Friday, March 29, 2024

Some former Ministers have threatened to take the President to court for keeping them in office illegally

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President Lungu Addressing the Media
President Lungu Addressing the Media

President Edgar Lungu says Ministers who illegally stayed in Office after the dissolution of Parliament in 2016 are contemplating going back to court to seek clarification on the Constitution Court ruling that they should pay back the money they received whilst in Office.

The President said the Ministers want to know whether they should pay back the salaries, allowances or both considering that they also provided a service to the Zambian people during their stay in office.

President Lungu said some Ministers have indicated that they are willing to pay back the money but are not sure what should be paid back.

“While in Office, those people provided a service to the people of Zambia, we together made cabinet decisions. They went out to sign agreements on behalf of the people and they want to know whether this was illegal as well”, the President said responding to questions from Journalists at State House this afternoon.

President Lungu said the delays to pay back the money is not a sign of disrespect on the Courts of Law but is because the ruling has raised more questions than answers.

The President also indicated that some of the former Ministers have threatened to take him to court for keeping them in office illegally.

President Lungu wished his Ministers could pay back the money immediately after the ruling but emphasized that consultations are still ongoing on the matter.

And responding to a question on the confusion surrounding the running of markets and bus stations, the President regretted that marketeers, bus drivers and members of the public are being harassed by political party cadres.

He said markets and bus stations are supposed to be run by Councils and mentioned that his government will bring sanity in the running of markets and bus stations.

President Lungu wondered why the Markets and Bus Stations Act has not been operationalized leading to cadres both PF and UPND taking advantage of the situation in their strongholds to harass members of the Public.

He said the Ministries responsible are working hard to restore sanity in these public places.

Meanwhile, responding to an appeal by the Journalists to free incarcerated Rainbow Newspaper Editor in Chief Derrick Sinjela, President Lungu said he will follow up the matter.

Mr Sinjela is scheduled to be released on 20 December 2019 and the President jokingly said he is already out.

37 COMMENTS

    • THAT WAS A place CONFERENCE!!!!

      PRESIDED OVER BY MR not much !!!!!!

      Attended by DULL and CENSORED journalists

      Zambia naibola !!!!

    • This is a joke, was this what the whole press conf was all about?

      After almost 3 years, those ministers have got enough kickbacks, now they can afford to pay, that is now the president is coming to tell the nation?.

      Even if you are diehard PF, you should be able to read through the lines…..Unless you are d.u.mb

    • Let’s do it Mr. President! You have been a blessing this country! I am certain in 2021, HAZALUZA HAGAIN! Because he is UNELECTABLE and has no character to write home about!

    • Lungu is looking for an excuse to stop the payments. They will sue me so just leave them ba judge. We the people never asked them to turn up for work. Do holidaying employees turn up during the Christmas break and demand that they should be paid?

    • He’s lost control of Cabinet. It’s just that the is no practice of memoir writing after govt service in Zambia, otherwise this eould hv been confirmed in someone’s writing.

    • Our journalists need a course in seriousness. They take everything for jokes, everything is by the way, how can that be a headline surely?

    • See why such stupid headlines should not see the light of day? This editor either doest think or understand that the president raised a serious constitutional issue. If they have to pay back, are the agreements entered into also voided?

  1. There is nothing to consult here. Ministers have to pay back that money finito. Concourt ruling is final. All documents, contracts, agreement signed whilst illegally in office are equally invalid.

    • Where was the much talkative Mark
      Simfwe from prime TV??
      He is always out of his news analysis but boasting of having a lot of questions to the Head of state while
      Campaigning for UPND .

    • The employee cannot be held responsible . It si the employer who must be held accountable. In this case the employer the govt through the people of Zambia. Do not trouble the ministers!!!.

    • Where was the much talkative Mark
      Simuwe from prime TV??
      He is always out of his news analysis but boasting of having a lot of questions to the Head of state while
      Campaigning for UPND .

    • Iwe Independent, Mark is not a journalist you dumbass he just analyses new items. The never-ending dullness of PF supporters following in the footsteps of their clueless president.

  2. They can sue the president all they want, all those ministers and deputy ministers from PF, UPND and MMD that stayed in office illegally need to pay Zambia back all they owe. We will support the president if they sue him. Zambia wants its money back. Our tax payers pay out of their ears monthly, those crooks ( ex ministers ) need to pay back too.

