By Agness Changala-Katongo
Harry Kalaba has asked Health minister Dr Chitalu Chilufya to step aside and pave way for investigations to be a conducted thoroughly because his name is in tatters and it will only take the courts of law to repair it.
And Kalaba says he is hoping that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) are going to effect the arrest and let Dr Chilufya exnorate himself to the due process of the law.
On Tuesday, the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) confirmed that it had recorded a warn and caution statement against Dr Chilufya.
In a press release, ACC corporate Affairs officer Jonathan Siame stated that Dr Chilufya was being investigated on alleged possession of property suspcted to be proceeds of crime.
Siame stated that investigations in the matter were on going but the commission would not devulge futher details as it may jeopardize the investigations.
Speaking with Daily Revelation on ACC revelations, Kalaba, the Democratic Party president said if a minister was found wanting, they should face the temerity of the law and hoped that the appointing authority this time around would act in accordance with the precedents that had been set before by his colleagues.
He said if a minister was arrested, he should pave way for ACC and other investigative wings to carry their work professionally.
“Where a minister has been arrested, a minister must be able to pave way for ACC and other investigative wings to carry their work professionally as opposed to what we are seeing now. Honourable Ronald Chitotela was arrested by the ACC, taken to court and was still flying the flag. You make the process of the law academic, you make governance a mockery by doing things like that because even when Chitotela could have been acquitted and exnorated by the courts of law, people still remain with doubts,” Kalaba said.
“So you don’t help the person, a person remains with a rock hanging around the neck because people don’t think that he was exnorated fairly so.”
Kalaba said it was his hope that Dr Chilufya, would be allowed to leave office and step aside.
“He can either wait to be kicked out or even yourself, because your intergrity has been dragged into question. You can choose to step down. When I saw that things were not running well in Government, I didn’t wait to be fired. I resigned on my own accord,” Kalaba said.”
“It should be the same thing with Dr Chitalu. Let him step aside whether he is fired or not. Let him step aside and pave way for the investigations to be carried out thoroughly because right now, his name is in tatters and it would take the courts of law to repair it.”
He also expressed gratitude to the ACC for working fearlessly in a very hostile environment.
Kalaba further said, the persuance of ministers should not be an academic exercise.
“We are very greatful to the Anti Corruption Commission for working very fearlessly in an environment that’s very hostile like this. Politically hostile. We just hope that this persuance they have on these ministers will not be academic. We hope that they are going to effect the arrest and let Chitalu Chilufya exnorate himself to the due process of the law,”
Kalaba charged that there should be no shortcuts because there can’t be laws in the country for the rich and the poor.
He said if Dr Chilufya doesn’t allow the due process of the law to take its course, everybody would question his integrity.
“Otherwise everybody, will know that he is corrupt, he is not clean and it would be difficult for him to aspire for any higher office and peope would doubt if he should continue being our health minister with that kind of a track record,” said Kalaba.