THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has advised the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) to officially write to the commission if it has any grievance over the contract awarded to Universal Print Group (UPG) to print the ballot papers for the September 20 polls.
ECZ public relations manager Cris Akufuna said in an interview from Durban yesterday that LAZ was aware of the complaint procedure if it had any grievances to make against the contract.
“We cannot start discussing issues they are asking us in the Press. If the have any grievances let them write to the commission,” he said.
Mr Akufuna was reacting to LAZ president Musa Mwenye’s question on whether ECZ had obtained security clearance for the engagement of UPG in the printing of ballot papers.
At a media briefing in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Mwenye also asked the director general of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to tell the nation whether UPG was mentioned in a warn-and-caution statement recorded against a former ECZ employee, Mpundu Mfula and whether the company had been a subject of investigations since the 2006 general elections.
“We note that ECZ has taken some steps towards inclusiveness in the electoral process but we urge the electoral body to attach utmost importance to clarify the issue surrounding the engagement of UPG because the issue has the capacity to adversely affect the strides made by the ECZ in facilitating a free, fair and inclusive electoral process,” Mr Mwenye said.
Both ACC board chairperson Timothy Kabalata and the director general Godfrey Kayukwa have recently stated that the commission was not investigating ECZ.
Mr Mwenye said LAZ wanted to put it on record that if UPG was implicated or accused in any unresolved investigations which were currently before the ACC , the company’s suitability to conduct the important task of printing the ballot papers for this year’s elections would be in serious doubt.
Meanwhile, LAZ has condemned the violence being perpetuated by some political parties as the country heads towards elections. Mr Mwenye said the association was concerned with the increased levels of violence between the political parties.
He urged all political party leaders in the country to denounce violence and commit themselves to peaceful campaigns. He urged the Zambia Police Service to maintain law and order in a fair manner.
And Mr Mwenye said both public and private media should abide by the electoral code of conduct by ensuring that all political parties were given fair coverage during the election period.
He said the public media should in this regard set the tone and lead by example by providing fair coverage to all political parties.
“On this score, we would like to state with the deepest regret that despite our several protestations, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) has continued to flout the ZNBC Act,” he said.
Mr Mwenye said LAZ would commence public interest litigation against ZNBC to hopefully pronounce the duties of the corporation and whether or not the ZNBC director general and his management had been breaching the Act.
[Times of Zambia]
Yes and this MUSA MWENYE should declare his political interest in that letter
When you decide against all good counsel, like in the case of Musa Mwenye, Reuben Lifuka, Frank Bwalya, to become a shameless PF cadre, you throw reason to the wind and start reading scripts prepared for you by Namakando Mmembe and his minions. It is such a shame to witness what has become of LAZ under these power-hungry misguided individuals. Iwe Mwenye PF is losing big time and the lawyers will throw you out of leadership at the next elections.
#2 NO ONE WUD TAKE COMMENTS BY AN EVIL PERSON LIKE YOU. I SEE NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN U AND SATAN, OR INDOSHI OR IMBWA….HOW DO U USE SUCH A NAME MEANT TO WISH YO FELLOW HUMAN BEEN DEAD, U AR A MADERER MAN. ECZ DOESNT ALWAYS AKS PIPO TO RIGHT FOR CLARIFICATION, IN MOST CASES THEY REACT TO PUBLIC INFOR JUST LIKE ON PVT….THEY SHUD JUST CLEAR THIS AS THIS DATA IS OREADY IN PUBLIC DOMAIN.
WHAT DIDT ECZ SAY ABOUT PVT????USELESS CHAPS…THEY KNOW THIS LET THEM JUST CLAER THE AIR…EVEN IF THEY WRITE TO THEM THESE CHAPS WILL JUST KEEP QUIET…ZAMBIA THE REAL AFRUMUKA??????????????
#3 are you trying to say something? Sorry am not a teacher for retarded children who is expected to deceifer sense from gibberish.
Well done, Mr. Musa Mwenye, and thank you very much for steering LAZ in a manner such that it is able to stand up for the right and for what is really good and beneficial to the nation. God bless you and continue to give you the courage and fortitude to stand up for the right.
Crooks and malfactors will often run to the cover of bureacracy and secrecy to try and avoid answering to the public regarding their misdeeds!