    • Come on Zambians! Do you believe there is a single soul in PF that would stand up and sue ECL? When they are benefiting?
      The only person who has mentioned suing ECL is Kambwili, why is ECL not being specific and instead of creating drama.
      He wants Zambians to sympathize with him, honestly? What a joke !!

  3. Actually there is NOTHING wrong in suing the President as the appointing authority at the time. At that stage it will be decided whether the PRESIDENCY or its occupant is liable whereupon the Executive Branch will then begin to compensate the Ministers AS THEY PAY BACK THE MONEY. Ine kwati efyo na monamo sensi mwe…

  4. Hahahaha. Were those ministers children not to know what the law said about illegally staying in those offices? Why didn’t they stand up to lungu and say no? Let them dance to the music brought about because of their folly Lungu’s time to face the law will come too. If they consented to something illegal surely they knew the consequences would come later on and this is it. The people of Zambia didn’t keep you in those offices, all you did was campaigns the all time so pay back the money now.

  5. If you know your contract expires on 31st December but you continue working after that date then it means you were working pro bono. Meaning freely as a volunteer therefore you were only entitled to your salary up to 31st and you can’t go and claim from your employer that since I continued working I need my salary. Just pay back the money….

  6. I can liken this matter to a situation where a President clearly loses elections but clings onto power.And when asked to payback monies earned while illegally in office he refuses to payback.Those ministers did not even ‘fondoka’.They were busy campaigning using government resources

  7. The questions from our journalists are disappointing, we have current topical issues like Climate Change and the hunger affection drought affected areas/provinces, energy crisis, debt issue/s, corruption reported like fire tenders or ambulances, and many other real issues affecting the people of this country. The mining sector and the taxation system in place?

    • Am still asking one an answered question
      Where was Mark Simuwe hiding with his claimed zambians ” a lot of questions the Head of state zambian are waiting for answers for ”
      Now we know his behaviour typical of UPND MPs of walking out of parliament.

  8. The background looks terrible. Whoever did the designing of the stage has no taste. It just looks terrible. If I were him I could have used a different background.
    Hey of course former ministers can sue for forcing them to “earn” illegal money. Just why did he do that -seriously disadvantaging the opposition and using government money and resources to make trips and trips just to campaign for the PF. Who does that in all fairness. That was the most unfair way of winning an election assuming they won it.
    Disaster!!!

  9. Sure all that bunch no one could ask ecl on payment of retirees. shame. wasted time people expected you fire quetions on issues on poverty and salary increament to aliviate the cost of m meal, electricity, rentals, transport etc.

  10. No wonder he fails to address a press conference, the man simply has no substance, he should do himself a favour and just quit,he is embarrassing himself…

  11. These Ministers should pay back in order to respect the court ruling. If they then sue President Lungu after paying back, that is between these Ministers and Lungu. The court has ruled that these ministers pay back. This ruling has to be respected by the affected ministers period!

  12. Ignorance is no defence in a court of law, be it a minister or anyone. The argument that they paid a service during that time is neither here nor there, the fact is it was an illegal stay in office, that’s why they need to pay back. We have seen people build houses illegally and those houses have been pulled down by the council while the bigger houses (48 or is 51) have been forfeited to the State. In other words, those salaries they got illegally must be “forfeited to the State”. That could be the other interpretation. My thoughts exactly.

  13. Comrade Fred M’membe promise to lock up these robbers and taje every bhaee from them, parade them naked and I promise to vote for you in 2021 and 2026 for two terms President of Zambia. All these cronies of capitalists hegemonies have pushed us the majority of Zambians to abject poverty.

  14. Ladies and gentlemen, we have better things to spend our energy on. This matter is simple, the amounts are not stupendous at all. I suggest that the President pays the bill, he caused the problem and he is rich enough now to settle the relatively small amounts which must be like change to him.
    If not, he can mobilise some resources from the PF’s “cooperating partners”, provided they do not inflate their contracts on national projects.

  15. Look, if an armed robber stole money and used everything to feed an orphanage, that does not excuse him from the charge of armed robbery.
    Similarly those guys worked illegally together with their appointing authority, we dont pay for illegal “work”. Simple law guys, pay up!!!!

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