Thursday, December 12, 2024

Former Ministers given 30 days to refund about K65 000 each for overstaying in office

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THE Constitutional Court has given former Cabinet ministers, their deputies and provincial ministers 30 days in which to pay back over K4.2 million which they got from the government in 2016.

In this case, Ngosa Simbyakula and 63 others are supposed to pay back a total of K4, 266,664.10 as salaries and allowances for May to July 2016.

This followed the court’s judgment of August 8, 2016 which ordered the ministers to pay back to the State all the allowances and salaries they received when Parliament was dissolved.

The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) and UPND general secretary Stephen Katuka had challenged the continued stay of the ministers after parliament was dissolved ahead of the 2016 general elections and the case was decided innyheir favour.

And delivering the ruling of the court, Constitutional Court registrar Dorcus Malama said it was common cause that Simbyakula and others were all paid their respective salaries and allowances in full for the period, May to July, 2016.

She said there was no evidence of any other further payment of salaries and allowances made beyond the month of July 2016.

“Considering that this computation of salaries and allowances paid in May, June and July is undisputed and that it was based on the official payment records for the second to the 64th respondents for the said period. I accept this evidence and find that the second to 64th respondents were each paid salaries and allowances in full by the State in the months of May, June and July, 2016,” she said.

Malama however, said the monies which would be paid back was less the K8,000 repatriation allowances which the State owed the respondents.

“I have first assessed the second to 64th respondents respective earnings for the first eleven days of May, 2016. I have further deducted the 11 days earnings for each of these respondents from the respective totals of the salaries and allowances to be deducted from ministers, as re-computed by the first respondent after the deduction of the repatriation allowances from the initial computation. The resulting totals are, in my view, the amounts that should be refunded to the State by the second to the 64th respondents,” she said.

Malama said on the issue of interest that since the judgment of August 8, 20216 which directed the assessment, did not award interest against the respondents, the argument by LAZ that the monies be paid back with interest could not be sustained.

According to the computed figures, Kapembwa Simbao will pay K61,434.88, Dora Siliya who is now information minister is expected to pay back K59,980,27, Davies Mwila K60,434.87, Lands minister Jean Kapata K58,679.80 and Vincent Mwale K60,434.87.

“The assessed amounts shall be paid with 30 days from date of this ruling, Each party shall bear their own costs,” said Malama.

Below is the list of Ministers and the amount to be refunded

74 COMMENTS

  1. The fairest way to recover this money would have been to get it from the source of the misleading decision. He was too sure he was making the right decision. So let him pay the whole amount from the proceeds he has accumulated since he became president.

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  2. I feel sorry for Mwenya Musenge, please help a colleague in need. Edgar Chagwa Lungu is a lawyer but he usually misinterprets the Law and this is enough proof. He managed to mislead a lot of people. Just like on his 3rd Term, he has mislead himself and he’s misleading others. These are the consequences of impunity, however, the consequences for the 3rd Third will be more harsh. It’s a lesson to the Ministers and others that are serving under him that while he has immunity they don’t. They’ll individually face the Law. So ensure that your decisions are well-thought and above board

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  3. This is a awekup call to all PF. The man you are following is a lawyer who cant interprate the law and this is what is going to happen to his third term hungry. Please take this as a serious warning and you should start introspecting your leader or find a backup plan. “In bemba we say kutungulwa nepofu kuwila mubuchinag or muchilindi”

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  4. And the guy who misled them, how much is he paying. And he doesn’t seem to learn, he is now trying to stand again after being elected twice, one mistake after the other

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  5. The same way he is misinterpreting the law now that he is eligible for re election is the same way he misinterpreted the law when he misled ministers to remain in power then. This man who has brought the economy to its knees is amazing

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  6. It’ll be interesting to see what the Attorney General’s advice was if at all it were sort. There might even be a serious breach here

  7. Infact these are under calculations especially for full Cabinet Ministers. It cannot be less than a K100, 000 each. These people spend huge sums of money during campaigns

  8. Only Panji, Kambwili and Kalaba will pay from their pocket. The rest PF government will pay. And to whom are they paying back anyway? PF government is not claiming the money, why pay to themselves?