#3 and 5, Mwilatukana mwalipena?
Whether they write or not those crooks wont respond, why waste time just face the challenge and clear the air *****s. No rigging this year
# 1 HOW POLITICAL WAS WHAT MWENYE SAID….LAZ IS JUST BEING OBJECTIVE. OTHERWISE THIS COUNTRY IS BEING RUN BY PIPO WHO HAVE OVERSTAYED AND HAVE RUN OUT OF IDEAS.
Its a shame that ECZ with a constitutional right has been reduced to a tootless MMD cadre on Important issues like PVT and UPG by late RuBish. The fact is MMD will never rule Zambia again come 21/9/11 and UNIP can best come back than MMD Ala ni pa Bwatooo mwamukoloooooo
well said #3. These characters must be told the truth . They are so dull that they see that their Malawian is effectively losing to HH on 20th Sept.
INSTITUTIONS LIKE ECZ AND ACC ARE CREATING A TIME BOMB FOR THIS COUNTRY….IF THEY DONT KNOW , PIPO ARE GETTING INFORMED AND ARE WELL INFORMED ABOUT WHATS GOING ON AND THIS MAY JUST BE THE RECIPE FOR CONFUSION.
Musa Mwenye is the media the means of solving issues. for once before you to the media, write, send and copy the Post newspaper and then meet the press, so that we know that you are working. Be like ba PF.
LAZ has become careless with its talk
#13 read number #8, how many organisations have written to ecz over upg….organisations like post have even had meeting….so this seems to be a loop of crooks…cause the concerns ar genuine and if there where tenders they shud have engaged the second best bider
Mwamba, u are talking like a senseless MMD bafoon. Whether LAZ write to them or not we zambians know that ECZ and ACC are compromised and their reactions are kicks of a dying horse. Viva LAZ, Viva Musa Mwenya. We are behind you in ensuring that this country is pure of rotten pipo like MMD2011 and Mwamba above.
MHSRIP, LEVY USED TO LOOK AT THE MERIT OF THE ISSUE AND APPLIED THE LAW EQUALLY UNLIKE WAT WE AR SEEING WHERE PUBLIC WORKERS AR NOW MMD CADRES EVEN THE POLICE. IS THIS A NATION WILL LEAVE FOR OUR CHILDREN? WE NEED CHANGE LIKE YESTERDAY…..MMD KUYA….RB ACHOKE….RED CARD TO MMD.
Now this Musa LAZ Mwenye is an embarrassment, he does not even know the grievance procedure? Unbelievable unless you take the correct view that he and LAZ have been reduced to UNIPist PF cadres!
# YOU CANT COMPARE LAZ TO MMD, ACC OR ECZ. THESE GUYS ARE BRAINY AND THERE STATEMENTS AR BASED ON RESEARCHED LAW AS COMPARED TO BASELESS ARGUMENT JST BCOZ THE STATEMENT SEEMED TO BE AGAINST MMD THEN IT MEANS LAZ IS PF……MMD, WILL GO BUT LAZ WILL BE THERE. SAMUEL MUSONDA AND OTHER CORRUPT PUBLIC LEADERS WERE DEALT WITH BY THE LAW THE SAME WAY….THEY THINK MMD WILL BE THERE WHEN THEY WILL BE QUESTIONED TO EXPLAIN HOW THEY HANDLED THE AFFAIRS OF OUR COUNTRY.
ha ha ha talk about bringing ones country down, i only wonder what outsiders think of the country you guys have the best marketing strategy of bringing a country down, always saying bad things about it
Problem with people is that if someone says the truth and its not on their side then that person is a PF or MMD cadre…this is just wrong. What LAZ is talking about should concern every well meaning Zambian and if a compromised firm was used to print ballots for us, we should know and be very worried. What is happening pa Zed is becoming scary and could easily lead to chaos and bloodshed but all this can be avoided by ECZ, ACC and even RB (although it will be too much to ask of him) to pay a listening ear to all stakeholders and nip this turmoil in the bud otherwise Kenya or even Ivory Coast might happen here…..lets be reasonable!!
so imwe abena Zambia, what do you want? ECZ should throw away or tear the ballot papers! lets talk about solutions, what is the way forward! you people complain too much! as a result you are contributing to the problem….uluse Zambia.
