those who would want to deviate us from our mission statement. However, we have stood firm as we continue to question those in authorities in making them accountable to our people.
Sometimes we have mounted very rigorous campaigns on issues that arise from our own investigations, reporting and analysis.
That is why we laugh sometimes when we hear people like information minister Mike Mulongoti suggesting that we should only be exposing the wrongs in society and not proceed to comment on those revelations. Mulongoti also feels that we should only report about things that excite the public in general and the government in particular. According to Mulongoti’s myopic or blinkered view, we are not supposed to be critical or analytical in our reporting. We should just exist to excite him with his colleagues in government.
Then we ask ourselves: “Why should this Mulongoti protest when we say he is a small-minded person?”. Anyway, we have no difficulties understanding his warped thinking. These are men who had given up the dream of ever being appointed Cabinet ministers. And because this dream materialised at the time he least expected it, Mulongoti now has to do everything possible to protect his job. And as has been the case with many in government before him, Mulongoti thinks he will only preserve his job by attacking The Post, by isolating himself as the brave one who can take on The Post.
Out of desperation, Mulongoti is even making illegal pronouncements by justifying threats of physical violence against us by those whose questionable activities we expose. We wonder what sort of law Mulongoti learns at the University of Zambia.
He claims that those who are criticised in The Post would be justified to resort to physical violence because they have no other forum to express themselves. How daft can Mulongoti be so as not to see the emptiness of this statement! Can he genuinely claim that they have no other forum to express themselves when we have given them space in our newspaper to answer back, and sometimes to even insult us? Didn’t we, or don’t we allow Mulongoti’s outragous outbursts on our pages even when we knew or know that he had nothing sensible to say? Didn’t we allow GBM to insult us using our own newspaper? Can Mulongoti tell us how many contrary and very critical views to the government are allowed in the government media?
Anyway, enough of Mulongoti because he is not the only one who has behaved in this way against us. He is part of our lessons and experiences in the last 16 years.
Sometimes people accuse us of not allowing any criticism targeted at ourselves. This cannot be anywhere near the truth because some of the positive changes we have made over the years are a direct result of our acceptance of constructive criticism. We are very open to criticism. Of course, like any reasonable person would do, we do not value criticism calculated to destroy and not build.
Over the years, we have matured like old wine and have learnt to be more tolerant. We tolerate people like Mulongoti and many others who try to get under our skins. This is because we realise that as imperfect human beings, it is possible that sometimes we can unintentionally wrong other people and that when this happens, we expect them to be tolerant towards our wrongs.
As we look into the future, our challenge is to continually strive for higher editorial standards by closely monitoring the accuracy, balance, clarity and style of reporting in line with our mission statement. This is because our primary object is to produce the best quality newspaper in Zambia in order to exploit the gap in the market. And in doing this, we shall embrace all readers from a business executive to a taxi-driver who desire to be informed honestly and independently of events both at home and abroad.
And as our editorial policy dictates, we shall at all times strive for balance in the way we select, write and present news, bearing in mind that there are almost always different views on any issue and on the interpretation of events. It is our duty to expose our readers to different sides of the story.
Above all, we shall at all times defend the freedom of the press and other media to collect information and express comment and criticism. It is not our duty to only report exciting news.
Labels: EDITORIAL, THE POST
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Mulongoti congratulates The Post
By Noel Sichalwe
Friday July 27, 2007 [04:00]
INFORMATION minister Mike Mulongoti has congratulated Post newspapers on its 16th Anniversary. In a congratulatory message dated July 25 2007, Mulongoti said he looked forward to The Post's robust coverage of national events in which Zambians would benefit from the hard work of the staff and the informed position of the newspaper.
"It is with deep sense of gratitude that I write to congratulate The Post Newspaper and staff on the newspaper's 16th anniversary which falls on 26th July 2007,"
Mulongoti stated. “I am mindful of the fact that in the past 16 years of its existence, the newspaper has gone through both good and difficult times in exercise of its mission and service to the people of Zambia. This is to be expected in a democratic environment.
“However, on the part of government, let me assure you and your staff that we consider your newspaper as a partner in development and that should there be any differences, these will be only as a demonstration of freedom of expression that we all enjoy.”
Mulongoti stated that the government was committed to the pursuit of media freedom. He wished The Post more fruitful years of service to the Zambian people.
Labels: MIKE MULONGOTI, THE POST
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Biodiesel can make a huge difference
Zimbabwe’s farmers have been moving towards creating an oil field in the country by planting jatropha, a feed stock for biodiesel. The time is fast approaching when substantial harvests of seed will be available. This seed needs processing, first to extract the vegetable oil, which is not fit for humans, and then esterifying the oil to produce a fuel that will burn well in diesel engines. The technology already exists for both processes.
