CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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Zambia |
CORRUPTION
Zambia has over the last decade earned herself a place
in the top bracket of Africa’s corruption-plagued nationsThe general view among Zambians is that the last decade, presided over by Frederick Chiluba, saw an unprecedented increase in corruption levels which contributed greatly to the increase in poverty levels.
Mwelwa Muleya, Information and Research Manager for the Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP), puts it this way: «It should be noted that rampant corruption in the last ten years had worsened poverty levels among the majority of citizens while a few individuals are becoming excessively rich.»
President Levy Mwanawasa has declared «zero tolerance» for corruption, and says: «The problem is, that for a long we have allowed corruption to become a norm in our society.»
Chiluba’s administration was often accused of not having the will or determination to fight corruption in high places. In fact, the former president is on record as having asked for evidence. This was by way of a reply to constant accusations of corruption in his government.
It was said that Levy Mwanawasa achieved power in December 2001 because he was handpicked and had received Chiluba’s full support. And that without Chiluba’s support, Mwanawasa would probably not have become President. It was therefore argued that Mwanawasa was too indebted to Chiluba to act against him with regard to corruption allegations. It was left to Mwanawasa to prove this assertion wrong.
Corruption under Chiluba
The litmus test for Mwanawasa came sooner than expected. In July this year, the privately-owned newspaper, The Post, made stunning and irrefutable revelations about theft and abuse of public funds during the Chiluba reign. According to the revelations, the main, but by no means only, channel of theft and abuse was the ZAMTROP Account. The account, held at the London branch of the Zambia National Commercial Bank, (ZANACO), was run by the Zambia Security Intelligence Services (ZSIS). Xavier Chungu, ZSIS‘s Director was then the sole signatory.
The Post published a list of organisations and individuals both Zambian and foreign, who had benefited from the ZAMTROP Account over a period of years. The first major beneficiary to be exposed was the Chief Justice, Mathew Ngulube, who was alleged to have received $168,000 in bribes from Chiluba.
There were widespread demands for the Chief Justice to either exonerate himself through an official statement or resign. He was eventually forced to resign. Foreign Affairs Minister Katele Kalumba, who was Finance Minister under Chiluba, also resigned in the wake of the revelations and ensuing investigations.
President Mwanawasa finally took a bold step. In an unprecedented move, he called for a special session of Parliament. In his address to Parliament in July, he confirmed the ZAMTROP scandal, and revealed other cases in which Zambia lost millions of dollars through theft and abuse of public funds during Chiluba’s administration. He indicated that constitutionally, he had no power to lift Chiluba’s immunity, and that only Parliament had the power to do so.
It therefore remained for Parliament to take action. There was mounting pressure from the Church, students and civil society for Parliament to lift Chiluba’s immunity, so as to have him investigated and prosecuted. On 16 July, Parliament unanimously voted for the lifting of Chiluba’s immunity, with Members from all sides of the House voting in favour of the motion — an unprecedented show of united opinion.
Addressing the nation the following day, Mwanawasa, riding on the tide of the nationwide euphoria, stated: «No longer shall the people of Zambia allow dictators and corrupt leaders to rule over them. Those leaders who intend to engage in corrupt practices, take note — the decisions we are taking are having a deterrent effect.»
Mwanawasa’s stance received a mixed reaction from the general public. Some praised Mwanawasa and agreed with him that his actions were having a deterrent effect since they dealt with the «big fish». Supporters and associates of Chiluba, on the other hand, condemned Mwanawasa’s actions as «victimisation and persecution of the man who did all he could to ensure that Mwanawasa became not only the MMD‘s presidential candidate, but who also won the presidential election». They accused him of being ungrateful to the people who supported him.
However, others, especially some opposition leaders, said that Mwanawasa did not deserve any praise for his action against corruption, because he had merely «hijacked» what others had started in the fight against corruption.
Sakwiba Sikota, first vice president of the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND), had this to say: «Mwanawasa has never taken any initiative on this issue and he is always reluctantly endorsing or supporting things, after others have given them a significant airing. If Zambians are fair and look at the actual sequence of events, they will realise that Mwanawasa has never been a leader in this fight, but consistently a reluctant follower.» According to Sikota and others with similar views, Mwanawasa’s declaration of «zero tolerance» is mere rhetoric. «He is doing it for cheap publicity and his heart is not in it».
Only time will show how sincere Mwanawasa really is.