By Chibamba Kanyama

The main question coming from you following my latest post is for me to explain the link between Eurobondholders and IMF. The best way is to share a true story to simplify, really simplify this relationship.

In January 2019, a young Christian woman (Zambia) I had mentored came crying at the office, saying she was about to commit suicide because those in her village banking group (Eurobondholders) were demanding their money. She had no capacity to pay and the debts were over the roof. She had even spent two nights in police cells; everyone in the compound calling her thief. As a young mother of three, educating her children was difficult.

Her coming to me (IMF) was to bail her out if possible. Her life was unbearable and if she had no children, she would have tied a rope around her neck.

I told her the best I could do to help her was for her to arrange a meeting for me to assure the creditors that she would pay back over a two year period and not six months (which was already overdue by three months). But it was not for me to pay them; she still was going to pay them but over a period of time to give chance for her small trading business to grow and expand (if I was truly IMF, I would even have given her some working capital spread over three installments so that if she demonstrated capacity to pay these creditors at every juncture, I would release subsequent installments; to also be paid back but at mutengo-waku-Church interest rate).

We met these angry creditors at a lodge. They came for the meeting because they heard it was me to address them. ‘We are happy Mr. Chibamba Kanyama for coming in. We trust you. We also believe you are a great teacher of business. Since you have committed to help this woman pay back the debts she owes us, we are willing to wait a little longer.’

The journey of managing this woman started. I told her my reputation was at stake and for this, I demanded that my wife and I would regularly manage her financial affairs. She stopped partying for that period of time. When she had funerals, we advised her to miss them unless they were for immediate family members. We insisted she would not go to Shoprite unless we approved the expenditure budget.

A lot of things started to change and she did not like some of the demands but obliged because I was also worried of my reputation for morally guaranteeing her loans.

By June this year, after two years, she had paid off everything (I still remember the screaming, not of suicide, but of excitement when she made the last payment). More than that, she has learnt how to manage other people’s money, her own money and her business. (Note there is a bit of exaggeration to this story but did so to simplify the Zambia-IMF- Eurobondholders relationship).

By Natasha Sakala,

Former Foreign Affairs minister Joe Malanji speaks to PF vice president Given Lubinda outside DEC offices after he was released on bail on December 9, 2021
FORMER Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Malanji says it is irresponsible for law enforcement agencies to portray people as thieves just because they are politicians.

Speaking to journalists at the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) offices shortly after he was granted bail by the Lusaka High Court, Malanji described his arrest as persecution, saying he had gotten loans from the banks and records were available.

“As for now, our backbone is actually the judiciary. When you look at what I am cited for, it’s actually not prosecution but persecution. Records in the banks in Zambia here are available. We have gotten loans from these banks, millions of dollars, records are available.

To cite someone just because you are a politician, to say every politician must be painted black to be a thief is actually very irresponsible. I would not say much, because this matter is actually going in court but I can assure you that our lawyers will keep [you] informed on how we are moving,” said Malanji.

On Thursday afternoon, the Lusaka High Court granted Malanji bail following the refusal by DEC to grant him bond.

Speaking to journalists after Judge Mwape Bowa rendered a ruling in chambers, defence counsel Makebi Zulu confirmed that Malanji had been granted K10,000 bail in his own recognizance, with two working sureties in the like sum.

He said the court also ordered that the demand by DEC that Malanji should provide certain documents in order to be given bond, was illegal and has since been set aside.

“The demand they sought from him to give them documents they intend to use in trial has been set aside as being illegal and the court has plainly put it that he [Malanji] ought to be given the same conditions as Fredson Yamba was given,” said Zulu.

In this matter, Malanji and Yamba are alleged to have directly or indirectly influenced the transfer of K154,201,197 to the Zambian mission in Turkey without following the Law on Supplementary Expenditure as provided by Article 203 of the Zambian Constitution Act No. 2 of 2016.

It is further alleged that Malanji, whilst acting together with Gibson Power Systems Limited and other persons unknown, did possess a Helicopter Bell 430 valued at about US$1,400,000, among other charges.

In a statement, Tuesday, DEC Public Relations Officer Mathias Kamanga stated that in the first count, Malanji had been jointly charged with Yamba for willful failure to comply with the Law.

“The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) through its Anti-Money Laundering Investigations Unit in collaboration with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has jointly charged and arrested Mr Joseph Malanji and Mr Fredson Kango Yamba for failure to comply with the law whilst they served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Secretary to the Treasury, respectively.

In the first count, Mr Malanji 56, of Plot No. 179 Acacia Road in Roma Park, Lusaka has been jointly charged and arrested with Mr Fredson Yamba 62, of Plot No. 5, Ibex Hill, Lusaka for willful failure to comply with the Law contrary to section 34 of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012 of the Laws of Zambia,” stated Kamanga.

“Particulars of the offence are that Mr Joseph Malanji in his capacity as Foreign Affairs Minister at the time, jointly and whilst acting together with Mr Fredson Kango Yamba in his capacity as Secretary to the Treasury, and other persons unknown, on dates unknown but between 1st January 2020 and 30th August 2021, directly or indirectly did influence the transfer of K154,201,197.00 to the Zambian mission in Turkey without following the Law on Supplementary Expenditure as provided by Article 203 of the Zambian Constitution Act No. 2 of 2016.”

Former National Democratic Congress (NDC) leader Chishimba Kambwili has opposed the decision by Speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti to prevent all Patriotic Front Members of Parliament from taking part in the business of the house despite filling appeals against the nullification of their seats by the High Court.

Speaker Mutti this week ruled that Kabushi Member of Parliament Bowman Lusambo is out of order to remain in the House after the nullification of his election victory by the High Court.

Ms. Mutti has further ruled that in view of her ruling, all Members of Parliament whose election results were nullified by a decision of the High Court, whether or not such a decision has been appealed against, shall forthwith not take part in any Parliamentary business.

But Dr. Kambwili said the Speaker’s ruling has no legal backing and must be rescinded immediately.

“When one’s case has been petitioned and nullified by the lower court which is the High Court, he cannot be removed from Parliament until all the legal protests which mean the appeal to the Supreme Court is exhausted. Anything outside that is illegal but in this country we tend to accept illegality because we are supporting that particular Government at a particular time and we only come to talk about the ideal after they have left office,” Dr Kambwili said on Sun FM Radio.

“What has happened to the MPs is exactly what happened to me (in 2019) where the speaker of the National Assembly declared my Roan Seat vacant when I had an appeal pending at the Supreme Court. And when the matter went to the Constitutional Court, the Constitutional Court made reference to article 73 (4) and said the Speaker had overshot his boundary in interpreting the law which he should have left to the competent court of jurisdiction and in this case which is the Constitutional Court,” he said.

According to the speaker’s interpretation of Article 73 of the constitution, when the Petition is determined by the High Court and a seat is nullified, a Member shall cease to hold the seat and shall not take part in any parliamentary business unless and until the Constitutional Court overturns the decision of the High Court, adding that, however, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) cannot proceed to hold by-elections until the decision of the Constitutional Court.

“So what the Speaker did is exactly what his predecessor did to me and was condemned by the Constitutional Court but because this thing is politically motivated. It is the Government of the day which instructed the speaker to make that ruling whether it has a legal backing or not. And if our President and I am saying our President Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, the President of the Republic of Zambia is fair enough, he should tell the Speaker that she erred and that that decision must be rescinded because it is not supported by any legal sense,” Dr. Kambwili added.

“Members of Parliament from time immemorial have been petitioned, they have lost the petition at first stage, but none of the MP has been removed from Parliament before the decision of the superior court in those days the Supreme Court. The Speaker is a very prominent lawyer and I know that making that decision she just had political pressure and what has happened now she has put her name into disrepute. She has destroyed her name which she built over a long period of time just because of political interference.”

“I want to appeal to all Zambians to condemn this. The PF celebrated when the speaker illegally removed me from office. The PF should have condemned it then but they supported it. Now it has happened to them, if they had condemned it when it happened to Chishimba Kambwili this time it could not have been done,” he concluded.

Lazarous Simukoko

WHAT HAS CAUSED KWACHA TO APPRECIATE AGAINST $?

Zambian Kwacha has suddenly appreciated against the dollar.

Some analysts are speculating that the appreciation is natural while others are saying that it is artificial.

Kwacha has artificially appreciated. The reason why the Kwacha has appreciated is because offshore investors are “buying” government securities (bonds).

I will use lay man’s language to explain the meaning of government securities and how they affect exchange rate.

Sometimes government borrows from the local financial markets through the Bank of Zambia by issuing what we call Bonds or Treasury bills (government securities).

Let us say that you have K50, 000 and you will like to invest it, you can give the Bank of Zambia your K50, 000 and they can give you back probably K75, 000 after 2years.

In this case, we say that you have invested in bonds or government securities.

In a similar scenario, offshore investors are converting their Dollars into Kwacha so as to invest in government bonds (This market operation transaction can be a one week or any period specified by BOZ).

This has increased the demand for Kwacha, thereby reducing the exchange rate.

Political instability in other countries is also causing investors to consider Zambia as the alternative investment hub.

Bank of Zambia has collected (borrowed) a significant amount of cash from offshore investors. BOZ will have to pay back with interest.

This is not sustainable, because once offshore investors stop demanding kwacha, exchange rate will go back to default setting and kwacha will start depreciating.

The only sustainable way of managing exchange rate is by increasing production of goods and services so that we can have surpluses for exports. More and continuous export of goods and services will bring more and continuous inflow of foreign currencies.

We need to start thinking of becoming export oriented as opposed to import oriented. We don’t need to worry about exchange rate (dollars) if most of the things we import can be produced locally. There is need to support agriculture production, mining production, manufacturing, tourism, entertainment, etc so that we start exporting and earn forex.

Unfortunately, production can’t increase because UPND through Bank of Zambia is fighting SMEs by increasing the monetary rate.