  9. This is the benefit of having a solid rule of law in the country. The judgement will be respected. We also hope that the opposition will respect the constitution court’s ruling on ECLs eligibility. You cannot be selective in what you consider a fair ruling when it comes from the same source.

    Is it not funny that we have some clowns in opposition who still claim that our courts are corrupt and biased? Name one country in Africa where their courts can make such a ruling against a sitting government. More evidence of the advances made under pf. That is why we are winning again in 2021.

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  10. Ni pang’ono apa. They have a lot of money according to the Veep. They are successful businessmen and women and are able to even donate ma buses to constituencies. Wanitwa mos!!!

  11. What of various decisions they could have made during that illegal? Wouldnt they be rendered null and void. it should just follow suit. Those who were affected negatively by those decisions made by ministers during that time can’t they sue someone or the state.

  12. Interest hasn’t been taken into account in this ruling. Money depreciates and this was four years ago. Judgement needs to be fair

  13. This means 2016 Presidential Elections were Free but NOT fair! PF with illegally serving Ministers abused government resources to give PF undue advantage. With the alleged difference of 100,000 votes, PF lost the election and forced themselves on us! The shredding of opposition ballots for which someone was arrested for witnessing the rot is proof enough that someone lost! This is the reason Pigeons refused to fly! Even the Chief Justice refused to swear him in. He is therefore governing illegally!

  14. The were doing Zambian a service… it is not like they got the money and consumed it on their own they worked for it and it was legally earned…….So for me this refund is not convincing me…..Zambians paid them and now they should pay Who is going to pay them for the days they worked extra? Law sometimes is very tricky. When they start claiming for payment for the days they remained in offices serving Zmbians who is going to pay them?

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  15. Embarrassing again for PF government.
    1- Refusing and prevaricating to acknowledge court ruling that offending ministers falsely stayed in office after dissolution of parliament.
    2-Defrauded Zambian tax payers of national financial resources badly needed
    3- Defrauding PF ministers insisting with impunity, rendered services to the nation in their illegal status
    4- Refunding to national coffers ALONE is not enough, they committed a crime warranting punishment which courts must decide.
    5- The 65 PF defrauding ministers should in turn sue Edgar Chagwa Lungu for causing embarrassment to PF party and individual ministers
    Some PF members are hurt with truth, which is better than make them happy with a lie.

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  16. You and I are being mocked here. Let them open up a public booth where these mwankole’s will deposit the money. For all I know, no one will pay this money. And when you look at that team, you even wonder, how did we end up with such people as our leaders mwebantu?

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  17. I need to see the calculation, was napsa included it has to be added because eventually that will be theres. The exchange rate should be factored in as well. We need this money like yesterday. It would have saved students meal allowance.

  18. @Intelligensia they are not our leaders. They are just employees. Employees of the President who appointed them. They dont become our leaders because they are ministers no. If anything they are supposed to be our servants

  19. They shld pay with interest : Back then the kwacha was trading at approximately k10 per dollar, today that is k21 per dollar, simply :$1= k21. . Depreciation of over 100%. .
    Thus, the money shld be paid wth a 100% interest. .

  20. Really laughable…you listened to a corrupt lawyer you pay heavily …Greyford Monde you foooolish boy today you are suffering you dont even have K200 in your pocket

  21. I have volunteered to cover the costs for all those that are currently unemployed. That is what brothers and sisters do for each other. The upnd maggots think this translates into them winning elections. Very f00lish

  22. I don’t know if I am reading this right but thats not a lot of money to make noise about. They can pay that with no problems and we move on other matters. Someones want us to think they have started to do the right things

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