ZRA BOARD APPROVED SALE OF VEHICLES, WITNESS TELLS COURT

ZRA BOARD APPROVED SALE OF VEHICLES, WITNESS TELLS COURT

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SEPTEMBER 11,2024

A state witness has testified in the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court that the sale of Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) motor vehicles was approved by the ZRA governing board, with no procedural breaches found during the approval process.

Suzyo Ng’andu, a former board secretary at ZRA, confirmed during cross-examination that all necessary approvals were obtained for the sale of the vehicles. This was during the ongoing trial of former ZRA Commissioner General Kingsley Chanda and former Director of Administration Calistus Kaoma, who are charged with willfully failing to follow procedure in the disposal of 22 obsolete motor vehicles between 2017 and 2020.

Ng’andu testified that while she was not involved in every aspect of the disposal process, her role was to ensure that all board resolutions, including asset disposals, were implemented according to procedure. She also stated that she had no knowledge of Lusaka Archbishop Alick Banda purchasing any of the vehicles, nor did she see any receipt or gate pass indicating that he collected one.

Under cross-examination by defense lawyer Wynter Kabimba, Ng’andu revealed that although the disposal process was approved and managed according to ZRA procedures, internal investigations later found that some vehicles were unaccounted for, with no evidence of payment. However, she admitted that the investigations did not establish that Chanda or Kaoma personally breached the procedures.

Kabimba questioned whether Ng’andu was aware of all details surrounding the sale of the vehicles, to which she responded that certain aspects, particularly after the board approvals, were beyond her involvement.

Below is a summarised verbatim of the cross-examination:

Kabimba: You told this court earlier in your testimony that during the period 2017 to 2020, you were the secretary at ZRA board, right?

Ng’andu: Yes.
Kabimba: And that in the turn of events in ZRA asset disposal it’s only those two gentlemen (Dr Chanda and Kaoma) that breached procedure?

Ng’andu: I do not know.

Kaibimba: At the conclusion of those investigations, did you establish that only those two gentlemen breached the procedure?

Ng’andu: No.

Kabimba: Who was the legal advisor to the board?

Ng’andu: The Director – legal.

Kabimba: In the board, your job was to take down minutes?

Ng’andu: No, I also performed other duties.

Kabimba: Tell the court those other duties?

Ng’andu: To ensure that board resolutions were implemented according to procedure.

Kabimba: Did you do that in the past also?

Ng’andu: Yes.

Kabimba: And if that did not happen, what did you do?

Ng’andu: It’s to report back.

Kabimba: Please tell the court, who are these three non-members of staff who bought ZRA motor vehicles?

Ng’andu: Derick Mpundu, Heart of Mercy, Bishop Alick Banda.

Kabimba: Tell the court how these three paid for these vehicles.

Ng’andu: I’m not able to know.

Kabimba: At what stage did you discover this as board secretary?

Ng’andu: After internal affairs communicated its investigations.

Kabimba: Your minutes to the board for these vehicles would include the name of the person who has purchased, motor vehicle registration number, and the amount, am I correct?

Ng’andu: Yes.

Kabimba: Tell the court how these minutes were structured?

Ng’andu: We would simply say the disposal has been conducted, but we would not include the details.

Kabimba: And what details do you include in recommendations for sale?

Ng’andu: Make of the vehicle, book value, registration number, year of registration, and the year of purchase.

Kabimba: And this would be your list before the board?

Ng’andu: Yes.

Kabimba: And your evidence is that once the vehicles were sold, you just wrote one line ‘motor vehicles sold’?

Ng’andu: Yes.

Kabimba: If that is correct, what documents did you have to show that Mr Derick Mpundu, a non-ZRA employee, had purchased a vehicle?

Ng’andu: There was a gate pass under which he collected the vehicle.

Kabimba: Is the gate pass the same as a receipt?

Ng’andu: In my understanding it’s not.

Kabimba: What does a gate pass do?

Ng’andu: It confirms that authority has been given for that particular asset to be moved from ZRA.

Kabimba: It doesn’t mean it can only be moved by the purchaser, correct?

Ng’andu: Yes.

Kabimba: Were all the vehicles disposed of sold through the same process?

Ng’andu: Yes.

Kabimba: Do you know Mr Mulozi (Sitali Mulozi, the first state witness in the matter)? Did you work with a Mr Mulozi?

Ng’andu: Yes, I did.

Kabimba: He said some of these vehicles were sold by direct bidding. What do you say?

Ng’andu: I’m not aware.
Kabimba: And you are not aware because you were not involved at that stage?

Ng’andu: No, I was not involved.

Kabimba: So there are certain things that happened in this process that you are not aware of?

Ng’andu: As board secretary, yes.

Kabimba: Did your investigations establish that there was a gate pass and receipt in the name of Heart of Mercy?

Ng’andu: No.

Kabimba: Did your investigations establish that there was a gate pass and receipt in the name of Alick Banda?

Ng’andu: No.

Kabimba: Did the issue arise in any board meeting that some of the vehicles were sold to non-members of staff?

Ng’andu: No, it didn’t arise.

Kabimba: So, as far as you are concerned, all the documents relating to the sale are perfect?

Ng’andu: Yes, the approval procedure and the sale.

Kabimba: Do you remember telling this court that, in fact, there was a breach of procedure? At what stage was this procedure breached?

Ng’andu: At the point of sale.

Kabimba: Do you know that even at that point of sale, there were one, two steps; do you know that?

Ng’andu: Yes.

Kabimba: You know that before purchasing a vehicle, somebody had to get the money to go and deposit, right?

Ng’andu: I don’t know.

Kabimba: You don’t know that somebody had to get a receipt for payment?

Ng’andu: Yes.

Kabimba: And your report established that nobody got a receipt after purchase?

Ng’andu: No, we did not establish that.

Kabimba: What else did your report establish apart from what the whistleblower blew?

Ng’andu: It established that there was no evidence of payment for some vehicles.

Kabimba: In other words, some vehicles were stolen?

Ng’andu: Yes.

Kabimba: Did your investigations establish that those vehicles were stolen by those two gentlemen (Dr Chanda and Kaoma)?

Ng’andu: No.

Kabimba: At what stage did your investigations establish that Kingsley Chanda, A1 (accused number one) did not follow procedure?

Ng’andu: It didn’t establish that.

Kabimba: Neither did it establish that accused number two (Kaoma) breached procedure?

Ng’andu: It did establish.
Kabimba: Explain to the court?

Ng’andu: There were some vehicles…

Kabimba: And he was personally responsible?

Ng’andu: I can’t confirm that he personally did that.

Kabimba: Because you don’t know?

Ng’andu: I wasn’t involved.

Kabimba: And you were not involved because that was not your responsibility, right?

Ng’andu: No, it was not my responsibility.

Kabimba: No further questions, your honour.

The trial continues as the court seeks to determine whether any procedural breaches occurred during the disposal of ZRA’s obsolete vehicles.
Credit @Mbili Media