Below is how bank of Zambia is working against growth of SMEs both in short and long run:

EFFECTS OF INCREASE IN MONETARY RATE BY BOZ

Recently, Bank of Zambia raised the Monetary Policy Rate by 50 basis points from 8.50 to 9.0.

As a consequence, the cost of borrowing will go up. Effectively, borrowing rates in financial lending institutions will go up.

The immediate impact is that individuals and SMEs with existing loans in almost all banks and microfinance institutions whose lending rates are linked to the MPR, will have their agreed lending rates increased by 0.5%.

The medium term impact is that loan repayment periods will be increased to compensate for this increased rate or the monthly repayment amount will marginally go up.

Lending rates in Zambia are already high and are currently above 20% per annum for banks and above 15% per month for the informal market. It remains to be seen if BOZ and government will ever be able to bring down the overall cost of borrowing to a single digit.

The cost of borrowing in the developing world like Zambia remains to be one of the biggest hurdles that continue to dampen innovation and entrepreneurship.

With these increase on the already high (over 20%) cost of borrowing, entrepreneurship, housing finance and start up business finance remains a preserve of the small segment of high income earners.

By Ulande Nkomesha,

PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema says thieves will not enjoy themselves under the UPND leadership.

And Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) acting director general Silumesi Muchula says the Commission is happy with the stance taken by the new dawn government in the fight against corruption.

In a speech read on his behalf by Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe during the commemoration of the United Nations International Anti-Corruption Day, Thursday, President Hichilema said his government would make it difficult for corrupt elements to thrive.

“My government will not allow corruption to thrive during our tenure of office. We are where we are as a country, because corruption was allowed to seep into the very fabric of our society. It became acceptable to the extent that criminals were being glorified for amassing ill-gotten wealth, citizens were being made to pay bribes to access services that are due to them by right. Marketeers had to pay bribes just to be allowed to trade from the market.

This will not happen in my government. We will make it difficult for corrupt elements to thrive. Thieves will not enjoy themselves, not while we are in office. Perpetrators of corruption will face the law regardless of their standing in society,” he said.

The President said the fight against corruption was not vindictive or meant to punish political opponents.

“Our fight against corruption is not vindictive, it is not to punish political opponents or silence voices of critics. Ours is to safeguard the resources of our country and leave a legacy of transparent and accountable leadership that will be a beacon to the continent and the world at large,” President Hichilema said.

“Corruption is a global problem. A problem that has been listed as one of the biggest threats to the attainment of the global sustainable development goals, and a hindrance to a prosperous and peaceful Africa. In Zambia, we have had a devastating experience with corruption and its related vices.

It is not a secret that billions of Kwacha have been lost through corrupt deals, misappropriation of public funds, and theft. Our treasury has been all but emptied because corruption was allowed to thrive by those who were entrusted by Zambians to manage the country’s resources.”

And President Hichilema said good progress had been made by law enforcement agencies in the recovery of stolen assets.

“When my government was elected into office, I made it very clear, and loudly so, that one of our main areas of focus would be to stamp out corruption, seal all corruption loopholes, and recover monies and assets that have been looted through corruption.

If you read the United Party for National Development 2021 manifesto, you will notice that the fight against corruption stands out as one of the keystones for the UPND government in our quest to build a united, prosperous and equitable Zambia,” President Hichilema said.

“My government has pledged to implement a zero tolerance policy towards corruption, through the adoption of new strategies such as the setting up of fast-track anti-corruption courts to expedite the disposal of corruption cases. This will enable law enforcement agencies to quickly conclude cases and take remedial action as determined by the courts.

My government will ensure that what was stolen from the people of Zambia is returned and put to use in uplifting the lives of our people. The process of recovering stolen assets is already underway, and good progress is being made by law enforcement agencies in this regard.”

President Hichilema called on law enforcement agencies to ensure that there were no opportunities for corruption to thrive.

“In order for the fight against corruption to be effective and achieve the desired results, institutions that are mandated to lead the fight must be well equipped with the necessary skills and resources, both human and capital. This is why my government has committed to ensuring that the Anti-Corruption Commission is adequately funded to enable them discharge their mandate effectively and efficiently.

We are well aware that the commission in the recent past has been constrained in executing their duties due to lack of adequate resources, which has seen a rise in incidences of corruption in the country. My government has therefore increased the budgetary allocation to the ACC in the 2022 national budget, to ensure that they are fully supported to carry out their mandate,” he said.

“I wish to call upon law enforcement agencies to do their part and ensure that the system does not open up opportunities for corruption. Where corruption rears its head, crush it immediately and emphatically. Citizens, do your part too, by reporting suspected misconduct in management and distribution of resources to law enforcement agencies.”

President Hichilema said corruption was a threat to economic recovery.

“We are on a clear path to economic recovery. The policies and strategies put in place by government are designed to get us there, and get there we shall. But the threat of corruption remains ever present and ready to jeopardize our efforts. We will not allow it.

The challenge therefore is to our law enforcement agencies to step up efforts to combat the scourge of corruption, and recover assets that were stolen through corruption and related crimes. My government will continue to render the necessary support to ease the work of law enforcement and ensure they perform to the people’s expectations,” said President Hichilema.

And Muchula said the Commission was happy with the stance taken by the new dawn government against corruption.

“As a lead institution in the fight against corruption, the commission greatly appreciates the political stance that the new dawn government has continued to take since taking office after the triumphant August 12th general elections.

From the first speech that was officially made to the country, the move to denounce corruption and all other related crimes is a clear indication of how high the fight against corruption is placed on this government’s agenda,” he said.

“As a commission, we also keenly take note the government’s consistency in most public addresses and appreciate the impact that the pronouncement of zero tolerance to corruption has had on the minds of Zambian people. Such pronouncements have in the past few months helped the commission to slowly enjoy public good-will which we hope will be enhanced in due course.”

He said the Commission was looking forward to the implementation of various mechanisms that would effectively contribute towards a reduction in the corruption levels in the country.

“The Anti-Corruption Commission is also eagerly looking forward to the implementation of various mechanisms that will effectively contribute towards a reduction in the levels of corruption in the country as well as saving public resources.

Measures such as the revision of the Anti-Corruption law and others related to it, establishing of fast track anti-corruption courts, enhancing the existence and operations of integrity committees in ministries, departments and agencies through Cabinet Office, increased funding for public awareness and other corruption prevention activities in both rural and urban areas as well as human resource capacity building,” said Muchula.

“We are hopeful that these and other measures, too numerous to mention, will place the anti-corruption fight on the right path and steer the country on its much-desired road to economic emancipation and social progress. Allow me to also remind every Zambian and others living in Zambia that the fight against corruption should not just be left to the Anti-Corruption Commission and other governance institutions.

Combating corruption is and should always be the obligation of all in the country. This is because the devastating effects of this scourge do not spare anyone. Where corruption thrives, social economic development suffers resulting in inadequate or poor provision of education, health and many other social services.

This in turn increases poverty, crime, discontentment and other social ills thereby affecting people’s livelihoods and their wellbeing. If Zambia is to reclaim its social and economic independence, then we all need to show commitment and take action against corruption wherever we smell it or see it.”

CADRES GOT LIONS SHARE OF ROAD CONTRACTS – AUDIT

AN ONGOING audit by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has established that over 70 percent of road construction projects were awarded to cadres by the Patriotic Front (PF) government.

Worse still, the previous administration also over-contracted about K13 billion against a budget of K3.5 billion for rehabilitation of feeder roads, reports ZNBC.

Paying a courtesy call on Mufulira District Commissioner Saboi Kabeka on Wednesday, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Gary Nkombo said road contracts during the PF government were a preserve of its party cadres.

After assuming office, Mr Nkombo established that his ministry was owing K3 billion in certified works, of which most contracts were awarded about four years ago.

According to the minister, some cadres who received contracts have not moved on site yet and the roads assigned to them have not been worked on despite having been paid over K11 million.

Mr Nkombo is taken aback that the previous government was allegedly awarding contracts in the road sector based on people’s political affiliation at the expense of those with capacity to do a good job.

He said the payment of huge sums of money to undeserving contractors has greatly contributed to incomplete road construction projects in various parts of the country.“We have a list of contractors who are politically exposed and were paid huge sums of money in advance at the expense of people that were ready to work,” Mr Nkombo said.

The minister will give a full report on the matter after the audit is concluded.Mr Nkombo was disappointment with what he saw on the ground in Mufulira and Lufwanyama where most contractors have allegedly abandoned works.

He inspected the 49-kilometre Luansobe road in Mufulira where he was informed that the contract was terminated after it was discovered that the Catholic Church had bought part for the land where the road passes.

The minister also learnt that less than five percent of works have been done on the road and said he will recommend the termination of the contract.In Lufwanyama, he was disappointed to learn that the contractor only moved on site on Wednesday after hearing about his visit.

Mr Nkombo said it is unfortunate that the contractor, Choice Build Contractors, had to wait for him to visit the area to start working on the 110km road.However, the project will have to proceed because the road is of economic importance and that it will be difficult for farmers to transport their produce if the works are halted.

The minister will, as such, engage the contractor to establish the challenges the company could be facing so that they can be addressed.But Government will be forced to look for another contractor if the current one fails to deliver to expectation.

And Choice Build Contractors project manager Kenez Mufungwe said the company was engaged to work on the road last year and that the contract is for three years.Mr Mufungwe said the company machinery has been on site for eight months when the firm started working on the road.

Meanwhile, Mr Nkombo has threatened to cancel non-performing contracts for feeder roads on the Copperbelt, reports PRISCILLA CHIPULU and STAFRANCE ZULU in Ndola. Mr Nkombo is concerned that some contracts which were signed years back have not been fully implemented.

He was speaking when he paid a courtesy call on Copperbelt Province Permanent Secretary Augustine Kasongo yesterday. “There are several contracts signed but they have not performed.

