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Government to constitute a Commission of Inquiry to probe the sale of ZANACO to Rabobank of the Netherlands

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GOVERNMENT has constituted a commission of inquiry to investigate the US$8.25 million (about K42 billion) sale of the Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZANACO) to Rabobank of the Netherlands.

In 2006, the Government sold 49 per cent shares in Zanaco to Rabobank after protracted negotiations.

As part of the sale and purchase agreement, Rabobank took over management rights of Zanaco while the Government retained its representation in the bank at board level which included three members from Rabobank, two Government representatives and one representative appointed by board members.

The transaction was conducted by the MMD government under late president Levy Mwanawasa.

Meanwhile, Zanaco Managing Director, Martyn Schouten, says the bank would be readily available to help the commission throughout the process and advised customers that operations would remain unaffected during the period of enquiry.

Mr Schouten said the bank acknowledged the announcement of the formation of a commission of inquiry pertaining to the sale of the bank to Rabobank of the Netherlands in 2006.

“Zanaco wishes to confirm its full cooperation throughout this enquiry to assist in offering a transparent and professional outcome,” Mr Schouten said.

Justice Minister Sebastian Zulu confirmed that President Sata had directed him to appoint a team of officials from the Ministry of Justice and experts from the private sector to investigate what transpired during the sale and how the resources were used.

Mr Zulu said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that the commission, which he would chair, would commence sittings next month.

“We are putting together a team of experts who will include auditors, prosecutors, bankers and consultants because we want to do a good job,” Mr Zulu said.

The minister said during investigations, transactions that would suggest the prevalence of fraud would be handed over to the security wings.

He said prominent politicians who were influential during the sale of the bank would be summoned to give evidence.

The secretariat of the commission had been set up at the Mulungushi International Conference in Lusaka and that the programme of the sittings was still being prepared.

Zanaco’s 49 per cent shares were transferred to Rabo Financial Institutions Development, (RFID) which is a subsidiary of Rabobank.

The opposition political parties at the time, including the Patriotic Front (PF) and trade unions had opposed the sale, fearing the new owner could cut jobs and close branches in rural areas.

They also felt that the $8.25 million was low for the bank which had an attractive asset value with branches spread across the country including rural areas.

Mr Zulu said there would be no malice in the conduct of the inquiry and was not targeted at former Government officials who served in the previous Government.

He said he would use his experience as a prosecutor to engage people who were directly involved in the sale and ensure appropriate action was taken.

[Times of Zambia]

83 COMMENTS

  1. OK but we need results for these COIs. I have today agreed with Boot fimo fimo.

    The Zamtel COI has already concluded, what are we doing about it?

  2. No Further comments. Enough already on this one

    #3 Italian Bunga Bunga, thanks for being objective and happy 2012. And it looks like it will be a tricky year as the rains are not coming to the party, so another bumper harvest could be out of question and money spent on some of these COIs could become handy.

    I look forward to another COI on the sales of all ZCCM mines. I guess more money into your pockets meant ” More Commission of Inquiries into your Face”

    Nice one PF and happy new year and am out for 2011. What a year it has been!! The year Zambians took charge and hit a reset button on everything. That is beauty of democracy.

  3. Ok, PF just investigate everything and everyone in Zambia since 1964. By the time you will be done with all your investigations, it will be 2016 and Zambians will need to see your achievements. Obviously mistakes have been made in the past, but GRZ should not waste resources just digging in the past. Already these are mistakes that you are making yourselves and somebody will come and question you when you leave office. If you don`t have any plans for the future, simply step aside and let visionary people take over. We can`t develop in reverse, we desperately need jobs, better healthcare, affordable education and more money in our pockets. We are sick and tired of these commissions of inquiry.

  4. #3 Italian Mealie Meal, good to see your comments and that you have finally seen the sense in Boot fimo fimo. Now for this new inquiry, why doesn’t the government just renationalise ZANACO? Afater all in terms of investor confidence, which we have done well to damage so far, this latest (ZANACO) inquiry is just as bad as re-nationalisation.

  5. # 4. hehe. Be careful with your comments of hatred. you will end up shooting yourself in the foot. Just to give you a hint in case you have forgotten, it was HH at the helm of privatisation during the Chiluba regime.

