GOOD governance activist Brebner Changala says President Edgar Lungu must be treated as a suspect in the privatisation inquiry.
Changala has challenged Law Association of Zambia to state its position on what he termed as “this PF political scheme.”
In an interview, Changala said there is no way a participant in the process can turn around and start investigating others.
“Now, my question to Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu must be asked this way, how can a participant in a suspicious privatisation process appoint a commission to inquire about the conduct of his opponents or indeed his own conduct? How can he do it?” he asked. “Now in this privatisation debacle, President Lungu must be treated as a suspect as well. And therefore, he cannot appoint a tribunal that will investigate him and his colleagues without declaring conflict of interest. If he doesn’t do that, that flies in the teeth of the rule of law.”
Changala asked further if President Lungu would also drop his immunity and avail himself as a witness.
He also sought clarity on the status of other participants in the process.
“And secondly, when they form the privatisation commission of inquiry, is President Lungu going to temporarily suspend his immunity as a sitting President so that questions can be put to him and he equally must answer back? It must be a two-way traffic,” he asked. “And, thirdly, I want to ask President Edgar Lungu and Edith Nawakwi, do domestic commissions of inquiry have any leverage or jurisdiction on the World Bank, a UN agency? He must answer. Those are only three questions. I’m not adding anything more.”
Changala contended that there was no way President Lungu could be left out of the inquiry when he was a full participant.
“I want to put it this way. President Lungu was one of the lawyers in the privatisation process. He’s part of the team that sold Cold Storage Board. And at the moment he’s the chairman of IDC (Industrial Development Corporation) board, which is the holding company of all parastatals. Madam Edith Nawakwi was the minister of finance and played her pivotal role in the MMD government through privatisation,” Changala said. “And before trial proceeds within the context of Article 18 of the Constitution under which he took the oath of office, a person whose conduct as a lawyer, who participated in the sale of Cold Storage Board and is the chairman of IDC, must first suspend his immunity so that he fairly participates in the commission of inquiry. If he doesn’t do so, Parliament must be called to order to remove President Lungu’s immunity so that he participates in the process of this commission of inquiry.”
Changala further asked if international bodies that participated would also be invited to give evidence.
“Thirdly, the World Bank as a UN agency, its conduct can only be inquired into by international jurists approved by the UN because this commission of inquiry, whether President Lungu likes it, whether madam Nawakwi likes it, it will not do leaving out the major player like the World Bank, the [Commonwealth Development Corporation] CDC which participated,” he said. “The United Nations participated in the privatisation of companies in Zambia through the World Bank because World Bank is an agency of the United Nations. And several individuals participated. These included businessmen, economists, lawyers and consultants wherever they were. So, there are three arms that did the privatisation effectively; that is the Zambian government as the policy maker and drivers of the agenda, then there was Zambia Privatisation Agency, and then there was the community of experts who were engaged and this is where Hakainde Hichilema falls; he’s in the third bracket – community of experts.”
And Changala reminded the Law of Zambia that keeping quiet over a serious matter was an injustice in itself.
“And this privatisation commission which they are demanding, I demand that we need a clear and unambiguous position from the Law Association of Zambia because this commission of inquiry is to divert Zambians’ attention from the prevailing economic and social challenges,” Changala said. “And Zambia has had a lot of commissions of inquiry which have benefited nobody. And this is an exercise in futility. So, the Law Association of Zambia must assist. I equally call upon the three church mother bodies to state their position on this privatisation commission of inquiry.”
Meanwhile, Changala described Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) leader, Nawakwi as a political failure who was using the PF tag to resurrect herself.
“Only a person who is naïve can believe such a statement coming from an angry woman whose political career has reached a dead end. This is a woman who has failed to hold a convention for FDD for the last 15 years. And if she doesn’t hold a convention this year into 2021, she’ll not even be on the ballot paper. So, her last hope in hell is to join PF so that she remains politically relevant,” said Changala. “This is a woman who has never condemned the grand corruption in PF. This is a woman who never condemned the arrest of Hakainde Hichilema on treason charges which was basically trumped-up charges. This is a woman who has never condemned police brutality. This is a woman who has nothing to say about the abuse of state institutions to stifle dissent in this country. This is a woman with a venomous mouth, and one wonders as to whether there’s peace in her own house and home.”