Minister Alexander Chikwanda (second from left), Local Government and
Housing Minister Emmanuel Chenda and Road Development Agency Director
General Bernard Chiwala on an inspection of one of the roads under
construction in Lusaka
FINANCE minister, Alexander Chikwanda has sued University of Zambia (UNZA) lecturer, Mathias Mpande seeking compensatory damages over his remarks that the minister lacked nationalism and misunderstanding of economics when dealing with mining issues.
Dr Mpande’s remarks against Mr Chikwanda were published in the Post Newspaper story headlined “Mpande questions Chikwanda’s mining decisions” which article the minister feels is defamatory.
Mr Chikwanda has since asked the Lusaka high court to order Dr Mpande to pay him damages for libel and other relief that the court may deem fit.
He has stated in a writ of summons filed by his lawyers Mulenga Mundashi Kasonde legal practitioners that he was at all material times a business executive, politician and serving as the minister of Finance of the Government of the Republic of Zambia.
Mr Chikwanda said that on about August 5, 2014, Dr Mphande who is a mineral economist and lecturer at the School of Mines at UNZA caused to be written and published on the front page and on page 4 of the Post Newspaper an article slandering his character.
He said the remarks by Dr Mpande who is also senior chief Mpande of the Mambwe-Lungu people in the story were in their natural and ordinary meaning understood to mean that he was unpatriotic Zambian.
Mr Chikwanda said that the words were understood to mean that he was ill educated in economics, ignorant and therefore was not qualified to serve as minister of Finance.
He further stated that the words were also understood to mean that he was corrupt, unscrupulous and has obtained gratification from mining houses operating in Zambia in exchange for granting favourable tax incentives to the mining houses.
Mr Chikwanda said that because of Dr Mpande’s remarks, his reputation has been seriously damaged and he has suffered considerable hurt, distress and embarrassment.
There is nothing worse than a corrupt old man. disgusting..
Debo or should I say Devo….What corrupt practices are you talikng about? You’re miles away and listening to propaganda from The Post and failed politicians. The Post have been losing in their bids for contracts left and right because of their immature use of the paper and attacks on their competitors. I know because I have been a victm of their tactics. Their haulage trucks bought on borowed money are now parked because no wants to do business with Mmembe.
Mpande as mines minister caused the mess that we’re now dealing with. Come take a walk on the CB.
Chikwanda has always been a smart businessman. He resigned he’s post as Chief of staff at plot 1 out of principle, and you call him disgusting. Lucky you’re hiding, you deserve to be sued as well. Too much libel going around.
@Colonel. Well said! Mpande is even lucky to have a lecturing job right now! The man helped in r@p!ng our resources. How I wish I never helped him when he was down after his fall from grace.
Ba LT there are no Mambwe-Lungu people! You are either Mambwe or Lungu period!
@ Colonel, Smart Business man my foot. Zambia is what it is today because of stup!t people like you worshipping plunderers!!!
Ba Mathias, don’t get involved with Mmembe, he has his own journalist to write articles. Look now Mathias you have injured yourself.
Its “ethic cleansing”, Chikwanda is serious.
Kuyani, insolent chap, in what world am I stup!t? I don’t worship the fella but just the one true God. If ABC has plundered anything come forth with the evidence. Zambia and indeed the universe is better without insultants and indeed slanderers like yourself.
This shameless old thief. Is it your job to give refunds to companies? ZRA ever have a list of who to pay first, but you want to pay your friends first so you get a cut.
What is this?. I can’t believe it. Something is wrong.
Chikwanda is indeed an !diot. What is there to sue about here? This is a fair comment on the part of Dr Mpande with regard to public policy. Are we in a dictatorship that we cannot criticise nor question the qualifications of public officials? Chikwanda please go to hell!
Well done Chikwanda. Drag everyone associated with the now headless cartel to court when they slander you. These ldiots need to learn to have facts before rushing to the press.
Spot on Suntwe. May I urge ABC to similarly sue the libelous fake Anglican priest-turned Post megaphone father Luonde and hunger-striken Bishop Mambo. It is time Zambians learned that they cannot scandalize people with impunity. If you have evidence against Chikwanda or anyone else, step forward with evidence instead of scurrilously attacking people’s reputation merely out of your hatred or lies you are fed by others whose agenda you have little understanding of. And by the way, LT, your blocking comets you do not agree with does not make you any better than these scu.mba.gs either.
