CONSTITUTIONAL lawyer John Sangwa says any genuine commission of inquiry into privatisation of State-owned companies that was carried out in the 1990s should be done after the 2021 general elections.
And Sangwa has warned that setting up an inquiry into privatisation 10 months before general election is unreasonable and an abuse of the power of President and therefore illegal.
He warned that carrying out the exercise now would automatically make the exercise political.
On Thursday, President Edgar Lungu received at State House a petition from PF-aligned ‘civil society’ organisations led by Young African Leaders Initiatives president Andrew Ntewewe.
Ntewewe and others claimed that they had collected signatures from Zambians who wanted President Lungu to appoint a commission of inquiry.
But Sangwa said the inquiry was already politicised and seemingly targeted at an individual.
He reminded people to focus more on the coming elections than on the privatisation inquiry.
“My view is that if the demand for the inquiry into this the privatisation of State-owned companies is serious, it should be left to whoever is going to win the 2021 election to initiate the process, because only then will the inquiry be taken seriously. If it is undertaken now, which is about 10 months [before elections], it will be politicised and the findings will be questionable,” he said on Saturday. “So, if there’s a genuine desire to inquire into the privatisation of the national assets, it should only be done by whoever is going to win the elections next year. If you appoint an inquiry now, the people tasked with the responsibility will be under pressure to complete the exercise before August 2021.”
Sangwa said the timing was wrong and wondered why this was not done five years ago.
“And the timing is totally wrong. The PF have been in power for nearly 10 years, why didn’t they initiate the inquiry in 2011? If President Lungu is genuinely concerned about the privatisation process, why didn’t he appoint an inquiry in 2016 when he was elected?” Sangwa asked. “If we must initiate such an inquiry, the exercise must not be rushed or politicised. If they’re sincere that they are doing it for the country, the country will still be there after elections. So, what’s the rush? Because if you do it now, you want to produce a political report before August. So, if we want the exercise to be legitimate and non-partisan, let’s do it after the elections.”
Sangwa said, “We are trying to politicise a very serious issue which we shouldn’t”.
He noted that the country was facing many other serious and pressing issues.
“In fact, what we should be talking about is not just an inquiry, it should be an audit of the entire privatisation exercise. And it has to be broad-based, not focused on particular individuals, assets or companies; it has to be a comprehensive review of the entire privatisation exercise,” he said. “Right now, the timing is wrong, we are trying to politicise a very serious issue which we shouldn’t. The President also needs to be reminded that he doesn’t have a blank cheque. He cannot use the powers of his office as he pleases. There’re safeguards contained in the Constitution which he must observe in the exercise of the powers of his office.”
Sangwa reminded President Lungu about the Constitutional requirements for exercising the powers vested in the office of President.
“One of the requirements is that the powers of the office of President must be used to the wellbeing and benefit of the people. Now, he needs to justify the appointment of the privatisation inquiry at this time. He’s accountable; he’s not a law unto himself,” Sangwa explained further. “He must make to the people and explain how an inquiry into the privatisation of the State-owned over twenty years ago, at this particular time, will benefit the people and improve the wellbeing of the people.”
Sangwa, however, said no one should be protected if there was any evidence of wrongdoing in the privatisation exercise.
He said for now the most pressing issue was the country’s debt.
“We are not saying if there’s evidence of wrongdoing people should be protected, no. But the investigation must be independent, impartial and credible. Right now, we have more pressing issues. Any inquiry into the privatisation of the State-owned companies will cost money. Who is going to foot that bill?” he asked. “So, the most pressing issue which as a country we should be talking about is the debt problem. Whoever is contesting for the office of President should tell us how he will address the debt issue. By next year, the debt is likely to be sitting at more than USD$20 billion.”
Sangwa said Dr Kenneth Kaunda left a debt of US$7bn and after 18 years of MMD government, that debt was never repaid, but was instead written off.
“If we can fail to pay $7bn in 18 years, can they tell us what policies they will put in place to manage the country’s debt and still grow the country’s economy. That is the kind of conversation the country should be having, not privatisation inquiry,” he said.
He noted that parastatal companies were privatised over 20 years ago and the proposed inquiry can wait 10 more months.
“For now let’s focus on the most pressing issue, which is the election next year. If we are sincere, the country will still be there even after the election.”
“You have waited 20 years, why can’t you wait 10 more months if you are sincere and the proposed inquiry is not politically motivated? Those calling for the inquiry must convince the people that the proposed exercise is not politically motivated,” he said.
Sangwa noted that like any other undertakings, there were “no doubt” mistakes were committed.