Others are at zero. So we are looking at the contracts with a view to [suspending] them and only give contracts when money is available,” the minister said.

Daily mail

WOE UNTO YOU LAWYERS

Emmanuel Chilekwa

There’s something that bothers my mind. Why do lawyers, who read the sane Clause, been to same ZIALE school, but end up with different interpretations about the same Article or Clause.

On very simple Clauses stating 14days; twice held office; petition; determination etc etc these lawyers differ. What kind of knowledge do they possess? Why do they differ interpreting the written law?

Apparently it doesnt matter whether one is a State Counsel, Senior or junior lawyer. They look at any Clause differently.

I wonder why a lawyer, who knows for sure that his client is corrupt, has stolen or killed a person and yet a lawyer still accepts to represent such a client and defend ferociously such a person.

Do we have genuine lawyers or we just have business folks in wigs who have jo qualms taking or invoicing blood money?

Are there lawyers who reject to defend a wealthy thief or criminal?

Can we trust lawyers?

No wonder Bible says lawyers should be pitied. They stop others from progressing and yet they themselves are not able to:

Luke 11:52 says, “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.”

That’s why I love engineering because regardless of who is working on it, result remains the same.

Unlike lawyers, the same Clause will be interpreted and argued differently depending on which side such a lawyer is. Yet they all go to same school – ZIALE.

Tells you why the legal fraternity is scared of anyone connenting on case before court lest he influences their thinking.

Lawyers are a clique of unstable thinkers. They confuse themselves over little things. Even on something as straight as 14days, twice held office etc. That becomes a huge debate.

In engineering a Start or Stop button, a multiplication, division, addition or subtraction button will always give you samecresukt regardless of who is operating the calculator.

Engineering has no side takers. It deals with hard facts whilst lawyers deal with aligned positions and work to gather aligned points and present them as facts.

Lawyers must apologise to mankind. They mislead us according to their whims.

PF YOUTHS TO HOLD PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATIONS IN LUSAKA

LUSAKA, Friday, December 10, 2021 (SMART EAGLES)

OPPOSITION Patriotic Front (PF) youths in Lusaka district have notified the Zambia Police Service Command about their intention to hold peaceful demonstrations in support of upholding democratic tenets in Zambia.

PF Lusaka District Youth Chairman Cliff Bwalya says the party youths in the in the district intends to hold the peaceful demonstrations to demand for the rule of law to be upheld.

This is contained in a letter availed to Smart Eagles and addressed to the Police Commissioner, Lusaka Division signed by Mr. Bwalya and copied to the party Secretary General, Police Inspector General and Non-Governmental Organisations.

“We wish to inform you that the Patriotic Front youths in Lusaka District would like to hold peaceful demonstrations to demand the following…,” the letter read in part.

Mr. Bwalya said the youths will demonstrate against the detention of PF senior members and Members of Parliament with flimsy accusations to silence political opponents by the United Party for National Development (UPND).

He said the ruling by the Speaker of the National Assembly to ban nine Members of Parliament from Parliament sessions is also another reason why the youths will gather for the peaceful demonstrations.

“We will also demonstrate because of the peaceful.harrassment of members and anyone perceived to be PF sympathisers by UPND cadres and police,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bwalya has announced that the peaceful demonstrations will be held in each Constituency on Friday, 17th 2021 from 09:00 to 12:00.

He says in Kanyama Constituency, the demonstrations will be held from Garden Rose to Lumumba Junction while in Kabwata Constituency it will be from Freedom Statue to the Junction of Ben Bella Road and Lumumba Roads.

He says in Chawama Constituency, the youths will demonstrate from Embassy Park to the Junction of Lumumba Road.

“In Mandevu Constituency, we will hold our demonstration from SOS Great North Road to Mandevu Roundabout/Lumumba Road,” Mr. Bwalya said.

He added that in Lusaka Central Constituency, the party youths will demonstrate from Civic Centre, Independence Avenue to Ben Bella Road while in Munali Constituency it will be from East Park Mall, Great East Road to Lumumba Junction.

“In Matero Constituency, we will demonstrate from Lilanda Commonwealth Road to Lumumba Junction,” he added. “We are ready and well organised to demonstrate in accordance with the law.”

Outgoing Zamtel Chief Executive Officer Sydney Mupeta says he is happy to have left the company in a stronger position.

Mr Mupeta revealed in a Facebook post that Zamtel has grown its market share from about 10% in 2017 to 19.5% in 2021.

He said Zamtel is now positioned for much higher growth following the internal transformation that has happened thus far.

“I am grateful for the initial recapitalization from IDC that has lifted the Charging System capacity constraints going into 2022. I am confident that Zamtel will make our Country proud going forward,” Mr. Mupeta said.

“I equally pray that Zamtel and the Shareholder, IDC, will continue finding solutions to the general need for recapitalization so that the Company can address both historical challenges and future investments,” he said.

“The 6th of December 2021 marked the end of my assignment as CEO of Zamtel. I am grateful to the Customers that continued believing in Zamtel’s ability to provide innovative quality products and services. The demand for quality and competitive products powered our desire to continuously improve our processes and our general ways-of-working in my 4 years at the helm of the Company,” he stated.

He added, “To our Customers, you have made the transformation in Zamtel possible. Continue supporting Zamtel so that it can start flying Zambia’s flag even higher.”

Mr Mupeta said Zamtel Management and Staff have been at the center of driving culture change that has introduced reasonable level of agility.

“The newfound agility has enabled the organization to meet the ever-changing customer needs. I am proud to say that I am leaving behind a strong team that is Passionate, Innovative, Customer-Focused, Results-Oriented, and places Integrity higher among its values.”

He said, “Zamtel Staff have been the biggest asset to the business, and I am grateful for their support during my time as CEO.”

“I want to thank the Government, in particular the Minister of Technology and Science – Hon. Felix Mutati as well as the IDC Group CEO for the understanding and support in the period leading to the mutual separation, I am truly humbled and grateful.”

“To the IDC Group and the recent past Zamtel Board, I am grateful for the support and guidance during the 4 years I have served as CEO. I equally want to thank all Zamtel business partners for their contribution to the business.”

THE KAMPYONGO JUSTICE LESSON

Emmanuel Chilekwa

Whilst some are very happy and inordinately excited seeing this former Home Affairs minister dance the music he designed for others, the lesson is that public leadership is a relay. Don’t think that just because you have the relay button in your hand then the spectators are not seeing your relay mess or think that only you alone is the alpha and omega in the relay race of democratic life.

It teaches that to be happy in and after public service, just serve the people as you would like them serve you. Kampyongo had an opportunity to ensure police cells were up to humane standards if ever he could have thought that everyone is a potential resident of those custodial cells.

Public political power is good but when you have it, use it fairly and justly to the benefit of mankind.

Regrettably, what we saw in Shiwan’gandu, Eastern province informed us that God had to effect change last August in order to forcibly stop and halt what was becoming as a lawless society run by arrogant brutal cader mass who had no qualms about human rights respect and adherence to rule of law.

Whilst poll defeat is unpalatable, these PF leaders knew how bad they ran our affairs. A Zambian was not free to move, associate, speak or protest unless you belonged to the boastful, looting and corrupt Clique.

It’s good that we are where we are because normalcy is slowly but surely coming back where we can live as human beings regardless of who you support politically.

It is important to recall that what the defeated PF leadership is going through now is nothing compared to how they treated their competitors. So, they have no moral right to complain on how they are being treated – they asked for it.

At least PF leaders today are being arrested calmly and respectfully during the day, they are given access to bond or bail expeditiously and are being transported in decent air-con vehicles and can executively wave to their sympathizing supporters with a smile.

In their time, PF coxed you out of your underground bunkers in the middle of the night, threw toxic suffocating teargas in your house, suffocated your wife and children, beat up your workers to pulp, ransacked and broke your house and shitted on your bed and floor after looting your groceries. And when they got you to appear before court, you were bundled in open van littered with fresh human extra 140kilometres trip. Imagine that.

It was during Kampyongo’s reign that we saw then opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema escape death via the roof top at a radio station on the Copperbelt. In in Western Province we saw him taking refuge (like in a war zone) in the bush for hours.

And this was under Minister Stephen Kampyongo’s watch and directive. Not even in Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia or South Sudan would one see such kind of treatment. But such was the modus operandi in a CHRISTIAN, democratic and peaceful Zambia which is supposed to let her people soar so free like an eagle in its flight.

So on Kampyongo, my take is if he is guilty, let him experience the experience of being called to account for his time in public office. He’s not guilty until proven otherwise by the courts of law.

My stance has always been that looters, criminals and plunderers should see their day of justice. Bible is very clear, the measurement we use for others shall be used against us – that’s God’s way of dispensing equitable justice parameters.

Going forward, it’s a warning and learning curve to those of our leaders of today that they too, should always think that life has a TOMORROW and they should avoid the temptations of being vindictive, selective, unfair and brutal in the retributive quest to punish their opponents in the guise of fighting corruption, violence or injustice. What goes round comes around.

By EDWIN LIFWEKELO

WHY didn’t they defect when the United Party for National Development (UPND) was in the opposition? This is the million dollar question boggling the minds of watchers of Zambia’s politics as the fledgling New Dawn government struggles to take full control of state machinery and governance systems while welcoming defectors from the opposition.
The Patriotic Front (PF) party does not have any problem with its members defecting to other parties because it is their democratic right under the current republican Constitution. However, it is important for the UPND to be careful with the people it is receiving as defectors. It is difficult to know the true motive of the defectors.

The party is aware of a few members and officials who may defect.
These defections, which are being choreographed at the UPND secretariate in Lusaka, could be a sign that the UPND is under pressure emanating from the growing public anger at its failure to adhere to the unrealistic promises it made to the people of Zambia during the campaigns for the August 12, 2021 tripartite elections.