  6. It’s encouraging to see that now commissions of inquiry are being “backdated”. This government is really serious about fighting corruption, which is the way it should be. Very soon we should expect backdated commissions of inquiry to be appointed to probe the Merzaf scandal, the government funds deposited in personal accounts, the parliament cash carried to the MMD convention etc etc. The value of the monies involved then could amount to billions if not trillions of Kwacha in today’s terms.

  7. #8 Bapungwa

    I would not be surprised to see the Commission of Inquiry anytime soon targeting HH’s acquired wealth during the privatisation process from that era. After all Mr Sata is on record to have questioned how HH acquired his wealth. Am sure he is consulting with his PF cadres on when to set up a commission of Inquiry to Investigate How HH acquired his wealth.

    Zambia has shifted from a land of work and joy in unity to a a land of Commission of Inquiries

  8. @8 Bapungwa. HH was never at the helm of privatisation. The Zambia Privatisation Agency was headed by one Valentine Chitalu. The Special team on ZCCM privatision was led by one Francis Kaunda and his counterpart was one of the Mwananshiku’s; either Luke or Clement. Grant Thornton was only engaged as either a valuator or liquidator (and/or debt collector). HH never ever privatised or sold any company because only the ZPA and ZCCM Team had the legal mandate to do so. Dont swallow for a moment the uneducated insinuations that come from Plot 1. Those are just cheap lies. As cheap and careless as saying the Litunga ‘illegally’ gave or sold Copperbelt or Tongaland! That is just a myth that is not supported by any signed legal documentation!

  9. Great way forward. It does not make sense that the Dutch would rather buy our own sweated for bank instead of starting their own. Why de-possess Zambians of their bank? We all know that the problems of the bank were management and not funding. Why not revisit the Articles of Association and its goals and objectives and ensure that its staff are the best Zambians that money can buy instead of selling off the bank? This, in my opinion was poor governance by LPM. ZAMTEL and ZANACO were entities sold by the MMD because some thugs wanted to make money for themselves.

  10. These guys seem not to have a serious programme for this country. How many enquiries are we going to have. Ok thats fine to please yourselves with pombonyo or is it kokoshi background. How about a commission of enquiry into the Merzaf Project. There was heavy misuse of government cash there too. All the same we can not  continue these enquiries that are just there to waste time and put more money in PF kaponyas. We need new investments and jobs kwasila. I end here!

  11. Wow commission after commission.Isn’t this a ploy or a quickest way of amassing wealth by these PF officials? What they are not telling us is how much they are getting from these commissions.For goodness sake we want to know the Government’s policy direction unlike commanding the newly appointed Bank Of Zambia Governor to look into the falling Kwacha. The PF premised their ascension to power by promising to put more money into people’s pockets. What I want to know is how they will do these and what mechanisms they have put in place. Mind you the Euro is in a crisis, I bet we should concentrate more on how we will survive, now that donor aid to Africa is threatened. Mr. Chikwanda please advise the president on these commissions. By the way, were they even budgeted for.?

  12. What could be the average cost per day for running a commission of inquiry?
    And how about a COI on how political parties are funded during campaigns and how the sponsors are payed back

  13. LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF ZAMBIA MCS
    Dear Mr. President, I want congratulate you as president OF Zambia and the efforts you are making towards the fight against corruption. We hope that you are not alone in this crusade. I would like to express my disappointment with the operation at the ministry of Labour and immigration dept. These two intuitions needs complete over haul and needs close monitoring by OP, DEC, ACC and the Police. The labour commission is a very corrupt man since Rupiah Banda administration. At least his deputy is principled. MTN and AIRTEL have no reason to offload its technical staff to contractors in the name of cost cutting. Apart from oil, telecoms is second in terms of revenue generation that’s why Libya took the path of owning telecoms companies.

  14. Cont….These two companies have offloaded its entire technical staff from our universities to Chinese HUAWEI Company and HUAWEI offloads them to its contractor managing transport business. In this case MTN/Airtel makes their money, pass it to Huawei, then the contractor. By the time it reaches our Engineers it is a peanut. This is a Mockery Mr. President after govt suspend so much money on these engineers thru govt bursaries. MTN AND AIRTEL HAS FAILED TO DO THIS IN THEIR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN SOUTH AFRICA AND INDIA RESPECTIVELY. They take advantage of our system and previous regime’s corrupt practices. These institutions are among companies bank loaded Liato at the expense of masses of Zambians.

