I’M NOT SCARED
…but I’m not their garden boy
who they can just call – Kabwe
By Kombe Mataka
IF they suspect that I have stolen they know where to find me, says former Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) national coordinator Chanda Kabwe.
In an interview, Kabwe told The Mast that he recently underwent a throat surgery.
Kabwe, who was last week summoned to appear before the Public Accounts Committee over face masks but never showed up, said it was amazing to read about members of parliament demanding his appearance to render an explanation to various queries.
“I would have been afraid if I murdered a person, not a committee of excited people who don’t even know procedure. If Zambians give you an opportunity to serve, it is important to understand the basics of communicating. If I have stolen, is it the Public Accounts Committee that deals with corruption or my stealing?” he asked.
“If they suspect that I have stolen or that there is corruption, they know where to take me. And even where they will take me, there will be procedure. People won’t just shout to tell me ‘report yourself’. If it will be a (police) call out, it will be a call out stating whether I should make myself available at 09:00 hours or 10:00 hours.”
Kabwe, who is also former Central Province permanent secretary, said parliament had procedures which should be followed when summoning people.
“If it is the police who want me, they know the procedure. If it is the investigative wings, they know the procedure. They don’t just call people kwati ni pa maketi (they should not just call people like in a market). So, this debate of co cise (outwitting each other), it doesn’t work for me,” Kabwe said.
“I have been in government for nine years; not at a low position but a very high position. There is nothing to be afraid of at PAC. Pa mpumi ya munobe tapaba inkalamo iyikulya (A lion can never proceed from a colleagues’ forehead and consume you). I was born here (Zambia), I will die here. Some of them (MPs) have just been there for four months. I was there for nine years. So, who understands procedure better?”
And Kabwe dispelled the perception that he has been running away from the committee.
“Why should I fear a (parliamentary) committee like it is a den of lions who are going to eat me? A committee where you choose to answer or not to answer! First, like I was appointed, I took oath. Two days after, I appeared before PAC when Daisy Ng’ambi was fired – just two days in office,” he explained.
Asked if he had followed proceedings he was summoned to be part of, Kabwe said he had not followed them but read about it.
“I read somewhere. People gave answers, they gave correct answers. I can’t say they represented me. I don’t have public documents for me to respond. I have to fight for my life,” Kabwe said.
“I have to fight for my health. I was called on Tuesday and put through to the national coordinator (Gabriel Pollen). I told him that if parliament wants to get to me, they know what to do. It is not this co cise. I don’t even have to waste time. I am fighting for my life here. Issuing alarming statements like ‘I am running’, running from who? The committee? Do they have guns?”
Kabwe said he was a seasoned civil servant that was well vested with government procedure.
“I have been in government for over nine years and there is nothing, I am not excited about government positions. I’ve been PS for five years plus. During my time as PS, I have appeared before the [Public Accounts] Committee almost all my time as PS. There is nothing to fear about appearing before PAC,” said Kabwe.
“Parliament is not a market where you just start shouting, Ndola, Lusaka! Parliament has procedures. It is an honourable House with honourable members. They have to do the honourable things. So, if you are shouting for a person on the fence, sorry it does not work for me. I understand procedure. I am not their garden boy who they can just call.”