Or is the UPND so scared of the PF in opposition that it has resorted to desperate activities aimed at weakening it and, if possible, sending it into oblivion? That will not happen.
In the aftermath of the elections that ushered the UPND in government many Zambians expected mass defections of members of the PF to the new ruling party. However, Zambians are amused that more than three months on there has not been the much anticipated exodus, and this seems to scare the ruling party.

Of course, there have been a few mostly low-profile defections. Since the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) declared Hakainde Hichilema as the winner of the presidential vote some members of the PF have announced that they had resigned from the party to join the new ruling party. And there has been jubilation in the UPND camp.

Surprisingly, some of these celebrated ‘defectors’ are now openly participating in the debates on the affairs and future of the opposition party. Doesn’t that give the UPND a hint?
There are a number of factors that are influencing the defections. One of them is the fear of retribution from over-excited ruling party cadres and politically motivated harassment by state agents. Some are defecting because they have smelt the coffee in the kitchen. “It’s time to eat with the new government,” they are saying. Yet some are crossing because they don’t want to be associated with the vanquished.

Most of the defectors are ‘mosquito weights’ whose departure has no effect on the structural and operational integrity of the vastly experienced PF. It is actually risky for the UPND to receive those people.

What yard stick will it use to detect those with ill-motives and the genuine ones? Some of those people have been habitual, ‘professional’ defectors. That is how they have been surviving.

What guarantee is there that they will not defect back to the PF when they see that the UPND Titanic is sinking? Some of those defectors could be spies and mercenaries who may have been assigned to infiltrate the ruling party and weaken it before the 2026 general elections.
The PF has told its members that they are free to defect to the UPND and become its trusted moles providing vital intelligence on the ruling party. In 2026, as the nation prepares for the next general elections, they are free to come back.

Then there is the issue of trust. If those people can jump ship simply because the party they supported has lost what makes the UPND believe that they will stay to mourn with it when it loses in 2026?

In fact, for the PF most of the defectors are good riddance. Let them take their dishonesty, disloyalty and greed to the party that celebrates those vices as virtues. The fact that the nation has not seen the mass defections witnessed in the past general elections since Zambia reverted to multiparty politics in 1991 should be enough warning to the UPND that the PF is too strong to be shaken by these defections.

Needless to say defections after a major election are not new in Zambia. They started even before the first vote was cast in 1991. The nation saw people ditch UNIP to join the MMD, an infant mass movement. When the MMD lost power in 2011 the ‘ritual’ continued.
In 2001 a total of 22 members of Parliament (MPs) were expelled from the MMD for their open opposition to then President Frederick Chiluba’s bid for a third term. They later joined the PF which was formed by former MMD national secretary and minister Michael Sata and other aggrieved colleagues.

The MMD suffered defections throughout the 1990s, according to an assessment conducted by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) and the Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP), funded by the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (nIMD) in July 2003.

The report of the findings titled ‘The State of Political Parties in Zambia – 2003’ says as a result of discord within the party over governance issues, between 1993 and 1996 the party experienced several defections and resignations leading to the formation of rival political parties.

“The Patriotic Front (PF) formed in late September (2001) by a senior party official and close ally of Chiluba was a reaction to the manner in which MMD’s National Executive Committee chose the presidential candidate.

“The twenty-two MMD MPs who had opposed the third term had been expelled from the party, but had won a High Court injunction to retain their seats until the matter had been determined.”

So as the defectors cross to the UPND, and as the ruling party welcomes them let both reflect on these issues seriously.

The author is deputy media director of the Patriotic Front (PF) party.

YOU SAID JOSEPH MALANJI IS A RICH MAN, NOW READ THIS AND TELL ME WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE – TAYALI

Buy the News Diggers or subscribe to get the full story, but let me give you “kadionko”……

FORMER Foreign Affairs minister Joe Malanji is under investigation for allegedly flying to Turkey with the Presidential challenger jet to collect money believed to have been sent to the Zambian Mission for purchasing an embassy building in that country, sources have told News Diggers.

On Tuesday, the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), in collaboration with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) jointly charged and arrested Malanji and former Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba for failure to comply with the law whilst they served in their positions.

Malanji and Yamba are alleged to have directly or indirectly influenced the transfer of K154,201,197 to the Zambian mission in Turkey without following the law on Supplementary Expenditure as provided by Article 203 of the Zambian Constitution Act No. 2 of 2016.

According to impeccable sources, the cost for the embassy building was inflated several times, but the government, through Yamba, went ahead to transfer over K154 million for its purchase.

The sources revealed that the Ministry of Finance, with a push from State House initially attempted to acquire a loan to purchase the said property in Ankara, but the deal fell through after Zambia struggled to meet the security guarantee set by the Turkish bank.

“The deal started as far back as February or March in 2020. After the loan failed to go through, there was a push from State House to quickly make this payment. That’s when there was that disagreement now at Foreign Affairs between the minister and the PS. After PS declined to see the payment through, that’s when the Secretary to the Treasury was brought on board to quicken the payment,” narrated the source.

The source said when the payment was transferred to the Zambian Mission, the justification was that it was for staff emoluments, but a decision was made to change the usage and spend it on procurement of property.

“That is how the money was now spent on the property, but a report was received from Turkey that part of the money found its way back into Zambia. The property cost less than US$2 million. The minister made trips to Turkey using the Presidential Challenger with authorisation from State House, and that’s the period that he came back with millions of dollars. After that, is when he bought the helicopter,” said the source.

News Diggers was able to independently verify that indeed, the presidential challenger flew to Turkey on several dates including December 28, 2020 and 1st March 2021.

By Dr Lubinda Haabazoka

The problem I have noticed in Zambia is that we seem to easily forget and are very short-sighted. We don’t pay attention to detail and never learn from history.

What happened in parliament has happened in Zambia before. Unfortunately, because a speaker is normally chosen by the ruling party, their actions are perceived by citizens as being instructions coming from their political party.

I can choose to keep quiet over the issue but I would be doing a disservice to my country and the many friends I have in the ruling party including the current President himself.

In 2017, then opposition leader HH was arrested on treason charges. At the same time, UPND members of parliament were suspended from parliament. Then a “state of emergency” was declared in Zambia. Everyone in Zambia was mute! No one could speak. I took a risk and spoke against what was occurring. I spoke because I really wanted to protect not only the UPND at that particular time but also to tell the PF that such actions were slowly giving sympathy to UPND and am sure everyone saw that in the outcome of the elections in August 12.

Today the UPND is behaving the same way. We have Malanji in custody, Yamba also arrested, a lot of people appearing before DEC, people’s privacy being abrogated every day by unnecessary searches, over 9 MP sits nullified, speaker ruling using a constitution no one has ever seen because the Zambian constitution is very clear that it’s not over until the final court rules otherwise. Even if some of these things might be justified, in the eyes of Zambians, all this is perceived as political victimization. My instinct tells me that with the task force that has been created, more arrests will follow, and knowing how the wheels of justice move, this will drag up to 2026.

With an IMF package coming in and hardships beginning to hit as soon as power and fuel go up, the agency problem will kick in between the Zambian people and the government in power. Whilst the government will be persecuting political opponents, citizens will be wondering when their needs will be taken care of.

Government should not listen to those calling for the blood of former government officials. Those are the same people who will ditch the reds the first when it becomes evident that tables have changed. Some of the people who insulted me over my articles in defence of HH and were busy calling for his blood are today even serving under HH. Such is the nature of man.

The best way for UPND to completely win over the hearts of the people is just to deliver. Let power not get to the head. But at the moment, PF has gained some members whilst UPND has lost some. PF is being constantly made relevant and is even becoming more united by the same arrests and speeches whose sentences begin with PF from government officials. PF is now in the opposition. We can’t continue doing checks and balances on them.

You can hate what I write now but five years when one is in power is not a long time. The Zambian electorate has become highly mobile and well informed because of social media so it’s very important that those in government don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.

Today we enjoy a lot of support from our European and American partners. But those people are only with us as long as their citizens support that. But once their citizens hear that their country is giving x amount of money to a country whose government has gained an outright majority in parliament by chasing away opposition members of parliament, I don’t think they would allow those monies to flow into Zambia. These diplomats serve politicians back in their own countries and those politicians also face re-election every now and then. Their loyalty is to their people.

The best way to win over the hearts of the people is just to work. There are many projects and ideas that we can implement in this county but at the moment all we are talking about is politics.

Also to remind leaders that power easily gets to the head. Who knew that barely 100 days in office the youths can be told that “they don’t drive”. “Fuel prices won’t affect you”. Let’s remain humble. Mine is to just help.

And to all those that are busy clapping for the speaker’s ruling. Be informed that certain decisions have national implications. What the speaker has just said is that once a court rules that you are guilty, even if you appeal to a higher court, you remain guilty and you can start serving the punishment. For example, if your employer says that once you are convicted in court you shall be fired. Then a neighbor accuses you of assault and you are convicted by a lower court. Even if you appeal to a higher court, and the court grants you bail, your employer can still fire you and you will remain jobless even for as long as 5 years until the court overturns your verdict. If the speaker’s ruling is upheld by the courts (but it won’t), this will be the implication. So even if you hate Bowman Lusambo, this is not about him but also has implications on your lives. It’s not politicians who actually kill democracy. It’s their blind supporters who support everything!!!

By Mwenya Mofya,

SECRETARY to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa says Permanent Secretaries will no longer be allowed to sit on parastatal boards effective January 1, 2022, pending law amendment.

And Nkulukusa says government could consider closing the Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) because it is costing a lot of money, however, it would be difficult to do so as government would not have a financial instrument for economic development.

Appearing before the Committee on Parastatal Bodies, Wednesday, Nkulukusa said Permanent Secretaries would therefore delegate a representative to sit on parastatal boards, adding that this was an administrative measure to ensure separation between operations and oversight.