  15. Philosopher i agree with u. We a sick ant tired of these commissions. this guy is just enriching his relatives and friends sitting on these commissions. Please start delivering. this time u wont divert our attention.

  16. cont…This trend of labour out sourcing must be reversed and stopped.
    It can only take your word Sir and lives of people will be improved. Why should companies bid for business and they can’t employ and run away from responsibility of having staff?

  17. Too many COI. sata is going to ruin investor confidence and the economy. I now regret having voted for him. this is too much. thiese issues can be investigated administratively and quietly by existing institutions i.e police, ACC, DEC. we do not need to spend more tax payers money on COIs. its looking bad on Zambia to keep digging out dirt from past deals.

    It looks like Sata’s governments does not have anything to offer other than investigating the past. what a worst of my vote.

  18. Too many COI. sata is going to ruin investor confidence and the economy. I now regret having voted for him. this is too much. thiese issues can be investigated administratively and quietly by existing institutions i.e police, ACC, DEC. we do not need to spend more tax payers money on COIs. its looking bad on Zambia to keep digging out dirt from past deals.

    It looks like Sata’s governments does not have anything to offer other than investigating the past. what a worst of my vote.

  19. Too many COI. sata is going to ruin investor confidence and the economy. I now regret having voted for him. this is too much. thiese issues can be investigated administratively and quietly by existing institutions i.e police, ACC, DEC. we do not need to spend more tax payers money on COIs. its looking bad on Zambia to keep digging out dirt from past deals.

    It looks like Sata’s governments does not have anything to offer other than investigating the past. what a worst of my vote.

  20. @#7 Picasso. My screen name has nothing to do with mealie meal you plank. Try and google it you mug!

    And when you find it, remember I am mocking the plonker who started it for when he started finding excuses for it. Now jog on you plum!

  21. I will be very surprised if Mutati survives some of this investigations – he was a senior guy at ZESCO and a Commerce Minister for years under a corrupt govt. Sata is just waiting Mutati to be announced MMD leader. That will be the end of MMD. Let the MMD if they want to survive understand the time or season and avoid killing their party.

  22. ZANACO was brokered by maureen mwanawasa.she is the one who chewed from RABO BANK just like dora chewed from zamtel,but the problem is there is no evidence,now ZANACO was a good sell if anything it is the best perfoming bank in zambia as of today it surpases even city bank that`s why the cream of the banking sector are mostly at zanaco,now ifi fyatampa ba sata fyabupuba he should go and see HH for tutorial lessons on how to handle investors.genuine investors will flee zambia and crooks will fill the void.just wait and see

  23. @HOWARD MULENGA

    Mutati is a smart boy,he doesn`t participate in petty theft.morever sata is more corrupt than mutati and mutati is more intelligent than the entire PF cabinet so they can`t even dare touch him.
    secondly mmembe knows that mutati is a threat to sata do you think if they had any imfo on him they would have let him loose to be tempering with their gravy train?no ways.so 2016 tune to FM

  24. We cannot expect a COI into the most scandalous sale in Zambia’s history, that of ZCCM, simply because Mr Yours Truly was the Minister without Portfolio at the time and so was party to the decimation of Zambia. Talk about seeing a splinter in another eye when you cannot see the plank in our own. Here is abuse of power.

  25. No wonder all these investors came to Zambia when privatisation was taking place.. MMD were virtually giving establishments away. No wonder why most of these chaps are so wealthy, they love those brown envelopes. 

  26. Zambia welcomes 2012 with yet great expectations. 2011 has indeed been an eventiful year. After a pretty good year with marks of economic growth on the score sheet, Zambians were in no mood to continue with that seemingly successful record and opted to change goverment for better things. High expectations were invested in the new government and the stakes were high. After receiving accolades from the region and beyond on the smooth trasition of one govt to a new one, PF govt embarked its governance with a plathora of press statements from the president and commisions of inquiries that are almost tiring Zambians.What has happened to the their expectations are answered by futher COIs.

