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TIZ Says it Doesn’t Condone False Corruption Allegations

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Transparency International Zambia says President Edgar Lungu should go beyond pronouncements in the fight against corruption.

And TIZ has said it does not condone false allegations of corruption.

TIZ Chapter president Reuben Lifuka has stated that the results of any meaningful fight against corruption in Zambia should be self-evident and people do not have to believe propaganda to attest.

“While we agree with President Lungu that corruption, whenever it rears its ugly head, should be nipped in the bud, we want to underscore that the PF administration should go beyond mere pronouncements about the fight against corruption. The results of any meaningful fight against corruption should be self-evident and people do not have to believe propaganda to attest to this. Government should move away from a rhetorical approach and put in place strategies to ensure that we reverse the corruption trends in this country. The undeniable truth which we cannot run away as a people is that we have a huge problem of corruption in this country. In fact there are various forms of corruption and it will be amiss of the President and his administration to reduce the debate and concerns to allegations of corruption made against himself and his ministers,” Lifuka stated.

He further discouraged malicious accusations of corruption.

“As Transparency International Zambia, we do not condone false allegations of corruption against any person or institution but we also condemn any attempts to create an atmosphere of fear of reprisals among those who genuinely witness situations of corruption. Whistle-blowing is not an easy act and those that courageously come forward to bring tips and information of possible wrong doing, should not be made to carry the full burden of proving their cases. That is why we have investigative and prosecuting agencies to do that and these agencies in a number of cases, depend on the active participation of the public. Time and time again, we hear law enforcement agencies calling on members of the public who may have vital pieces of information on a particular case to come forward,” Lifuka stated.

” In this new dispensation, it would seem members of the public should only come forward when they have the full evidence of wrong doing of public officials. In fact, the veiled threats made by President Lungu will have the chilling effect of scaring away whistle blowers who will shy away from bringing vital information to relevant law enforcement agencies. Already we have a very weak culture of whistle blowers in this country and that is why we see Ministers and public servants only speaking out when they have left office.”

He further stated that TIZ does not support whistleblowers who maliciously make corruption allegations.

” Again, we reiterate  that we do not support whistle blowers who maliciously make allegations of corruption but we also find it unacceptable to implicitly create a perception that most whistle blowing is about ‘framing and painting government black’. Fighting corruption requires strong leadership and commitment and we will be making a big mistake as country to imagine we will clean up our country of corruption merely by gagging people from expressing their concerns. It is also an insult to the intelligence of the international community to insinuate that they somehow arrive at conclusions on the state of corruption in Zambia merely by reading social media postings and listening to bar room chats discussing corruption in the public service in Zambia,” stated Lifuka.

“The international community has various means of conducting their due diligence and the onus is not on them to prove that we are doing all that is necessary to fight corruption- the ball is firmly in our court as Zambians and President Lungu and his team should not abdicate their role of providing leadership at this crucial period in the life of the nation. The fight against corruption requires honest engagement and we will have no one to blame if we bury our heads in the sand, the world does not owe us any favours, we owe it to ourselves and posterity to rid our society of corruption.

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President Edgar Lungu is now the most unpopular political leader in Zambia, UPND

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UPND Secretary General Stephen Katuka said Mr. Lungu’s lack of direction on Zambia’s economy demonstrates the reason why millions of Zambians are crying of hardships today.

Mr. Katuka said there is no doubt that if given more more time to mess up the economy, Zambia will be no more.

He said Mr. Lungu has given preference to his foreign crooks in awarding contracts at the expense of the Zambian contractors.

Mr. Katuka said the hearts of Zambians are bleeding due to poverty created by Lungu’s irresponsible leadership.

He said the time for the Patriotic Front to correct the hunger situation they have caused in Zambia is up and the cabinet reshuffles made a few days ago are nothing but an act of desperation by Edgar Lungu

Mr. Katuka said it is a well known fact today that PF is the most corrupt government to have ruled this country ever.

He said the PF have destroyed the civil service, they have punished farmers by not distributing agro-inputs on time and they have made it difficult even for call-boys and marketeers to survive due to high cost of mealie meal and cooking oil.

Mr. Katuka said it is time for PF to pack and go.

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State Witness Tells Court Lungu Applied to Have ‘Chagwa’ on NRc

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A State witness has told the Lusaka Magistrates Court that President Edgar Lungu added the name Chagwa to his details on his original National Registration card (NRC) bearing the number 216992/67/1.

Agness Musonda, a registrar at the Department of National Registration, Passport and Citizenship, was giving testimony in the case in which Labour Party president Fresher Siwale is facing charges of defamation of the President.

He is alleged to have defamed the President when he stated that President Edgar Lungu’s real name is Jonathan Mutaware and not Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

Musonda testified that NRC number 216992/67/1 was in the name Edgar Lungu and in 1986, there was an application to add a name after which “Chagwa” was added on November 18, 1986.

She further testified that she received a letter from the Inspector General of Police requesting verification of two National Registration Card (NRC) numbers.

