THE Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has said it is premature and speculative to debate the proposed revision of section 37 of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Act because the bill has not been made public.
LAZ president Stephen Lungu also urged the public and other stakeholders to stop debating the proposed amendments until the bill was made public or taken to Parliament.
Mr Lungu said in an interview that he was surprised there was much debate about something that was still unknown and described the statements made on the matter as premature and speculative.
He said there was a worrying trend in the country where debate on national matters was based on rumours and speculation, which he said, was dangerous for the country.
The LAZ president said the association would only comment on the merits and demerits of the ACC Act if they were formally informed about the proposed amendments.
He said LAZ would examine whether the proposed changes were in public interest or not and what mischief was intended to be cured by the amendments.
Mr Lungu also said the bill would also be taken to Parliament and it was expected that members of Parliament would adequately debate it before making any decisions.
Of late, there has been heated debate about the reported intention of Government to amend section 37 of the ACC Act,
According to section 37 of the ACC Act, the director general, the deputy director general or any officer of the commission authorised in writing by the director general may investigate a public officer where there are reasonable grounds to believe that such public officer maintains a standard of living above that which is commensurate with his present or past official emoluments.
Under the section, the ACC can institute an arrest on a public officer “who is in control or possession of pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to his present or past official emoluments.”
[Times of Zambia]
As far as im concerned no one is debating this issue,who ever has commented about it is just expressing their opinion and these opinions are based on what Shakafuswa asked George Kunda in parliament with regards to this legislation
The reason why people seem to be speculating on rumours is simply because there is no transparency,everything is being done in a crooked way.This is a similar situation where Kunda almost rewarded himself and some NCC delegates billions,no one knew about it untill we read in the media, no one debated it,people only expressed their disgust and it died a natural death,same with Roger Chongwe’s compensation and now Zamtel saga,the list is endless
The intent has been revealed so let the debate continue. For now, there is no harm to worry about.
#1 RED CARD-Smoothcriminal please try to get a life, you are not the only Zambian. The views expressed by LAZ are correct in that there has been like you rightly said views on this matter from Shakas and many others, in other words a debate on this Acc Act. For you to breaking your brain and suggesting that there is a lot of crookness in our governance is foolish thinking to say the least. For example what has been Sata’s and your comment on Mushili’s scandles??????? He has been pumping money in to PF.
How else do you expect people not to speculate when the so called leaders come out in the media with statements like No Evaluation Report has ever been released in the privatisation process in the case of RP Capital evaluating Zamtel. This only leaves people with no option but to make their own conclusions. we hear that a president from another country sneaked in the country with no official statement but counter accusations between the press secretary at state house and Sata.
The other time we were told the president is on an offical visit in SA,the ambassador in that country didnt even know the president was there,even the officials from that country didnt know our president was scheduled to be meeting their president.How embarrassing,and yet you expect people not to speculate
#3 DEVELOPER,
Good morning, Its true that there is no harm though there is need to worry when national issues are being debated based on rumours, this should surely worry you as a concerned Zambian unless otherwise. Therefore, Laz’s concerns are well meant.
Good Day
WAPYA MUNZI
You are not making sense, go look in a mirror mate,you might just find out that its actually you who needs a life;
Quote” “The views expressed by LAZ are correct in that there has been like you rightly said views on this matter from Shakas and many others, in other words a debate on this Acc Act”” end Quote, this statement is so baseless and so immature
Why do you people think whoever does not support MMD he/she is a PF/UPND cader,im talking about the issue at hand,why should i talk about Mushili and Sata,its none of my business for all i care
The reason people discuss these ‘rumours’ is that the official bill is seen by the public for the first time only when it appears in parliament for first reading. It is then rushed through giving citizens no time to analyse and discuss the document or provide inputs to their MPs. The government should have a deliberate policy of publishing all bills in the mainstream press (currently Post, Times, Mail) at least a month before presentation to parliament for first reading.
both speculation and opinions are healthy especially were there is a lot of uncleared acts… why dont the so called govt come out and clear the air… these guys only think about themselves… greedy bustards! at least if they amass such wealth they need to be philanthropic enough to donated to charity and open homes for the mushrooming street kids in our streets.