The problem with most educated zambians is where they want to treat evryone below their level of education as their students who cant think.This is why they are thievs or miss rule. Hon chikwanda forgive them father they have just gathered papers.
Mudala uyu nankwe nachilamo mwe. Atamfisha kabimba nomba chamutwala uku
Ba ABC* surely has short memory, he has forgotten how FTJ sued Dipak, Nawakwi and the Post for calling him a thief. The court proved them true. * Ati chimbwi pa nkunya, ninshi pali epo anshilintilile. Careful Mudala. Besides there is an opposing view in writing by ZRA to the MoF.
Okalipa, if you cannot quote other people’s sayings correctly, please do not go there! It simply exposes your ignorance and ineptitude and any attempt on your part to pretend you are who you are not. Did you just pull that saying out of your a.s.s or what? You are fooling no one but yourself.
Chikwanda it seems is the new unannounced president of Zambia and to him it means throwing his weight around. He must be careful, it is well known that he is behind the current hostile atmosphere now threatening the peace. Conflict can easily be caused by one f.ool.
Comments by the Doc should be left to online bloggers whose identity is left unknown. When you decide to publish your thoughts in a daily paper, you must be able to defend your words and produce facts of such. Otherwise people will be hiding behind freedom of expression.
I think Mphande’s comments were fair. That is a public office. Surely how did Chikwanda sign a statutory instrument to export soil by the mines when one of his companies was a beneficiary from the mines.?
Is this a good econonmic decision from a so called smart business man? What rubbish of smartness is this?
Whatever wrongs Mphande committed in the past, his statement made sense. I do not see any merit in this case but just something to desctruct public attention from his misdeeds (Chikwanda) for which he will pay one day.
Well the minister will be exposed during cross examination. If I were him I would just let sleeping dogs lie
Chikwanda is just a bemba thief who wants to make money now, which he could not make under the fossil called Kaunda.
You had to bring in tribe?!!
You definitely can do better.
Interesting Documentary of Zambia specifically Glencore (Mopani Mines) under the current Government. Please watch this video and encourage others to do so, there are major concerns raised about our country. Knowledge is power. Here is a brief description of the video “Rüschlikon is a village in Switzerland with a very low tax rate and very wealthy residents. But it receives more tax revenue than it can use. This is largely thanks to one resident – Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of Glencore, whose copper mines in Zambia are not generating a large bounty tax revenue for the Zambians. Zambia has the 3rd largest copper reserves in the world, but 60% of the population live on less than $1 a day and 80% are unemployed. Based on original research into public documents, the film describes the tax system.
Here is the link on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNYemuiAOfU
I’ve had this video on my ‘Watch Later’ list for close to year now but I’ve only watched two minutes of it. Some things are just to painful. I need therapy before and after I watch it but I can’t afford that. What to do? LT can you help me?
This is the video that Chikwanda and all his blind and deaf supporters should be watching to enlighten themselves and their starving relatives. It shows you how the owners of those mines have been reaping Zambia off, thanks to greedy corrupt ministers like Chikwanda!! Mpande is correct to criticise Chikwanda!
Rather than comment without data, I would rather wait for trial/verbatim of what promises to be an INTERESTING court case in the making. It would be interesting to see what data the defence (Mpande & Post) will come up with to prove what the published. Suffice to say late FTJ regretted having taken Nawakwi, Mmembe and Dipak to court for calling him a thief. By the time he was rushing to withdraw the case we all new about the carlington maize scandal and the Zamtrop accounts. Lets wait and see.
So FTJ was found guilty by the Post Newspaper and here I was thinking that it ought to be the courts of law to pronounce a person gulity. I, honestly, thought that FTJ was acquitted. What I vividly remember is the Post manipulating Mwanawasa and the justice system to find Chiluba guilty. The Post went after RB as well but have you seen what has happened? Mmembe is too scheming for anyone’s good and it is sad to believe that whatever he has done has been for the good of the nation. He thinks of himself first that is why I want him to be eradicated from the face of this Earth; cos he is an alien!