  27. Results of COIs are/will be hard to satisfy and reconcile with the great expectations(part of more money in your pockts). PF gurus have to perform mathematical permutations to see a flikering light at the end of some COIs. On balance PF has began well and our hope continues in these great expectations for better things to come. Happy new year fellow bloggers and wish you all the best in 2012.

  28. Italian Bunga Bunga is right. supporting Sata and the pf doesn’t mean following blindly. We have had enough of these COIs and another one isn’t in our best interest. when something is wrong there are no two ways about it. Keep it up man Bunga Bunga thats maturity you have shown.

  29. Such actions will definitely undermine investor confidence. Zambia does not have the capacity to go it alone and seriously needs input from outsiders. If we discovered oil, all the technology to extract and process it will come from developed countries. Need I mention that all the necessary equipment will need to be outsourced. PF government is in power and should start behaving like one. 

  30. On second thought, this is another way of distracting peoples minds from the fact that they (PF) cannot create more jobs. I still remember what a former ZANACO Managing Director once said and I quote “There is going to be a serious skills gap in Zambia”. Even if jobs where made available, most of the unemployed simply do not have the necessary skills. 

  31. These COIs and continuous allegations are smoke screens. The PF is trying to hide a single fact, they have no economic and development vision for the country. At this point they are on auto-pilot using the development plans MMD left, which isn’t a bad thing. However a mature party would say that they will continue with the MMD’s economic policies as they were good and sound and resulted in high growth, but will seek to also add to that their own vision e.g. greater distribution of wealth, better healthcare and education and also zero tolerance to corruption through the introduction of new open systems. None of this has been said beyond the claiming that the new budget is pro-poor (which it may partially be), and the president saying he’s allergic to corruption.

  32. Actually this is the action we wanted because we were wondering why a few Zambians were becoming more and more prossperous, building mansions, expensive cars while the majority wallowed deep in the quacgmire of poverty, no drugs in hospitals, broken down government infrastructure, civil servants owed billions in allowances, no uniforms for police/prison officers, prisoners, teachers who dont know any form of allowance etc please thats why we voted for you go ahead, and you people cricising government you dont know what suffering is, its evident iou just read and imagine poverty you are either abroad or in air conditioned offices and can easily afford car loans etc. MAY GOD BLESS ZAMBIA.

  33. @24 Hatontola if the man you are saying was that smart he was not going to be part of the most unpopular party and governmemnt Zambia has ever had. He was going to give sound advise or better still resign. Thats what smart people the world over have done. I even consider Amb. Mpombo smarter, coz he resigned and today he is High Commissioner thats what we call “smart” to have foresight not to sink with the boat its being foolish or dull with no foresight at all. Infact PF outsmarted everyone no government machinery, but just wits – bingo they come into power – give them 5 years you will all soon be saying yaba we didnt know this man can do this . GOD BLESS ZAMBIA.

  34. Some bloggers are missing the point. Rabo bank is not majority owner in Zanaco. They only have 49% and provide management.

    This COI is damaging to Zanaco. The bank is respectable but such COI will make the bank look like it’s corrupt. What would the bank tell people they mix with in the business world. Banks source money from the wholesale market. Loss of confidence out there can cause Zanaco to pay higher interest ates on their borrowing. This COI could be very costly to Zanaco.

    If the COI finds nothing wrong, the bank should sue GRZ for bringing it into disrepute.

  35. Zambian men are really dull.An effort of a person can make him reach in a leberal economy like America, Eeurope, Asia etc. What is wrong for person to be reach in Zambia if he worked fo that money.It is unfortunate to probe ZANACO.The Cabinet decision was chaired by the late President Mwanawansa.Cabinet is there to make decisions and that is how a country is run.That is why we have Attonrney General as a member of the cabinet meetings.His job is to evaluate all decicions made by cabinet.The decision to sell all parastatals was made in 1998 including ZANACO.The late president Mwnawasa just finalised the sale.It was not Magande or likolo Ndalamei who sold ZANACO the pipo Sata is targeting.