Several countries in Europe have biodiesel plants in operation for environmental reasons. Biodiesel is useful as a way of absorbing surpluses of rape seed oil, and when burned does not add to the greenhouse gas load. The carbon dioxide from the biodiesel of one harvest is absorbed by the plants growing the next harvest. However, refineries and conversion plants are not cheap.
Setting up the industry is going to absorb a lot of resources, although the result will be of immense benefit to Zimbabwe. So Vice President Joice Mujuru’s call for a partnership between the State and the private sector is most welcome. The State has made most of the running so far, but there is obviously plenty of room for private investment in this exciting new sector.
We now all know jatropha is a viable plant over most of Zimbabwe, including the semi-arid areas. We all know that every drop of biodiesel that goes into our fuel pool will release foreign currency for other desperately needed purposes. And we know from other industries that it is quite easy for private investors in agri-industries, where there is also State involvement, to make reasonable profits.
So biodiesel is one of the new industries that can make a huge difference to tens of thousands of Zimbabweans, from the farmers who grow the trees, through the industries that process the seed, to the whole business sector that will see its perennial shortage of foreign currency significantly alleviated.
As such, we hope that the partnership outlined by Cde Mujuru will be taken seriously by the private business sector and especially the oil and agri-industrial sectors, both of whom have expertise and access to expertise that can do so much to make the new industry a success.
It is theoretically possible for Zimbabwe to become self-sufficient in diesel, although that stage is a long way off. But every percent of the diesel demand that can be met by local raw materials will create a noticeable improvement in Zimbabwe’s ability to grow. At the same time, the growth of an alcohol industry, to supplement petrol, should not be ignored.
While petrol cannot be replaced by pure ethanol, in contrast to diesel where that fuel can be 100 percent replaced by biodiesel so long as temperatures are above -10 degrees Celsius, it is possible to dilute petrol 20 percent with ethanol at our altitude without having to modify engines.
The switch from fossil liquid fuels to biofuels will impact on the petroleum industry in Zimbabwe. If they wish to retain market shares and grow, they will need to be involved in the biofuel industry.
We believe that the best time to become involved is on the ground floor, that is now, and we hope that this industry in particular will welcome the call by the Vice President and will take the Government at its word and start playing the role desired.
Labels: BIOFUELS, THE HERALD, ZIMBABWE
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Gono postpones monetary policy statement
Business Editor
RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono will not present his monetary policy review statement this month as expected, as he awaits the announcement of the supplementary budget and guidance from ongoing regional efforts on enhanced economic co-operation. The central bank governor also hinted that he needed more time to analyse policy implications and the way forward pertaining to the current Government initiatives on pricing structures. In a statement, Dr Gono said the decision was taken in consultation with the Minister of Finance, Dr Samuel Mumbengegwi, who gave his blessings.
In terms of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act, Chapter 22:15, Section 46, the central bank is required to issue monetary policy statements in December/January and June/July each year. The monetary policy statement will thus be issued on a date to be announced.
In April, Dr Gono was in Bulawayo where he presented an Interim Monetary Policy Statement as he sought to induce viability in all sectors of the economy while giving special attention to the man in the street and the rural folk.
The highlight of the Interim Monetary Policy Statement was the introduction of the Drought Mitigation and Economic Stabilisation Fund under which foreign currency holders now sell the United States dollar for $15 000, or 60 times the official exchange rate.
This was meant to mobilise foreign currency to alleviate the effects of drought.
Dr Gono also incentivised exporters through increasing foreign currency retention levels to 60 percent, a move that was roundly welcomed by the sector.
Yesterday Dr Gono said he remained optimistic that through concerted efforts by all stakeholders, the economy would soon return to a sustainable recovery and growth path.
"Through a focused spirit of working together, as Government, labour, business and civil society, we will ultimately turn around the fortunes of our economy, transforming current challenges into opportunities for a stable, growing and prosperous Zimbabwean economy," he said.
Dr Mumbengegwi is expected to present his supplementary budget within the next few days, against the backdrop of exhausted allocations by most line ministries, six months before the end of the fiscal year.
The expenditure overruns have been attributed to rising inflation while other economic commentators have also said ministries have yet to exercise the discipline required in ahyperinflationary economic environment.
Former Minister of Finance Dr Herbert Murerwa projected an expenditure of $4,6 trillion for 2007 but indications are that this figure has already been surpassed.
Furthermore, an inflation target of between 350 percent and 400 percent by year-end now seems unachievable.
