Transparency International Zambia has welcomed the statement by the Anti-Corruption Commission to continue collaborating with other investigative agencies in pursuing the criminal investigations against the owner of the 48 flats.
TIZ President Reuben Lifuka said his Organisation consider this an important development as it is its position that this matter should not just close at seizure and forfeiture of the property in question.
Mr. Lifuka has reminded the ACC and all law enforcement agencies that the real estate market has long provided a way for individuals to secretly launder or invest stolen money and other illicitly gained funds.
He said this case is a litmus test and the manner that ACC and all other investigative agencies handle this, should send strong signals on the preparedness of Zambia to curb all corruption associated with the real estate sector.
Mr. Lifuka said alongside this investigation, it is imperative that Government embarks on strengthening the rules and enforcement practices and therefore reduce the risks of having anonymous companies or trusts easily acquire property and launder money through the real estate sector.
He has recommend that Government working with the Zambia Institute of Real Estate Agents and other relevant bodies should strengthen the professional codes so as to ensure that all professionals involved in real estate activities are required to identify the actual person who is the beneficial owner of the property as part of their due diligence.
Mr. Lifuka said mechanisms should equally be put in place to ensure that only professionals who pass the fit and proper test, work in the real estate sector.
He noted that presently, there are too many people involved in this sector, including those not qualified and some with ill intentions.
Rubbish
It was clear when Ms Khuzwayo’s appeared on TV that she was given a mandate to defend the ACC against the people of Zambia. This was very annoying coz we expect Ms Kuzwayo to understand that the ACC belongs to the ZAMBIAN GENERAL PUBLIC and was established to operate in their interest, as opposed to being its OPPONENT. So, her mind-set was TOTALLY WRONG AND DISGUSTING! What Zambians want to know is:
1. Did you interview ALL institutions and individuals you claim to have linked to these houses?
2. What triggered your interest in these people and was this flagged with the police?
3. Do these individuals and institutions remain of interest to you, and are they co-operating with your investigations?
4. Who did the tenants enter into lease agreements with, and who are they paying (names)?…
5. Signatories of the accounts that receive rental monies
6. To which other accounts does money from this/these account(s) flow, and who are the signatories of those bank accounts?
7. Names of Institutions/Individuals that constructed these houses, and who employed them?
8. How the builders were paid, how much they were paid and from which accounts?
9. Who services the Land rates, Water and Electricity bills and in whose names they are registered?
10. Where were the building materials bought? Who paid for them and from which account?
11. ZRA should have records of duties paid on all imported materials, and local suppliers would also have records of all the local purchases (who’s TPINs were used?)
12. Were there any equipment hired? who owns the equipment that was used and how were they remunerated?
13. suppliers of materials, plant and equipment in this regard should ALL be of interest to ACC, if they’re REAL investigators
14. Can the builders (companies or individuals) of these houses be linked to any other business or construction contracts with government? (some kind of modus operandi can be established in this network of crooks)
Liato won a case and was refunded because they failed in court the buried loot was a procede of crime.
If you find the owner of ths structures how are you going to prove he committed a crime
This matter has turned political and no one is operating above emotions
Especially Upendi cadres are very sure these structures belong tasila.
Which is baseless cheap propaganda until proven.
Emotions wont take hh to state house. Get sober and stop operating by default.
Prove to us the voters that you are above dandy crazy thinking capacity.
If there is no difference between you and D crazy then why should we vote for hakainde
@ Its political…perhaps we should question why no one is claiming these valuable assets. We can start from there. If they were yours and you got them legitimately would you keep quiet after ACC seizes your property?
In addition I dont see how HH comes in here?
After ba Jona Whiskey is out of Plot No1, the truth, which we all know shall come out.
THOSE 48 HOUSES BELONG TO THE DUCHESS OF CHAWAMA, CHAPWA!!
Infact the case should not close till the owner is ‘caught’. I say caught because he/she hiding and does not want to come out in the open.
….Zambia is a Christian nation… chapwa let’s move on….to the next scandal
meanwhile some are making money off the backs of the poor, in this your Christian nation ( to borrow a naija lingo)
I don’t know what it is Zambia, people tend to forget too fast, I don’t know whether it’s because they’ve given up, as in what’s the point? nothing will happen anyways. if that’s the case, that’s very sad and scary because it’s a free pass to those with some bit of power to do as they please as they know that, there’s gonna be noise for a couple of days, weeks at most, they’ll just stay put and soon it’ll die off and life goes back to normal.
chilankalipa ine…lun gu’s jet, those cash cows, toll gates, fire trucks…all the inflated prices for most of the projects. that is money…
Kkkkk…ati dutchess of Chawama kkkkkkk
The PF looters will now support phase two of this looting
…….where like hungry silivating hynas they convinently burry the investigation and push for auctioning of those properties where they will continue to loot amongest themselves
With lungu as president, Zambia you are being eaten from inside
The incompetence is staggering… if these incompetence people can’t find a person who builds 48 houses in the middle of the capital City then in the h€ll will they be trusted to find the corrupt thieves who get kickbacks from inflated lucrative contracts and externalize the money and then hide their tracks? If Lungu and his minions were not connected to this scandal and he was genuinely serious about corruption fight, he would have fired the head of this useless institution. Forfeiting the houses to the State is the lazy way of investigating the crime. They should have used it to uncover if more similar shady dealings. What a messed up country this is where almost everyone is corrupt!