It seems ECZ will do nothing unless someone writes to them. They don’t see or hear anything. It is like a policeman who sees a person being stabbed and does nothing because the victim has not put his complaint in writing to the police inquiries office. This is their work culture.
THATS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PIPO ARE OPPRESSED.
ECZ is composed of a number of eminent and senior lawyers who have served the country tirelessly for many years. Many of them were lawyers when LAZ President was not yet born and now the baby is lecturing the adults! It is quiet clear that LAZ President is a PF cadre. If Levy had been around he would have reminded these under five lawyers that ‘nine lawyer wa ma lawyer.’
There are many people even in our Christian nation Zambia who do not believe in God but the word of God has truths that people need to take serious. ECCLESIASTES 3:1-8 tells us that there is TIME FOR EVERYTHING and one thing I have learnt about Politicians is that they are thick in their heads regardless of their education. They hardly learn from time and history. We had people like Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, the Mubaraks of this world and now Muammar Gaddafi.
Please learn when to leave when things are still going well. How this world lack people like Nelson Mandela. Listen to people and stop behaving like you own the people. The people also give wrong advice and impressions to politicians.
Citizen, it is expect that a supposedly professional body like LAZ operates in a professional manner. That includes the means of official communication and not play to the gallery of the media and public. If they have an issue with ECZ, they communicate in the professional ways. Even when they sue ZNBC, they should go to the courts not to the Post and others. Besides, LAZ should best know the dual process of justice that an accusation does not mean the plantiff is guilty. Legal battles are fought in courts and not in the media. No matter the symphathy they may get from the media and the public, the dual process of justice shall only act and decide on available evidence and cases/argument presented. ECZ sound more professional.
PF cadres are always writing IN CAPITAL LETTERS, are they frustrated!!!!!!!
I have asked this question 100th times now no body seen to give a good answer
This Year I will do everything possible to Keep Sata away from State House. SATA = MUGABE =QUDDAFI = DICTATORS = THUGS = THIEVES.
THIS IS THE SCHEME TO HAVE EVERYTHIN DONE IN FAST FORWARD, FELLOW BLOGERS THE FUTURE OF ZAMBIA IS AT STAKE. SO FAR WE ALL KNOW WAT HAPPENS WEN PIPO WIN ELECTIONS FALSELY. EVERYTHIN IS DONE AT SUPERSONIC SPEED NO APPEALS THE ECZ RUNS AWAY…..HAS MMD COMMENTED ON UPG…..WHY? THEY ARE THE BENEFICAIRY…..ZAMBIANS LETS TAKE TO TASK THESE GUYS B4 ELECTIONS OTHERWISE THIS COUNTRY WILL BE DSTROYED.
mr musa, what do you say about your pf not allowing its candidates to participate on debates on znbc and othe public media?
This Mpundu Mfula a fomer worker at ECZ has a twin brother at the ACC a Mr Mpundu.He twin brother Mpundu was one time a repoter at times of Zambia.For Lt Col Kayukwa AAC DG,the never won a case when he was ZAF lawyer and legal advice to Gen SHikapwasha.It was Cpt Buta Sitali now ERB chief executive that made get thrown out ZAF when he was promoted to be Lt Col Kayukwa’s boss.We have very good young men like a Mr Mbewe that should be ACC DG,THE YOUNG HAS BEEN DOWN THAT PLACE SINCE KK’S DAYS.
obtaineding security clearance for the engagement of any company is mout by the ECZ.lET TELL the nation if a security clearance was obtained when engaging UPG in the printing of ballot papers.Security is security is agona.Let’s not be so person,Lubind was trying to advice,soon we will here more on this cargo of bollet papers not to come direct,but to go JNB AND THEN MWA lUSAKA
#30 You have not commented on Guy Scott’s revelation that PF is actually UNIPist (wamuyaya as we knew it). Since you condemned everybody else as UNIPist, where do you stand now? That removes all the moral rights that you had (if ever you had any) to condemn anything in this country by anybody.
i am trying to access to names of those who were recruited by ZAF which where published in november 2011. please if you can sent the to me through my email adress above, I WOULD REALY APRECIATE.