She said the first one was 216992/67/1 and the second one was NRC number 652489/11/1

Musonda told magistrate Alice Walusiku that after checking the records, she informed police that the first NRC number was issued to Edgar Lungu born on November 11, 1956, Ndola and that at the time he was getting his NRC, he was residing in Kitwe’s Chimwemwe area.

“I provided this information to the Zambia Police through the office of the Inspector General…on November, 18 1986 Lungu Edgar added Chagwa to the name and the changes were recorded at the back of the records as is the case when someone changes, or loses a card. And as of today, the records show Edgar Chagwa Lungu on NRC number 216992/67/1,” she said.

Siwale is alleged to have, on April 22, 2018, with intent to bring the name of President Edgar Lungu into ridicule, published defamatory matter by word of mouth by saying that the President of the Republic of Zambia had other names, alleging  that Edgar Chagwa Lungu were not his actual names.

Siwale is also accused of having called for the arrest of President Lungu for having three National Registration Cards.

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Investors Welcome the Firing of Mwanakatwe, Push Zambian Bonds higher on the International Market

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International Media is reporting that investors have welcomed the firing of Former Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe by pouring funds into the Zambia bonds as evidenced by the rise of the Zambia bonds on the International Market.

According to Reuters, Zambia’s dollar-denominated government bonds jumped on Monday after the President Lungu sacked Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe and appointed central bank deputy governor Bwalya Ng’andu to replace her and Bloomberg also reported that the price of Zambia’s dollar bonds due in September 2022 rose 1.7%, the most since June 20, to 66.9 cents on the dollar, equating to a yield of 19.9%.

Bwalya Ng’andu was sworn in as Zambia’s new finance minister, a day after Margaret Mwanakatwe was fired from
the post. Ng’andu, 64, a former deputy governor of Zambia’s central bank, is the third person to hold the post in three years. He was sworn in at a ceremony at the presidency in the capital, Lusaka.

According to Bloomberg, Dr Ng’andu’s appointment comes as the government tries to revive an economy that the International Monetary Fund says is growing at the slowest pace in more than two decades, after a slump in
the price of copper, Zambia’s main export. A drought is causing power shortages and an escalating dispute with copper producers has not helped either.

Bloomberg news further stated that the incoming finance minister will need to soothe investor concerns that Zambia may default on its debts unless it gets a bailout from the IMF or negotiates easier terms on loans it obtained from China and that he’ll also have to rein in the government’s ballooning budget deficit, possibly with spending cuts. The shortfall in the first quarter was 4.8 billion Kwacha ($383 million), 12% higher than the Finance Ministry’s forecast. The ministry has a deficit target of 6.5% of gross domestic product this year, compared with 10% last year.

According to Bloomberg, Chibamba Kanyama, a Lusaka-based independent economist also welcomed the appointment of Dr Ngandu as the new Finance Minister.

“He comes from a banking setup, so he understands a lot more about the actual realities of the Zambian economy,” said

“He is not a politician and by virtue of him not being a politician, I am sure he will rein in colleagues. I am very sure that he will be able to succeed if he focuses on the fiscal macro economic stabilization and also and do away with sales tax.,” he added

And Barrick Gold Corp. Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow told reporters in Lusaka on today that they are are very encouraged by the appointment of the new Finance Minister, who is a technocrat

Dr. Lubinda Haabazoka

Meanwhile, the Economic Association of Zambia (EAZ) has welcomed the appointment of Dr Bwalya Ng’andu as Minister Finance.

EAZ president Lubinda Habazoka has experience in economic matters as he has served in various portfolios in Zambia and outside the country.

Dr. Haabazoka said the association will consult the new finance Minister widely on economic matters.

Meanwhile Bankers Association of Zambia (BAZ) president Leonard Mwanza said his association is hopeful the new minister of finance will address the fiscal challenges the country is facing.

Mr. Mwanza said there is need for the new minister to focus more on increasing revenue base to stimulate economic growth.

The two were speaking to ZNBC news in separate interviews in Lusaka today.

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I’LL NOT IMPOSE GAY RIGHTS ON ZAMBIANS IN EXCHANGE FOR DONOR AID-PRESIDENT LUNGU

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President Edgar Lungu has said that he will not impose gay rights on Zambians in exchange for donor aid. President Lungu said that certain rights that are enjoyed in other parts of the world may not be accepted by Zambians.

The President said that cultural differences have proved that some of the rights enjoyed in some countries cannot be applied elsewhere.

President Lungu said this when outgoing Swedish Ambassador to Zambia Henrik Cederin paid a courtesy call on him at State House.

The President assured the envoy that Government will continue cooperating with the Swedish Government in terms of cooperation in areas such as gender equality.

Mr. Cederik has thanked President Lungu for always being available to meet him in the past four years that he has served his country in Zambia.

He praised the Head of State for his stance on the quality of life for Zambians in areas such as sexual reproductive health.

Mr. Cederin said he had to deal with two major cases of corruption during his time as Swedish Ambassador involving misapplication of funds at the Zambia National Farmers Union and in relation to the social cash transfer.

He has since thanked President Lungu having taken a clear stance in dealing with the corruption cases where the Head of State encouraged the concerned Cooperating Partners to make sure that they get to the bottom of the matter.