  36. Set up a commission of Inquiry on everything including but not limited to how many times people went to the toilet in the previous governments! :d

  37. PF government risks to be the worst if these guys do not change.I think so far so bad. Now i can future for this country in HH. I dont think i can vote for PF again.

  38. Zambians in bemba they say “umulandu taubola”. So let the COI find out if there was any wrong and correct things. How can such a bank cost usd8.5m? No re possession but if there was under payment they should top up the difference.

  39. When are you going to put a stop to these endless commissions of inquiry? Comrade Sata, please, please get down to the job we elected you for. Hav e faith in the law-enforcement agencies we have. If you suspect anything, just call on any of these wings and they will do a thorough job at very little cost to the national treasury since they receive salaries for such jobs. Some of us are getting really fed up with these COI’s.

  40. “Let him state where he (Sata) got the millions of dollars that he used during the 2006 and 2008 election. I challenge him to disclose the source of the funds,” Dr Chiluba said.Times of Zambia Newspaper Sep 24 2009.
    We need a commission of Innquiry into political party funding.

  41. Appoint also a Commision to enquire why commisions of Enquiry are not bearing fruit, but only frittering away our meagre resources.

  42. Yawn! Another inquiry? There is always a hidden agenda to all these ventures, who is the target?Character assassination targeted at the opposition will one day back fire. There is a pool of bright young people who were not involved in the so called scandals and their integrity will bring them to power one day. Anyway let us wait and see. Happy New Year to you all. I wish the current government good luck with their inquiries. And please PF do not steal not even K6,000! Yes.

  43. Constitute a commission of inquiry on the sale of Konkola Copper Mines ba Sata. 25 million dollars was too little for that mine. 

  44. You can’t investigate every single thing that was done by the previous government. You’re wasting resources. Mr. Sata, can you please articulate your vision for the country. What’s your political philosophy? Can you theorize what you want to achieve by the end of your first term? That is what should be in the national dialogue right now. Which direction are you taking this country? Yes, you’re a policeman by profession, but you have to come to terms with the fact that–whether by happenstance or design–you’re now the president of this unfortunate country.

  45. zanaco is only 49% owned by Rabo bank, meaning we own the majority. do we need a COI when we own the majority? the bank is doing extremely well. GRZ should look elsewhere if they are looking for faults – like why no hospital has medicine.

  46. The title and content of the article is a trifle misleading, isn’t it? GRZ is still the majority shareholder in ZANACO and merely sold off part of its shareholding to the Dutch bank. I just hope that there is probable cause necessitating this latest COI, otherwise it may just turn out to be another expensive exercise in futility.

  47. Awa bane ! we are tired of COI’s , its time to put money in our pockets now. By the way how many comisions are we going to have , its like every company, evry ministry and evry big project has a comision. What is the work of ACC, DEC,Auditor Generals
    Office and the police, if COI’s are handling such cases. In my opinion its cost effective to use alredy establishd wings than constitute commssions.
    We need to know how much these comisioners are paid, infact we comand bcoz its tax payers money being spent, could some one answer me please. This is not to say investigation should not be carried out, however lets use existing institutions.

  48. Fellow Zambians,the 90 days period if it had been fulfilled could have created a first very good impression.Now whats does the future holds for us,still have hope,only fools can still have hope.

  49. My take on the PF s reign so far is that they were not prepared to form government and Sata despite being in govt before seems to be overwhelmed by his powers and it like the song ‘now that we found love what are gonna do with it’ for them its now that we have power what are we gonna do with it! zanaco is a publicly listed company are you going to take money from the zambians pockets? The findings of this COI will be interesting for they will affect ordinary zambian investors and institutions.

  50. In 2016 the new president will appoint the mother of all Commissions of Inquiry to probe why the PF government appointed commissions of inquiry in 2011 and why it did not probe its own corrupt leaders too. Then all assets of corrupt leaders in the “previous” PF government whether dead or alive will be forfeited to the state. The DPP will remain Mutembo Nchito longest serving DPP in Zambia…., kekeke…..,and oh the IG heading the probes will be Dr Malama who will be re-appointed after being fired by the “previous” government…..kekeke.

  51. WE NEED COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY INTO THE SALE Of THESE COMPANIES ALSO:
    1. ZAMBIA AIRWAYS

    2. RAMCOZ

    3. ETC, ETC

    WHAT A WAIST OF TIME AND RESOURCES!!!