Both the monetary policy statement and the fiscal review statement are expected to come up with practical measures to ameliorate the current challenges bedevilling the economy.
The two statements complement each other and are thus expected to give impetus to Zimbabwe’s economic turnaround efforts.
The battle against challenges such as inflation and foreign currency remains a thorn in the flesh but Dr Gono remains optimistic that this is a passing phase which will soon be history if Zimbabweans collectively work towards stabilising the economy.
The Ministry of Finance has remained mum on the date of the fiscal review statement but it is largely expected to be announced on or before July 31.
Labels: GIDEON GONO, ZIMBABWE
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The state of trade unions
By Editor
Wednesday July 25, 2007 [04:00]
There is no denying the fact that the state of the labour movement in Zambia is not in an enviable form. And we have stated it in this column on many occasions that the labour movement in Zambia is so weakened that it lacks the capacity to adequately deal with the challenges that have come with the present socio-economic setup in the country.
However, it is downright mockery for Michael Sata, who was part of a government which created the conditions which the labour movement has found itself in today, to pose as someone who really cares about the fate of organised labour. The question is: What did Sata do to ensure that the government of Frederick Chiluba - which he was part of and at a senior level at one moment - did not go ahead with its schemes to dilute the relevance of trade unions by enacting laws aimed at weakening them?
Indeed, we share the view that a lot has to be done by the current labour leadership to revamp the purpose of trade unionism, especially at this moment when the forces of capitalism are shooting hard from all angles. However, it is quite simplistic for politicians like Sata to throw tirades at the leadership of organised labour without explaining the background to the state of affairs in the labour movement.
Without necessarily taking away from the good job that Joyce Nonde has done so far as one of the top labour leaders in the country, it needs to be mentioned that the birth of the Federation of Free Trade Unions of Zambia (FFTUZ) was necessitated by the schemes which the Chiluba administration commissioned in order to destroy the purpose of trade unionism.
Since politicians have a tendency to forget easily, we may remind Sata that the poor state of trade unionism in Zambia today - especially its polarisation - is largely attributable to the conditions that were created by the legislation that was spearheaded by the administration he was part of.
We do not need to overstate the fact that at the moment Zambian laws allow the existence of several trade unions. Quite frankly, the laws that regulate the conduct of trade union activities are today worse than they probably were during the colonial era. We are saying this because the laws that were formulated during the Third Republic represent more the interests of capital than those of the workers. Needless to say that these laws had their basis in the neoliberal policies adopted by the MMD government of Frederick Chiluba in the early 1990s.
Furthermore, it is not an exaggeration that these policies were part of the neoliberal package sponsored by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and they also fitted in very well with the political desires of Chiluba at that time. Chiluba, having been at the helm of Zambia's labour movement for 17 years and having seen its role in the removal of Dr Kenneth Kaunda from power, did not fathom the idea of a strong labour movement in the country.
To that effect, he took advantage of his connections within the labour movement as well as his power as president of the Republic of Zambia to weaken the labour movement and make it politically impotent, for his own political expedience. It is an open secret today that Chiluba engineered the divisions within the labour movement. As we have already stated, some of Chiluba's engineering can be traced back to the formation of the FFTUZ.
And because of the formation of FFTUZ, the strength and capacity of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) was reduced and this has worked well for the benefit of capital. And this is why recently, there have been calls that necessary steps need to be taken to ensure that the two mother bodies are united.
For those of us with a deep conviction that one of the solutions to the vitality of the labour movement lies in unity, this has been our message for some time now. It is a matter of urgency that the labour movement in the country turns away from the pursuit of their objectives or goals as isolated entities but to come together as a fortified single entity with the ability to take on the challenges that workers are now faced with. This has been our consistent message and we have no intentions of shifting our position on our call for a united labour movement.
Of course we do understand that the leadership styles of the labour movement will, like in any other organisation, vary from time to time. However, we also do believe that the strength of the labour movement should never be anchored on the individual styles of leadership. What will be more useful for the labour movement is to ensure that its purpose, its objectives and goals are not lost in circumstances of a crisis of leadership.
And let's also be mindful that there are several factors, both objective and subjective, that have come to the fore in the last few years which make it very difficult to have a forceful labour movement. We need not to forget that even the numbers in terms of formal employment have gone drastically down over the last few years, again thanks to the neoliberal policies of the Chiluba administration which have left many workers outside formal employment.
In short, while acknowledging that things are not as they should be in the labour movement, let us try to isolate some of the causal factors for the status quo before we unfairly heap blame on particular individuals or groups of individuals. If we are to find solutions to the problems faced by workers today, it is necessary to undertake a holistic interrogation of a host of factors, otherwise we shall continue groping in the dark as far as this matter is concerned.