@Clueless: In 2007, British judge Peter Smith ordered Chiluba to pay $58 million to the Zambian Treasury to compensate for money he was suspected of stealing while he was in office. Yes FTJ was (in 2009) acquitted by the Zambian courts under RB. Remember key witnesses such as Xavier and Shansonga bolted. I took that acquittal with a large pinch of salt & think that he was just forgiven, especially (given) that his (co-accused) were found guilty. But each of us is entitled to his/her own opinion. Needless to say the exposure of Carlington and Zamtrop inexorably led to FTJ to appoint his nemesis LPM to succeed him in a desperate attempt to clutch to twigs in the midst of criminal ligation & loss of political power/influence disasters.
CONTD: We WILL see similar damage to PF but how the plan to/will handle the damage is up to them. True Mmembe has his own agenda & 14 million KR DBZ loan needs to be repaid. Equally suspected corrupt judicial officers needed to be investigated. Trouble in Zambia is that any rubbish/illegality be it, illegal land allocation, corruption, theft, murder can all be “FORGIVEN” in exchange for political support. FTJ is on record as having been promised certain things for supporting RB.This culture started in UNIP, flourished in MMD & is becoming evident in PF. I wonder if it can be any different in UPND because we there no real difference in ideology among political parties other than the insatiable crave for power. Until we learn to COMPARTMENTALSE CRIMES FROM POLITICS we are in deep…
I AM NOT PF BUT I REMEMBER THAT CHIKWANDA, AS LONG AGO AS DURING THE UNIP ERA, HAD A COMPANY AT CENTRAL SHAFT OF NKANA MINE CLEANING SUMPS THERE. SO WHAT IS NEW APART FROM PETTY JEALOUSY?
SOME PEOPLE WERE BORN ENTREPREUNERS AND SOME WERE BORN WITH GREEN EYES OF ENVY!!
A public figure in gov’t should expect critic of his performance. All this personal litigation, by senior gov’t officials is very strange. It’s okay to defend oneself but litigation is a step too far.
What I know is that ABC left govt after KK refused to heed his after on foreign missions. At the time, the expenditure on education for children of diplomats was almost that of the entire education ministry. He has been in business since then, and significant business. Some of them are EML and EIS, those under Phelps-Dodge. Mphande was disgraced by the husband of the woman he was seeing and his ministerial vehicle damaged. He didn’t conduct himself above board when he served as minister despite his rich cv. The genesis of govt’s problems with mines lay in the development agreements that were sealed at the time of privatisation. If firms govt is owing VAR refunds decide to litigate, we’ll end up paying more than that figure. I don’t know which business Mphande has ever run, as such…
@Ayatollah: Point take about development agreements. If mines are litigating on VAT refunds. Why isnt the govt litigating on tax evasion eg KCM making 500m usd per year but declaring losses. Mopani and Zambia Sugar transfer mispricing. This worse than the DA’s because DA’s were done under duress of debt forgiveness(HIPC) & no one at that time envisaged that the copper price would rise from 1500 to 8000-10 000usd. Yes ABC is a an enterprenuer and we wish him well in his businesses. But he has accepted to be our F/minister & we expect a patriotic service from him in ensuring we get what belongs to us in taxes NOT turning the other cheek. That all people are asking!! Is is too much? If it then the honourable thing to do is to step down. Period!
Yes the genesis were the DAs. Nawakwi as finance minister even declared that Nchanga mine wouldn’t last 15yrs. LPM sold KCM for US$425M but only allowed them to pay $25M and $400M to be ploughed into the development Konkola deep and re-equipping Nchanga. Vedanta hasn’t done as agreed. As for invoice transfer, can’t litigate because we’ve no evidence because of monitoring incapacity. That’s what we need to address and definitely the solution doesn’t lie in govt defaulting on its obligation. Govt’s default isn’t affecting mining companies alone but everybody with a claim. It’s not good for govt to default. The issue of tax avoidance can be addressed without holding on to funds that mining companies have legally claimed.
@Ayatollah:The evidence is there : the KCM chairman’s recorded statement that they are “cooking” books. Technical audit report on KCM revealed that the Indians have reneged on every investment pledge they took. As for Zambia sugar it was established that the big invoice for payments to mauritius was for services never provided. Rather than lobby for such scoundrels to be paid VAT returns I expect a patriotic F/minister to use their transgressions as leverage to pay up what they owe. After all the Indians at KCM can bolt any moment leave govt saddled with 1.5billion usd liabilities! Why are we (Zambians) so vocal/vigilante even violent (that we are ready to stab or hack each other with pangas) on politics but so soft (actually stup*d) on economy!!
Who are the shareholders of Lubambe Mine on the copperbelt?