  52. The last tym i checked, pf gvt had run out of ideas nd r nt working except for coming up with th COIs. there r many issues the gvt shud b lookin at such as unemployment, infrustructure, staberizing our currency against other currencies, these inquiries r sitting twice a day and get away with K2.6m/ sitting. By the tym thy r done so much money will b spent while th farmers v nt bin paid, and without realizin it will b 2016 and pf will v nothin to show to the electorats coz o thy wil v done is fire, hire and set enquiries which we dont even get to knw th outcomez. RB had schools and roads get to work pf the honeymoon is over and wats with Mr Zulu heading all the enquiries? wats th next enquiry now, hw HH acquired his wealth? oh pliz

  53. What the president is doing right now cleaning house. We can’t move on without first laying a foundation of proper governance. This is what the president is doing. You will appreciate it and shock yourselves when Zambia emerges strong and sails effortlessly to economic paradise when cancers like corruption are eradicated. A foundation first! I am surprised some people just want us to forget about the past and move on without correcting wrongs committed. Oh! come on! Some big wigs in previous gvt have got to be jailed first! 

  54. People need jobs, gabbage in cities and townships cleared, puchased maize paid for, township roads tarred, and ………………

    Tired of COI

  55. Government’s have always been good at collecting taxes
    Smart Govts like US ,let others own these companies and 
    Tax them to death ,why waste resources on COI when just
    1% increase on their taxes over 5 years we get our moneys
    Back ,these PF chaps need probing too ,they have access to
    Our money they might end up squandering it on useless
    Things

  56. @38,i`ve got a terrible hangover i can`t grasp your puke.to make matters worse you bringing names like mpombo,i can vomit.leka tutushe boyi.

  57. We hope this decision to constitute a Commission of Inquiry on sale of ZANACO was not made by a clique of “DRANKARDS” at State House. The plight of workers in Banking Institutions must be considered seriousl by all those that have been assured of uniterrupted flow of monthly salaries after being appointedd to top jobs in Sata’s Govt. God Hear Our Prayer!

  58. Pliz don’t insult. Make it your new year resolution. If you are REALLY UPSET/ANGRY, before you blog write a draft in word and ask a 12 year old or your parent to read it out to you. If you can honestly let a 12 year old/ parent read those insults then you need your head to be examined. Don’t subject us to your sick heads, we read these blogs to get info and have a constructive discussion. Pliz don’t deny us that beautiful chance. Be different in 2012!

  59. ZANACO is doing fine. Persecute those who took bribes but dont tamper with the operations of the bank because it will negatively affect the economy and the majority of local people who bank with ZANACO. I dont like the idea of witch hunting. I still maintain that Zambians are yet to regret for choosing a cobra snake to lead them. We didnt have options for presidency as all the capable candidates were kicked out of the system and so its its time for Zambians to pay for their decisions. to Sata and his PF government, Concentrate on building and not undoing what was done. If mistakes were made dont destroy institutions but just correct after all ZANACO was used as channel for stealing when it was in government hand so let it stay where it is. please. By the way can you pay the farmers.

  60. This commission of inquiry is political, its a nice clean one. The thing is the government will not get back the back to give the Zambian people because its a fair deal. the percentage that the Zambian people have is good. The result of this commission of inquiry will be that it was sold with the interest of Zambians at heart. There for at that time the sale was excellently done. Therefore the government will then say “you see we are not aiming at anyone other cases you win others you dont.”- Therefore there is no malice targeted at anyone. You wil prove me right on this one.

  61. What are the terms of reference for this tribunal? I have noted with regret that almost all who are sitting on these commissions of Enqiries are PF sympathisers? Mostly white collar people who have been behind PF. So now I ask how objective and impartial are these commisions of Inquiry. Or is that because the commissioners are PF members then it is assumed they will achieve the terms of reference better? Or indeed is it just a way to pay back PF commissioners either financially or just to make them feel part of the ruling elite?

  62. By the way, are we saying that the Dutch government allowed corruption among their own institutions? If so, God help us with some of the donor countries who advise us against corruption.

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