“In terms of permanent secretaries sitting on the board, the rules are that I do not sit on the board and neither do permanent secretaries because it compromises. The permanent secretaries oversee the operation of the board and the Act has specified that Permanent Secretaries will sit on the board. For example, the Act specifies that I sit on the Zambia Revenue Authority board, however, I will choose a representative in the Ministry of Finance who sits on the ZRA board so that I have an oversight in terms of administration,” he said.

“So while we are waiting for the alignment and amendment of the Act to be able to align to that, we thought we should take an administrative stance so that we can see how it works. So the permanent secretaries and since I am the chief controlling officer will not be sitting on the boards and will be issuing those instructions starting 1st January 2022. So we will put an administrative measure to make sure there is separation between the operations and the oversight.”

Luena member of parliament Mubita Anakoka raised concern over the current status of DBZ, describing it as a bottomless pit.

“The Auditor General’s finding indicates that DBZ is insolvent. If we are keeping DBZ in its current form, what will your office do differently to ensure that the company is able to deliver on its mandate? Has the government considered the possibility that DBZ represents a bottomless pit? If that is the case, is it very impossible to let it go? Is it not possible to think outside the box of doing things without DBZ?” he asked.

“It is consuming a lot of resources that could be used elsewhere. Most promoters failed to adhere to procedures. DBZ owes about K528 million in domestic arrears. What are we thinking in terms of enhancing regulations of DBZ so that fraudsters should not use the bank? It is very clear that DBZ has been used as a conduit for looting public financial resources. What are we going to do to mitigate that?”

Committee chairperson Brian Kambita also wanted to find out how much control government had over DBZ.

“How much control do you have in the Development Bank of Zambia? This institution is pathetically underperforming. According to this committee’s assessment, it looks to be deliberate and we are able to pinpoint who is responsible for the underperforming in that institution. The major reason why DBZ is underperforming is the underperforming loans which were wantonly issued.

They were issued with a lot of influence in such a manner that developers ended up having no capacity. These developers are then saying their underperformance is [because] they did business with the government who has not paid [them] therefore they cannot pay DBZ. Why hasn’t your office released funds?” he asked.

In response, Nkulukusa said government would implement a debt swap strategy in order to provide relief to suppliers and DBZ.

“The government owns about 97% of DBZ so we have overall control. Other shareholdings have the difference. On domestic arrears, this is one of the issues and there must be a separation. Someone should not go and say ‘I am borrowing the money and it is dependent on the third person paying me’.

If we did that then we will be creating a bad precedent. However, I want to confirm that it is true that there is this money owed to some of the suppliers of goods and services to the government who in turn owe DBZ. One of the initiatives in the budget speech was of the debt swap,” he said.

“For instance, DBZ has a loan book of about K1.6 billion. K528 million is claimed to be on suppliers to government while K270 million of that amount has been audited and confirmed and we are looking of doing a debt swap. We will get this amount supposed to be paid to suppliers who owe DBZ, we will do a cheque swap and pay this debt to DBZ and some taxes paid to ZRA. This is a policy objective and we are going to do it. The Minister will be coming with a supplementary budget with one of the proposals and provide fiscal space so that this can be done.”

Nkulukusa said government could consider closing DBZ because it was costing a lot of money, however, it would be difficult to do so as government would not have a financial instrument for economic development.

“On DBZ, can we do away with it? Probably yes, probably no. Yes, because it is costing government money. Probably if we did away with it we can save that money in the immediate term. No, because it is a financing instrument that we want to use for Zambia’s economic development.

We should be looking at DBZ and say ‘you have got these weaknesses, instead of going to lend these beneficiaries can you be an apex institution that creates a product and partner with a commercial bank that is able to monitor the promoters’? If we just kill it, we will not have a vehicle through which we can have strategic growth that we want to achieve,” he said.

“I totally agree that there has been a lot of political interference. Most of the people that have borrowed from DBZ have borrowed not with an intention to pay back. They did not matter whether their business suited or not. When you talk to the people in DBZ, they will tell you that even before the person who is borrowing money goes there, someone would have called and told them ‘there is this person coming, please can you assist them.’ The Minister told them under the new dawn government, whoever owes DBZ they should pay back.”

Nkulukusa said the new DBZ board to be appointed needed to be business minded and not allow the bank to be used for political expediency.

“First and foremost we need to clean their balance sheet and once their balance sheet is cleaned up, then we can have these partners that can inject resources in DBZ. DBZ can then have enough resources.

One of the ways to clean their balance sheet is to have this debt swap so that we can start improving their balance. We are telling DBZ that they should go and collect the resources without any interference from those people that have borrowed from DBZ,” he said.

“So far we have seen some improvement. For instance, in 2019, DBZ only managed to collect K50 million. In 2021, DBZ indicated that they are going to collect just about K100 million. So we are seeing some sort of improvement. We also need to change the mindset of the people and the board that will be put in DBZ so that they have a mindset of a business institution and not [be] used for political expediency.”

Meanwhile, Nkulukusa said the Secretary to Cabinet would issue a circular on the use of government vehicles.

“A circular should be issued with enhanced provisions to make sure that we have compliance. There will be no personal-to-holder vehicles. All vehicles will be utility vehicles. The directive that we got is that all senior government officials including Ministers will be entitled to only one utility vehicle.

The rest of the vehicles will be in the pool in case a vehicle goes to the garage and you can get one from the pool. The day that you will leave, you must leave the vehicle. If there is no provision for them to have these vehicles and there is no stay from the courts, then we should withdraw them,” he said.

“In the Ministry of Finance alone, I was counting in the car park, I saw a lot of vehicles carrying private number plates. The Secretary to Cabinet will be issuing a circular that unless it is for a specific reason, all vehicles should carry a GRZ number.

Whether it is a GRZ or private number plate, no private citizen is allowed to drive a government vehicle. For one to drive a government vehicle, you need to have government competence. So if there are private people driving a government vehicle, they are doing it illegally.”

ITS EITHER ZAMBIA HAS AN IDIOT CONSITITUTION OR POOR LAWYERS AT LAW.

The speaker’s decision.

By China Bonzo

More than 50 Zambian lawyers gave there opinions on Speaker of the nation assembly’s decision. And from their opinions it’s clear that we have a consititution which is difficulty to understand. It’s only Jesus who can interpret the Zambia consititution in full.

👉Which court in this case between the high court and the constitutional court is rightfully being described as the court of competent jurisdiction to nullify a parliamentary seat?

👉If it’s the high court then the speaker could be right but if it’s the constitutional court, then why bother the high court court with cases it has no jurisdiction over?

👉The provisions in article 73 only applies in the high court and not the constitutional court and let’s separate between petition and nullification….

👉 Which section of the law allows the MP to be in the house just because he or she appeared to concourt?

👉What’s the need of a high court when it’s rulling is not enough to solve cases until the concourt?

👉What if no MP appeals to con court against the decision of the High court, is the con court will move itself to declare the seat vacant? If the high court has no power to nullify the election?

👉It is not the speaker who declared seats vacant but the high court through it’s ruling and therefore no way the speaker can allow the mps in parliament when the high court nullified their seats. The decision by the high court stays until the con court overturn the high court decision.

👉Dr Matibini already set precedence in the case of Mrs Scott vs mwanakatwe, the case of Keith Mukata and the case of Chishimba kambwili among others. And in all these rulings Dr matibini stated clearly that the speaker determine the weight of the case which is active in courts of law and use the desecration weather to make a ruling or not … Secondly he feather stated Parliament is not only mandated to make laws but it can also interpret laws as it is an independent organ of government… So I don’t know why people are complaining when precedence was set …
.
For more details visit the national assembly website and see these rulings in details….

👉The speaker is right according to high court ruling. The nation assembly of Zambia ( parliament ) make the laws and to suggest that the speaker has no power to interpret the law is the lowest thinking.

👉Otherwise ELECTROL COMMISSION OF ZAMBIA get ready to conduct elections within 90 days kwamana.

By Ulande Nkomesha,

THE Anti-Corruption Commission has disclosed that it received 222 reports of suspected corruption between January and August 2021, with more than 100 of those reports made immediately after the general election.

And Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe says his government will not allow criminals to evade justice and will leave no stone unturned by providing a conducive environment in which the fight against corruption can be effectively undertaken.

In a speech read on his behalf by ACC director community education Dorothy Cheelo during the Zambia Anti Corruption Conference, Tuesday, ACC acting director Silumesi Muchula said the Commission always worried when they see the increasing number of suspected cases of corruption being reported.

“It is a known fact that corruption has devastated the country’s developmental plans and that this is the elephant in the room at the moment. As a Commission, we worry when we see the increasing number of suspected cases of corruption being reported.

But at the same time, we are happy that the Zambian people are concerned and committed to taking up their collective responsibility to combat corruption.

In 2020 the Commission had a total of 539 reports, of these reported cases, 253 contained elements of corruption but only 182 were worth investigating, the remaining 68 did not have sufficient information for an investigation to be instituted. However three of the reports were recommended for corruption prevention exercises,” he said.

“Between January and August 2021, we had 222 reports of suspected corruption made. More than a 100 of the 2021 reports were made immediately after the August 12th general election, that speaks volumes.

Despite the country making tremendous efforts to curb corruption others still perceive the countryside’s state of corruption in the negative. This can be seen from the Corruption Perception Index of 2020.”

Muchula said there was need to review the existing Anti Corruption laws including the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act No 10 of 2010, to effectively combat corruption.

“The Commission is determined to ensure that all perpetrators of corruption are caught and severely punished in line with the existing laws in respect of their status in society. In other words, the use of punishment should serve as a deterrent to other would be offenders of this abominable crime.

However, it is imperative to say that the existing Anti Corruption Law needs urgent attention in order for it to be effectively used and attain the outcome of punishing offenders. Similarly, other related laws need a review among them are the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act, No 10 of 2010, the Public Interest Disclosure Protection of Whistleblowers Act No 4 of 2010 and the Pre-Negotiations and Agreement Act No 20 of 2010.

