Golden Party Demands End To Monetary Consent Judgements, Cities Abuse Of Public Funds.
The Golden Party of Zambia (GPZ) has called for far-reaching legal reforms to abolish monetary consent judgments, arguing that the mechanism has been exploited to siphon public funds without thorough judicial oversight.
GPZ president, Jackson Silavwe, said the law allowing the Attorney General and Solicitor General to enter monetary consent judgments has created fertile ground for what he labelled “legalised white-collar plunder.”
In a statement issued under the party’s Reset Vision Campaign on Friday, Silavwe said that under a GPZ administration, monetary consent judgments would be eliminated entirely, insisting that public funds should only be released through a transparent, fully adjudicated court process.
“The law which empowers state legal officers to enter into monetary consent judgments has been grossly abused by those wielding state power. Easy access to taxpayers’ money must be stopped,” Silavwe said.
He explained that the GPZ intends to amend existing statutes to scrap provisions permitting out-of-court financial settlements involving public money.
“Instead, all state monetary compensations would be required to pass through the courts, ensuring judicial oversight, transparency and accountability,” he added.
According to the party, compensation paid by the state should arise only after a matter has been fully heard and determined by a competent court, rather than negotiated privately behind closed doors.
Silavwe said the proposed reforms form part of a wider national reset agenda aimed at safeguarding Zambia’s financial resources and restoring public confidence in public institutions.
“Zambia must reset. Public resources belong to the people and must be protected through due process,” he said.
Debate over monetary consent judgments has grown in recent years, with civil society and governance experts warning that the escalating cost of such settlements posed an increasing burden on the national treasury.
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