We are watching this issue like hawks.
They won’t get away with it.
“He said there was a worrying trend in the country where debate on national matters was based on rumours and speculation, which he said, was dangerous for the country.”
This is true. The bill has not been presented yet and so those debating or giving opinions or expressing their views (etc) are doing so prematurely. They are doing it based on rumors and speculations because no one knows the contents of the bill yet, it has not yet been presented.
Stephen Lungu, wise man indeed no point in debating and wasting time on a rumour. People are debating what is not there and if they win so what. Time wasting really
Is George Mpombo a quotable chap to provide a platform for debate.He avoided to debate the matter in parliament and rushed to the press to be QUOTED. SHAME. THE PRESS ALSO TO BLAME WHO DEPEND QUOTES FOR NEWS. THE PRESS IS NOW A SPECULATIVE MEDIA .ANY WHAT CAN WE DO IN A COUNTRY WHERE DJ ARE REGARDED AS JOURNALIST ,HENCE A LOT OF QUACKS.
B.E.N K.A.N.G.W.A(MMD chief bootfool) shut up..Thats how you operated even at ZNBC you have no shame,you rose by telling on others,seems you will never grown..
Yes its only in Zambia where people are made to believe in the saying: “There is smoke without fire”. Other countries that have developed believe in :”There is no smoke without fire”. When people talk it means they have seen something so it not fair to block people from talking and speculating.
What is fascinating is the fact that when you challenge any of the quacks in the tabloids and blog trolls daily feeding on nkhani zamukachasu, they will not point at or cite anything from the constitution which they are talking about. The point is that the head of state RB proposed a clause for inclusion in the parliamentary bills, his VP drafted it. He later picked up some typos and instructs stenographers to make corrections, then embattled political crostitutes like Mpombo with failed judgement and credibility dreams its worth parroting for quacks to make them political mileage they lack. Move beyond your natural lives of thriving on Gossip and show the clause which has been removed and when it was enacted into law. We challenge cadres here.
In all fairness i see the point # 1 is making!!!
V.e.r.n.o.n M.w.a.a.n.g.a(Senior Citizen),you are the cadre,what have you achieved in your political career,nothing,apart from chasing skirts all over the world..remember how you disgraced yourself when shala mwana come to Zambia,you could not hold it in your trousers..and what else oh drug baron..
This is not about speculation or rumour, it is about a document on the proposed review of the AAC and people are genuinely worried that if the proposals are not blocked it will be rushed and hushed up by parliament to safeguard the interests of the corrupt leaders. #14 I agree with you, ‘there is no smoke without fire’. As for the LAZ, they are dodgy and becoming irrelevant.
rumors rumors rumors. thats the problem when you are out of tune with whats going on mu zambia you thrive on hearsay. LAZ no need to debate but ba tamanga having nothing to do want to speculate like their kaponya leader president idris is in mfuwe, in 1990 he said a plane parked at airport with katundu, sindamisale their are arms hidden. come get involved in bar bar chats ku times, rapsoody, alpha, club vegas, munis, club zone, lions den,
#19 if you knew whats happening in our country like you know all those pubs you have mentioned you would be very relevant to our country!!!
#12 MBEBA NTUMBU MMD/GRZ’s intentions were revealed in Parliament by Shakafuswa, who was threatened of arrest by George Kunda. George Mpombo cannot therefore comment on the issue because he may not know the actual contents of the planned review.
This is no speculation. GK admitted to the underhanded action when he told Shaka that he was “not supposed to know about that…..could be sent to jail…” Lungu is not an honorable man. For how can a lawyer say it is speculation…not to be debated? If there was no such things as speculation, the field of lawyering would not exist.
All that aside #14 has just confirmed the smoke you see is coming from the hidden fire.
Look at Lungu, there is much man in that suit!
I meant #14 . Also there NOT much man in that Lungu suit.
Zambian lawyers are too timid! Not without reason anyway. I know one lawyer who died of depression when he was surgically destroyed after disagreeing with the position of a political heavyweight. He is dead!