All of these were enacted over 10 years ago, it is my hope that a review of the various laws will help the country to effectively combat corruption and bring the perpetrators to book,” said Muchula.

And Haimbe said offering amnesty was part of a broader strategy to fighting corruption as assets recovered would also benefit the public through reallocation of recovered funds and assets.

“Allow me to address the issue of fast track courts. The Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012 provides for asset recovery or forfeiture after criminal prosecution as well as asset recovery without criminal prosecution or what is known as civil forfeiture. Section 80 (2-3) reads as follows: ‘the Commission may negotiate and enter a settlement with any person against whom the Commission intends to bring or has brought, a civil claim or application in court.

The Commission may tender an undertaking in writing not to institute criminal proceedings against a person who; (a) has given full and true disclosure of all material facts relating to the past corrupt and illegal activity by that person or other, and; (b) has voluntarily paid, deposited or refunded all property that person acquired through corruption or illegal activity’,” he said.

“Therefore, a settlement agreement is not a deal to allow criminals to go free, it is aimed at saving the public from a lengthy, expensive and uncertain trial. In Zambia’s recent predicament, where high profile corruption cases have collapsed in court with no benefit to the public, offering amnesty is part of a broader strategy to fighting corruption.

The assets recovered will also benefit the public through reallocation of recovered funds and assets to public services such as health and education.”

The Justice Minister said government would not allow criminals to evade justice.

“Offering amnesty from prosecution is also not in conflict with a zero tolerance for corruption stance since it provides an opportunity to deprive criminals of illegally gotten wealth and generates evidence for the investigation. Huge financial resources are a dangerous weapon if left in the hands of criminals.

These funds can be used to fund other criminal activities and to finance state capture where criminals use money to fund politics in order to control governments.

To this end, the new dawn government will leave no stone unturned by providing a conducive environment in which the fight against corruption can be properly and effectively undertaken. There shall be no sacred cows in this battle,” Haimbe said.

“Government will not allow criminals to evade justice, I, therefore, call upon relevant law enforcement agencies including the Anti Corruption Commission, to upscale their efforts in investigating and prosecuting such cases.

I also call upon you all to support government in realizing the strategy in particular and in championing the fight against corruption in general. The fight against corruption demands a multi sectoral approach. The fight is not for Transparency International Zambia or the Anti Corruption Commission alone, the fight is for all of us.

I therefore call upon you to fully participate in this conference through offering key insights.”

Haimbe said the anti corruption fight had in recent times not delivered effective results.

“Zambia’s Anti Corruption fight has in recent times not delivered effective results, as indicated by the country becoming a significant decliner on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI). Zambia’s CPI score has dropped by five points since 2013, indicating a rise in public sector corruption.

The UPND government’s stance and commitment is therefore an opportunity to reignite the fight against corruption in order to change the narrative,” said Haimbe.

“We were having a chat earlier in the day on how we can strengthen some of the laws for example the Anti Corruption Law in relation to how the law responds to the needs of the country, in terms of its ability to provide for an effective solution to corruption. So definitely there is need for us to have a holistic review.

There is need for us to have judicial and legal reforms in order to ensure we give the fight against corruption an impetus it requires. The discussion of lifestyle audits and declaration is one that is ongoing, certainly from a principle perspective it makes a lot of sense for us to go down this route.

That will indeed be a very effective tool for accessing the extent to which public officers do their work and the extent at which they do or not avail themselves.”

By Oliver Chisenga

THE last 100 days have given birth of a renewed hope for a Zambia that was ruined by a decade of savage PF leadership that represented everything that is detestable under the sun, says Gregory Chifire.

He says it is inescapable that former president Edgar Lungu faces justice because he was the “face of the evil that characterised his regime”.

In a statement to analyse President Hakainde Hichilema’s first 100 days in office, Chifire said the President and the UPND Alliance government had demonstrated political will to unite the country that was divided on ethnic and political lines.

He said the UPND administration had

restored human rights and dignity, the fight corruption and blatant theft of public money, and ended political patronage and caderism that had become endemic and cancerous.

Chifire, the Southern Africa Network against Corruption (SANAC) executive director said Lungu was a “humble thug” who had no respect for human dignity or decency, and that the last 100 days had clearly exposed the sharp contrast between him and his successor.

“Only God knows where Zambia could have been had Lungu continued with his goons in bus stations, markets and other public institutions. Zambia had really sunk to the lowest. Lungu allowed dagga smoking thugs in bus stops and markets to harass our mothers and sisters. He was the de facto commander of all the thugs that christened themselves with military titles of commanders and commandos. What a disgrace, what mediocrity,” Chifire said.

He thanked God that today Zambians are able to sleep peacefully because there was no one to barge into their homesteads or private properties to harass them.

Chifire noted that Zambians can send their children to school without being anxious about their safety.

He said Zambians were now waiting to see that Lungu and his “bunch of thugs” face justice.

“Many of our people suffered injustice that was authorised, sponsored, funded, supervised and rewarded by Lungu himself. It is thus in order that he faces the law. This would set a very good example for present and future leaders,” he said.

Chifire stressed that it is inescapable for Lungu to face justice because he was the “face of the evil that characterised his regime”.

“Name it, the extrajudicial killings, police brutality, savage conduct of cadres, supplying of rotten drugs, theft of public money, corruption, mukula deals, everything stops at Lungu. He has a baggage. When these start coming out, he is going to hate the day he became president,” said Chifire

President Hakainde Hichilema has said that the approval of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) finance program for Zambia is an endorsement of the UPND administration’s credibility to restore the economy.

President Hichilema says his administration has managed to secure a deal within two months yet the PF administration failed to do so in seven years because of a lack of credibility.

He says the UPND was elected on the assurance to restore the economy by dismantling the country’s debt.

Speaking on Arrival from Malawi where he had gone for bilateral engagements in the morning, President Hichilema said the IMF program is necessary for Zambia’s quest to restore the economy.

And President Hichilema said he has agreed with his Malawian counterpart Lazarous Chakwela to keep borders open for trade.

He said the two Presidents also talked about the works at the Mwami and Muchinji border to establish a one-stop border post aimed at enhancing trade.

President Hichilema said he also discussed issues of insecurity in some parts of neighboring Mozambique and DRC with Dr. Chakwela in his capacity as SADC Chairperson.

He expressed concern that failure to address the insecurities in the said countries will affect peace and trade in Zambia and Malawi.

Meanwhile, Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane has encouraged Zambians not to be fearful of the economic programme that has been reached between the government and the International Monetary Fund -IMF.

Dr. Musokotwane says that the staff agreement reached with the IMF intends to deliver a better living condition for the average citizen.

Speaking when he delivered a ministerial statement in parliament today, Dr. Musokotwane said the UPND Administration is of the firm conviction that spending government money on the youth and education is a worthier and a more beneficial measure than pending
on fuel subsidies.

He added that this measure is beneficial in the medium-long term as it will allow government to enhance allocation of funds to the Constituency Development Fund, and pay off outstanding pension arrears.

Dr. Musokotwane further said the measure will enable government hire 30 thousand teachers, eliminate tuition fees for secondary schools and bring back the meal allowances that were abolished by the previous PF government, to college and University students.

The Minister of finance and National Planning has also disclosed that with support by the IMF, government will administer reforms aimed at increasing checks and balances required for government to borrow money and increase revenue mobilization.

ACC QUIZ CHAWAMA BUSINESSMAN OVER 100 PROPERTIES

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has seized several properties from the over 100 they are investigating, suspectedly linked to a Chawama businessman said to have strong links to a very senior politically exposed person in the previous PF regime.

And Lusaka lawyer Isaac Simbeye when asked that he is representing Sipande Mugala of Chawama, and that information indicates that he has already been arrested by ACC with several properties seized, said he could not divulge any information about his client as he considers that privileged information.

Well placed sources in the investigating wings have told Daily Revelation that ACC is investigating over 100 properties, and a K200 million payment for feeder road contracts in their investigations against Mugala.

“We are also investigating a suspected Gold Mine in Chongwe and the K200 million payment on feeder roads through the Ministry of Local Government. We have so far seized several properties, including a vehicle. As part of the ongoing investigations we have already charged Mugala,” sources said.

When contacted for comment, and asked to respond to assertions that the ACC was investigating his client and the investigations involved over 100 properties and that 62 had already been seized, including three shopping malls, the guest houses and a vehicle, Simbeye said: “In the first place in the manner we represent our clients, we are unable to divulge the information to the public in this manner. We take issues of lawyer client privileged information very seriously. The only comment that I can offer you is that your information is highly out of character, yah our client doesn’t own such numbers of properties anyway.”

Asked on information that his client has already been arrested and charged by ACC, Simbeye said: “Even ACC does not suspect him to own such numbers of properties, but as to whether you need to give me the actual information, that information I am unable to reveal. It’s my client’s privileged information.”

Put to him again to comment on information that his client has been arrested, Simbeye said “that is what I am responding to to say all matters relating to my client are privileged, they cannot come from me and I may not offer such information to the public in that manner.”

“Yes we do appreciate and if you want balanced information you should be able to understand that the only thing I commented on is that our client, not even does ACC accuse our client of owning such numbers of properties. So that’s the thing,” Simbeye said. “But may be that one I will give to you home work to see whether the information you have is accurate.”

Asked again on information that his client has been arrested, Simbeye said: “That is the information which I am unable to divulge to the public being I take the right of my client to privacy very seriously.”

SOURCE: http://dailyrevelationzambia.com/acc-quiz-chawama-businessman-over-100-properties/

By Julia Malunga,

Mines and Minerals Minister Paul Kabuswe
MINES and Minerals Development Minister Paul Kabuswe says Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) Provisional Liquidator Milingo Lungu can only be removed from his position through a court process or him having to tender a resignation.