Labels: EDITORIAL, SATA, TRADE UNIONS
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Trade unions have let workers down - Sata
By Brighton Phiri
Wednesday July 25, 2007 [04:00]
THE current labour aleadership has let down the workers, opposition Patriotic Front president Michael Sata has charged. Sata said with the exception of the Joyce Nonde-led Zambia Union of Financial Institutions and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW), the labour movement had been compromised by the market forces. He said Zambians were let down by the labour leaders such that the people had not been told the full details of agreements between the government and foreign investors.
"Here we are today...a foreign bank has taken over our Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco)...the people's bank without them knowing the considerations. With an exception of Joyce Nonde, the labour movement has been compromised," Sata said.
He said the country's current labour leaders had failed to live up to the leadership qualities of the late Justine Chiimba, Lawrence Katilungu and Robinson Puta, among others, who stood for the workers' plight during the days of workers' uprising.
"We want to know the deal between government and Albidon mining company in Mazabuka. All we receive are insults from Levy. Where is the labour movement when government is surrendering Nchanga mine to an investor with only a price tag which is equivalent to 3, 000 metric tonnes of copper?"
Sata said PF would revoke all the mining agreements which the MMD government had signed with the foreign investors and review all the ownership of the parastatal companies that were sold during the privatisation process.
"When we come into power, we shall give 25 per cent shareholding to the workers, then 26 per cent will go to the public while 49 per cent will be given to the so called investors. We shall not surrender the workers' rights to the foreign investors," he said. "We must always remember that some people lost their lives to bring our mines to where they are today. So we can't sell them for a song. We will definitely revoke the mining agreements and all the former parastatals will go to the workers. It is not a threat but the fact."
He said Zambians would use their 51 per cent ownership to protect themselves from inhuman treatment and pollution.
Sata said Zambia needed serious investors like those of Taiwan, who had invested in the railway system of that country.
"Those are serious investors we want," he said.
Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) vice-president Sam Phiri asked Sata to concentrate his efforts on talking about issues affecting his political constituency.
He said it was unfortunate that Sata chose to mislead the nation over labour matters.
Phiri said it was untrue that the labour leaders had failed to speak for the workers.
"For Sata to blame others on labour matters it is unfortunate....he has got his facts wrong...he is offside on labour issues," Phiri said.
But Sata insisted that he was competent enough to talk about labour matters because he was a product of a vibrant labour movement.
"During our days, we worked for the workers and fought for their rights," he said.
And Sata said President Mwanawasa was finished in the face of his own hired foreign advisors.
Commenting on the differences between President Mwanawasa and chairman of the Zambia International Business Advisory Council (ZIBAC) Lord Simon Cairns during the 5th ZIBCA conference in Livingstone, Sata said Cairns' observations that Zambia had over the last three years made very little progress economically with regard to implementation of recommendations made by his council, confirmed President Mwanawasa's failures.
"Those people whom he hired at the country's great cost have confirmed Levy's failures. Levy should be ashamed that when Levy came into power, he ignored the Zambian brains in the industry and recruited retired foreign experts, whom today are telling him that he has failed to implement their recommendations," Sata said.
"Levy should account for the costs that the country is incurring to bring in those experts and fete them in Livingstone."
President Mwanawasa, who officiated at the 5th ZIBAC conference being held in Livingstone, differed with Lord Cairns over concerns that the Zambian government had not acted on some recommendations saying this would discourage investments.
This was after Lord Cairns indicated that a number of steps agreed in the 2004 report had not been acted upon.
"I am going to be very frank. We have had this range of meetings and have developed a series of ideas and reports with both the public and private sector. In a number of cases, we have reached sensible agreements but quite frankly, nothing much has happened over the last two to three years," Lord Cairns said.
"There are 72 steps that we agreed upon in 2004 but have not been acted upon to date. Independent people that have been coming have said they haven't seen a lot of work being done. There are quite a number of things needing change although I know that change is painful and it doesn't always suit everyone."
But President Mwanawasa said he disagreed with Lord Cairns over his concerns that little had been done on recommendations of the ZIBAC council.
"I don't agree with Lord Cairns that very little has been achieved since we started our meetings as ZIBAC. You yourself earlier acknowledged that Zambia is not what it used to be some 15 years ago. It is somewhat discouraging to some of us in the business of developing Zambia," President Mwanawasa said.
Among the issues recommended to the government by the ZIBAC advisors in 2004 was the liberalisation of the International Gateway (IGW), which is currently operated by the Zambia Telecommunications Company (Zamtel).
Labels: SATA, TRADE UNIONS
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