Mr. Lungu, please let the Zambians exercise their freedoms! The motive behind the ACT has already been exposed and we are watching.
no 7 john banda you are talking nonsense. thats why there is a gazette which publishes all bills. secondly you elect a parliament to pass laws and to scrutinise those bills before they are enacted. what kind of country would you have if every bill went to the public first, thats anarchy and there is no country anywhere in the world governed like that. thats why we have parliaments, senates and congress to debate bills and vote. did you not do civics in school???
#2 i bet you use your feet to think!!!
Lungu is from East so what do you expect? Lets federate Zambia, it is the only solution. I have a friend from the East who was anti MMD but u-turned as soon as RB became President. These guys are worse than Tongas.
#26
zedian- At least feet will take some where. But you, you think with you anus- the rest lundapo we mwine
You can not say it is a rumour. It is real. Veep Kunda even threatened to have Shakafuswa jailed for revealing a state secret. How can anyone say it is debating a rumour? This is tangible for God’s sake. Let’s not support ideas that foster corruption and eliminate those that reduce or eliminate the vice. George threatened to have Shaka jailed on something unearthed, not a rumour. If it was a mere rumour, George would have simply dismissed it. =But it is there. We need intelligent debate on this important issue so that the makers/breakers of the law bear in mind our concerns and views. Let’s not allow thieves to destroy our yardsticks
LT, I do not think my earlier post contained any vulgar language, just wondering why it is not appearing.
We were also told it is premature to discuss the 50% + 1 clause, the running mate clause, and the bill of rights when the NCC was just formed. These things failed to pass the committee stage and we were told it was premature to condemn the committees since these clauses would be relooked at at the draft stage. These clauses have since been excluded and it is still being claimed that it is premature to condemn the NCC.
That is why this ACC clause needs to be debated before GK even thinks of introducing it to the house, because there, it will pass like water under the bridge
Well said everybody, but the problem is that when we debate rumours we even believe them and gullible sill.y cadres can even fight. Case in point: RB stooped over in RSA to watch world cup when the president was actually headed in the opposite direction (as if there is anything wrong with a president watching soccer, Lula of Brazil timed his trip to RSA perfectly only to be disappointed by his team). Remember how much Zed hours we spent on that topic? And the agenda is set by rumour mongers and liers of the likes of Mpombo, Mmembe, Sata, even HH although he has tried to be quiet of late and distanced himself from Sata’s insults which he surpassed at one time.
Deva Vu
Thats tribalism you are exhibiting.So are suggesting that Lungu as LAZ President should be cadre and not interpret law as it is suppose to be?It is for such reasoning as yours that Zed will never be federated cos these provinces may become war zones fighting for independence based on tribe.
“Uukwebele imfwa ya kwa noko muntashi” you just dont disregard any info or news you get but should verify it and thats what Shaka did in parliament but was threatened by the red lipped, topping vice president….The government is now using useless people like Gregory Chifire to check our mood ad thereafter implement the act……
# 1 RED CARD Smooth criminal, I totally agree with u. The debate should continue. All those siding with the LAZ Chief should be reminded that Shakafuswa’s concerns were further negated by the deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Chilembo, who justified the idea of removing Sec.37 of the ACC Act. So I personally, do not agree that the public debate is based on rumours or speculations.
#27 – Lungu is a northener – check your facts. He is a Lungu from Northern Province. Be careful with conjectures based on names – there are a lot of other tribes in Zambia that also have predominantly Eastern surnames — check the Lambas for example. That is why One Zambia One Nation is such an important slogan.
#33 Sharp Shooter- Just wanted a bit of action from you.Am Chanda so Lungu is my tribal cousin
Many of you have no idea of public administration and the government decision making processes. There are many discussion papers prepared before a policy or bill reaches Cabinet, let alone Parliament. Discussion papers contain a lot of options, suggestions and proposals which may be removed or altered before the paper becomes a Bill or policy. That is why the papers are classified as secret. Our biggest enemy is ignorance. If Shakafuswa got access to a secret draft paper it does not mean that was the official government position on the matter and George Kunda was right to threaten him because he was not supposed to be in possession of a classified document. But in Zambia ignorance rules. And a newspaper with an a negative agenda feeds on this misinformation. LAZ of course was spot on.