In recent weeks, Lungu has been engulfed in allegations of abuse of authority and corruption while executing his duties at the mine which have generated pressure on government to have him dismissed.

Last week, the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) arrested Lungu for theft of K17,250,000 after previously arresting him on similar charges in September.

Commenting on the development, Kabuswe explained that Lungu was appointed by the court and as such, could not be fired by government.

“The liquidator is not appointed by the government, he is usually appointed by the court. So, if we were to remove him, we have to use the court process or [him having] to tender his resignation. But very soon, you will hear some announcements. I cannot give you all the details because issues that involve court are legal matters, they are quite sensitive. So, it’s not very easy to make a comment on them that should go to the press, until you hear an action has been taken,” said Kabuswe.

When asked to share his thoughts about the recent development, he said “of course I don’t feel good, somebody is innocent until proven guilty. As a personal opinion, I think we must do the honourable thing.”

DEC public relations officer Mattias Kamanga confirmed Lungu’s arrest on Friday, saying the Commission has since seized funds amounting to K136,828,795.00.

“The Drug Enforcement Commission through its Anti-Money Laundering Investigations Unit has arrested the Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) PLC Provisional Liquidator Milingo Lungu for theft involving K17,250,000.00 contrary to the Laws of Zambia. Particulars of the offence are that Mr. Milingo Lungu, a 45 year old male of Plot No. 22763, Mulungushi Road in Lusaka, jointly and whilst acting together with other persons unknown, on dates unknown but between 6th May 2021 and 30th Agust 2021, and in his capacity as Provisional Liquidator for KCM, transferred funds from the Liquidation Account to his Law Firm’s Account and instructed the Bank to put the said funds into a fixed account deposit. This arrangement earned him interest of K17,250,000.00 which he withdrew. Thereafter, he transferred back part of the principal amount to KCM Plc (in liquidation) through another account,” said Kamanga.

“The Commission has since seized K136,828,795.00 in connection with these transactions and has charged and arrested Mr. Lungu for theft contrary to Section 272 and 278 of the Penal Code Act, Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.”

Kamanga said Lungu was released on police bond and was expected to appear in court soon.

According to sources, the latest arrest is in connection with the usage of money amounting to about K700 million which government deposited in the KCM account.

The sources explained that after the money came in from the Ministry of Finance, Lungu transferred close to K600 million to his firm, Lungu Simwanza, where it gained the said interest from a fixed deposit account.

Further, the sources explained that during his reign as KCM liquidator, Lungu opened a KCM account where he was the sole signatory, and used it to make suspicious transactions.

HH’s GOVT HAS SACRIFICED ZAMBIA AT ALTAR OF IMF, CHARGES SICHINGA … it’s ill-advised

By Staff Reporter

The UPND government has sacrificed Zambia at the altar of the IMF, former commerce minister Bob Sichinga has charged.

Reacting to Finance minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane’s statement today that in the IMF deal, fuel and electricity will reflect the cost reflective tariffs as the subsidies will be removed so that money could be channeled towards other needy areas, Sichinga said this is not what President Hichilema and the UPND promised when they were campaigning, as they claimed that they had done their calculations on how they would reduce the cost of fuel and electricity.

“They are placing us at the altar of IMF and this they will regret taking this action,” Sichinga said, adding that the cost of production will increase resulting in more companies going downhill while making life more expensive and unbearable for the consumers. “Completely ill advised. Don’t follow the IMF approach.”

Sichinga said for electricity, the best would have been to address the inadequacies in Zesco, while rooting out corruption in the fuel supply to reduce its cost.

“I can’t see how UPND can expect that they will revive the economy like this,” Sichinga said, adding that this has come on top of the repo rate by the Bank of Zambia which has squeezed the flow of cash in the local economy, while banks were making super profits from higher interest rates, with government being a super borrower through the treasury bills.

“They are exercerbating the problem. Keep this record of the conversation and in two years you will prove this…And they are reneging on the promises they made and they are simply following the IMF. And this is what has led to rebellions around the world when costs become too high,” said Sichinga.

Dr Musokotwane said the government is waiting on the advise from the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) and Zesco on the cost reflective tariffs. Those in the oil market are projecting increments of between K20 – K23 per liter in terms of the fuel. http://dailyrevelationzambia.com/2269-2/

Lubinda Haabazoka writes…

About Subsidies

You see the reason why the government of today is failing to win the hearts of people over the increase in electricity tariffs and fuel prices is what they said when they were in the opposition.

The reason why people like me are finding it difficult to defend the government on this one is that when we defended the then PF government over the same thing, we were castigated, insulted and the public was made to believe that we had no moral standing in society.

The role of an academician is to unpack information and help citizens understand or make decisions on certain issues in the country.

Some academicians move with the wind and say what people want to hear but others will say it the way it is regardless of what the public court of opinion will say. This lesson was learnt from school where the majority were not always right! When the majority in class think an answer is correct, in most cases it’s a minority which is correct because the truth is always hard to find.

Albert Einstein was considered a lunatic until after sometime. The Wright brothers were laughed at until now when we not on fly because of their innovations but we also peacefully sleep on planes they discovered.

Back to Zambia, what hinders democracy in Zambia is the inability by the majority to decipher data. Therefore, popularist slogans easily go and people believe. But as people come into power, it becomes difficult to sing popularism because now the real issues are faced and the true narrative has to come out.

In July 2021, I wrote an article explaining that fuel prices and even prices of other commodities were cheaper in Zambia than other countries and that’s why we saw motorists coming to shop in Zambia. I have never been ridiculed like that in my life. People brought in purchasing power parity arguments and even the top leadership of the opposition was very upset with me. Now, all I was saying was the truth. Fast forward today, the minister of finance announces that fuel prices and electricity tariffs are cheap because of subsidies. The economic wing of government further says prices have increased on the international market but in Zambia they are stable. What has happened to the purchasing power parity theory? If fuel in Zambia was not cheap as they alleged then, then why all of a sudden it has become expensive?

There are a lot of things I said and I was castigated for being a carder and a fake economist. That’s not the case. I just had the courage to tell the nation the truth regardless of whether the nation wanted to hear it or not!!!!

Today economists who wrote articles debunking my articles are in the forefront saying the same things I was saying! What has changed within 100 days? I really wanted to put in a word for government on issues to do with fuel and electricity tariffs but I can’t because I was convinced in July that we can’t increase fuel prices before increasing salaries.

When I gave examples to explain the happenings in the country, even formulae was given to prove how just by a stroke of a pen, fuel prices would fall in Zambia. Off course people in Zambia believed. Why is that not happening now? Sometimes we have to learn to apologise to others.

To the youths, you see job creation is not as easy as you think. You need to force it. Don’t make mistakes that were made by the youths of the 1990s who saw over 245 companies privatised and up to today, the country has not recovered. Work together with this government and pressure them to come up with job opportunities. Work with government so that new factories are created! Work with the government to ensure that indeni is not closed. Work with the government to ensure that Mopani and kcm are Zambian owned and that they operate efficiently to help solve our economic challenges.

Don’t sleep youths of this country and don’t support things blindly. Work with government so that government does what is in your best interest.

The elders also should not just sit down and let fate be decided by the youths. You have more experience so take a leading role. Solutions for our problems are in Zambia and nowhere else in the world.

There are a lot of ideas we should be discussing like building factories, mining industry development, 24 hour economy, green economy creation but today it’s task force on corruption and IMF.

I will be writing these articles one by one to remind people on what they ridiculed me on but they are saying the same things. I am doing so becausetgis country should start speaking only the truth and people should not be malicious against other people. Only the truth shall set us free be it in politics or in national development!!!

WE WILL INSTIL DISCIPLINE ACROSS THE RANK AND FILE OF THE PF .INDISCIPLINE COST US OUR ATTRACTIVENESS AS A PARTY – MUNDUBILE

“….There was a lot of misconduct especially from our cadres who went about brutalizing people in markets,bus stops and the Civil Service …”

Tuesday . Dec 7.

Opposition Patriotic Front Mporokoso Lawmaker Hon. Brian Mundubile has revealed that the Party has concluded the postmortem it had embarked on to establish the reason for its humiliating August 12 defeat , stating that one of the findings was that the party lost its shine due to gross indiscipline and misconduct from the party cadres .

Mundubile said the PF has learnt lessons and is fully ready to make amends on top of which is to instil discipline in the rank and file of the membership .

He said rebranding was not as easy as 1,2,3 but a long process which required getting feedback from party members and the Zambian people at large .

”You can’t rebrand without knowing what went wrong in the party .Most thought rebranding is about removing this or that person .No .it’s a much more complex process than that .As a central Committee member, we commissioned a committee that went countrywide to make inquiries from people especially those outside the party . So the report is out and was presented to the Central Committee . And using the recommendations in that report ,we have started the process of rebranding ,” he said .

He stated that discipline was top on the agenda of the rebranding because cadrism and hooliganism had taken centre stage in the past causing the party to lose its attractiveness.

He said even people who loved the party were totally irritated and fedup with the misconduct of cadres who they said had come to instill fear in people be it in markets , bus stations and the Civil Service .

”So number one step is discipline .We are going to instil discipline across all party structures, ” he said .

Hon. Mundubile said this when he featured on Prime Tv Oxygen Program last night.

IT IS DIFFICULT FOR PF TO PRAISE A MAN WHO THEY THOUGHT CANNOT BE A PRESIDENT OF ZAMBIA

The ongoing debate about what the UPND administration of Mr. Hakainde Hichilema has achieved in 100 days is very interesting. It is interesting in the sense that even those who failed to deliver in ten years are questioning HH what he has achieved in three months.Honestly speaking, there’s something wrong with those from the outgone government. How can one do everything that was damaged in ten years in three months? We need to be realistic as we offer our criticism. PF checks and balances are all misplaced and embarrassing to say the least. They’re trying to question the dirt they smeared on us Zambians whilst looting the public coffers. From the look things, they believe that the destruction they imposed on this beautiful county through looting is insurmountable to fix.

We understand that PF did not expect this rude shock of being voted out by the Zambian people.But we daily warned them to behave and listen to the Zambian people but they banked on public institutions abuse such as the Police, judiciary and the Electoral Commission of Zambia and took Zambians as fools. PF went into the August elections not with the Zambian peoples support no. They ( PF) banked on institutions abuse that’s why they made several evil agendas to destroy the constitution. Since PF wanted to return bill 10 provided they won the elections I hope they will advocate for bill 10 to be implemented again.

To be realistic, every right mind person can atleast point at one or two things that HH has done that deserves credit thus far. Today every Zambian including some thieves under the former leadership are enjoying freedom of expression, movement, assembly, police bonds are given to them and we have seen an end to political violence as well as thuggery perpetuated in markets and bus stations.

Today anyone can put on a PF regalia and no one will notice. But under the PF, one would be murdered for associating with groups of their choice if that grouping wasn’t PF. I know it is difficult for PF to stomach the shame they are having for destroying Zambia and undermining HH and the Zambian citizenry. So, how do we expect them to praise a man they humiliated, insulted, abused and prophesied that he would never form a government? They are simply bitter and not doing any checks and balances but, whining.

When they talk about rebranding themselves ask them what they are going to do after rebranding each other, will they continue the thuggery we endured? The English will say, spray painting does not alter the engine. If anything our nation should be guarded jealously to ensure that anything to with PF doesn’t exist again in our nation. PF was toxic to the future of our nation.

Most importantly if we all need to see Zambia progressing let us all take part in doing something that will help the country move forward. Just like the president has said, him alone it is impossible to deliver everything but with teamwork something better can be achieved. Those of you who have been given opportunities to serve Zambians don’t be selfish and end up embarrassing the president. Help him to achieve something for the country’s benefits. Some of you, your people in your Constituencies are calling us that you no longer pick up calls. It is too early. You are there to serve the Zambian people in all the ten provinces. Let us do the right thing PF were removed because they had closed their ears and opened up their eyes. They never wanted to listen to the problems Zambians were going through.

PF now sounds like a divorced husband due to promiscuity trying to give marriage counsel to his remarried former wife who is enjoying and doing far much better in the new marriage. Anyway….

SIKAILE C SIKAILE
GOOD GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST FOR AFRICA AND AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

By SIMON MUNTEMBA

CONFUSION has resurfaced in the MMD with party president Nevers Mumba’s trustees now demanding for his resignation.

MMD New Hope Munali Constituency chairperson Rupiah Muyunda said Dr Mumba should resign and call for a convention because the party general membership had lost confidence in his leadership.

But in an interview, MMD spokesperson Cephas Mukuka said it was absurd for Mr Muyunda to call for another convention and the resignation of Dr Mumba barely 12 months when the party had elected leaders at a convention.

There’re no sacred cows in graft fight, insists UPND
3 hours ago
Mr Muyunda, who is also MMD die hard national coordinator charged that Dr Mumba had destroyed the party with his uninspiring leadership.

He said currently, the MMD cannot win any election because of a leadership failure and lack of proper planning.

Mr Muyunda said Dr Mumba should just swallow his pride and allow other people to take up the leadership of the party to avoid it going into oblivion.

He pledged to organise funders for the convention if Dr Mumba and his executive were unable to raise the required resources.

He also expressed dismayed that vehicles belonging to the party were being sold off in private by the executive.

Meanwhile, Mr Mukuka said much as MMD was a democratic party that entertained divergent views, Mr Muyunda’s outbursts were uncalled for.

Mr Mukuka said it was disappointing that Mr Muyunda, who was a senior official could start attacking the leadership in public instead of using the established channels to air his grievances.

He warned that Mr Muyunda’s utterances would attract certain disciplinary measures.

He said MMD has a way in which we operate, “so as to regards to our Munali Constituency chairperson, I think what he has done attracts certain things which cannot be discussed in the public domain.

“There are relevant channels upon which all aggrieved members are supposed to follow, failure to obey such channels, it attracts certain penalties or measures.”

Mr Mukuka said calling for another convention barely 12 months after coming from the convention was absurd.

By so doing, he said, we would have abrogated our own constitution. It will be like for instance Zambians waking up one day and say let us have another general elections at national level. It doesn’t work like that. – Daily Nation

Chibamba Kanyama writes

The article below is authored by Shebo Nalishebo, one of Zambia’s top statisticians with a bias to economics. He raises what I consider to be thought-provoking questions. They are worth analysing. I urge citizens,
Including corporate entities (as I advised one Board I was training this morning) to take huge interest in what’s happening:
———————————-

THE BLAME GAME: DID IMF PUT A GUN TO OUR HEADS TO BORROW US$12BN?
Shebo Nalishebo (06/12/2021)

I have been following the on-going debate about accessing the IMF package and would like to put out my 2 cents.
In Zambia, we fail to take responsibility and always blame “ba mwisa” for all our economic woes.

• After nationalising the mines in the 1970s and running down the economy for the next 2 decades, we blamed World Bank and IMF for the economic mess. Did they tell us not to reinvest in the mines and instead use the money from the mines on social services and blind-side the populace to the real economic costs? Nationalisation in Zambia failed. Yes, I said it! Our Southern neighbour, Botswana has harnessed Foreign Direct Investment, and it is working for them.

• All that debt we accumulated was written off under the HIPC programme. Just a decade or so later, we accumulated even much higher debt than before (in nominal terms), and we even added the more expensive commercial debt.

• After borrowing $12bn since the HIPC Completion Point and again run down the economy in the last 10 years, we are up in arms against the IMF that has effectively guaranteed our debt restructuring with our creditors.

• Didn’t we say we had set up a sinking fund to repay the loans? Did IMF ask us to employ cadres in ZESCO and RTSA? Did IMF tell us to waste the funds meant to revamp Zambia Railways? Did IMF make us overprice roads, fire-trucks, Gulf Stream aircraft, medicines and ambulances?

• The mining companies that we are vilifying now, have we forgotten that we run down the mines? Have we forgotten that the mines are actually the largest tax payers? Is it the mines’ fault that we have failed to grow our non-mining exports?

• We are instead calling for home-grown solutions. Haven’t we had 2 home-grown economic recovery programmes since 2017? By the way, we also had one in 1988. We have failed to implement these home-grown programmes. Are we going to turn around and blame the IMF for that too?

If you critically analyse these things, who really is to blame? Our own history has a lot of lessons we can learn from which we conveniently choose to forget.

By Hastings Nasilele,

DEMOCRATIC Party president Harry Kalaba says very little has been achieved by the UPND government in the first 100 days because they have done more talking than action.

But Southern African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) executive director Boniface Cheembe has described President Hakainde Hichilema’s first 100 days in office as stable, peaceful and a work in progress.

In an interview, Friday, Kalaba said a government did not operate on a scale of one to 10.

“The UPND can only be measured by what they promised the people of Zambia. Their performance on whether they have performed or not is on what they said in the last 100 days. And for us in the DP we have said we gave them 100 days to see what policy framework they will put in place, to see the attitude they will have towards their promises.

I can tell you that much has to be done for the UPND for them to even talk about what they have done. So basically, little has been achieved in the last 100 days, very little, there is more talk than action. So let the UPND start working and they should minimize too much [on] rhetoric,” he said.

“Government doesn’t work on a scale of one to ten, government doesn’t operate like that. What we need to see is the sectors of the economy. The President should have said ‘which sector do you think has been worked on in the last 100 days’? Not ‘from the scale of one to ten’.

This is real life, and we are not in class. We are talking about medicines in hospitals; we are talking about the farmers receiving their inputs. Farmers up to now have not yet received their money for maize which they sold in the last farming season. We are talking about medicines in hospitals; there are no medicines in hospitals.

So forget about the rhetoric of one to ten, those are not mathematical issues, this is real life. We should be monitoring sectors as opposed to one to ten.”

But Cheembe described President Hichilema’s first 100 days in office as stable, peaceful and a work in progress.

“Well as SACCORD we believe that the first 100 days of President Hichilema and the new dawn government has largely been stable, peaceful and a work in progress.

We are happy at the fact that the President has been very consistent in as far as inclusion, peace and unity is concerned as ably elaborated on various platforms starting with his initial speech shortly after being declared winner of the 12th August 2021 elections going up to his inaugural speech, to the speech made during the opening of Parliament, the speech made at the UN general assembly, in the UPND manifesto and most critically ably articulated in the 2022 national budget.

In practical terms, it’s good to see that the appointments have been balanced across the 10 regional provinces of the Republic of Zambia at cabinet level. Also replicated by and large to permanent secretaries and also district commissioners,” he said.

“That spirit of inclusion of ensuring that every Zambian feels part and parcel of the republic is extremely important because oftentimes when people feel excluded or marginalized, it creates discontent which ultimately becomes a conflict driver.

Over and above, that we are happy that President Hichilema and the new dawn government have committed themselves to deliberately invest in peace building measures by implementing the country’s structural vulnerability assessment of the African Union to ensure that whatever structural vulnerabilities we have as a country are identified and mitigation measures are put in place.

This is extremely important considering the fact that we have seen a slide in the levels of peacefulness as a country as evidenced in the 2021 global peace index.”

He urged the government to focus on healing the nation in order to deliver on the developmental agenda.

“We expect to continue for the next 100 days but as we do that it is important that the President and the new dawn government continue to heal the nation. The country is in need of healing and this must become a very important focus point for their agenda and once the nation is healed and the trauma is addressed, we are able to unite the nation so that the focus is on delivering the developmental agenda of the country.

So in a nutshell the first 100 days have largely been stable and peaceful and work in progress and the people of Zambia look forward to the next 100 days and beyond as far as implementing many of the good things that have transpired in the first 100 days,” said Cheembe.