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Financial Intelligence Centre Director General Mary Chirwa
Financial Intelligence Centre Director General Mary Chirwa has said that the publication of the F.I.C report to the public is within its mandate.
Ms Chirwa said that the report is as a result of strategic analysis and does not contain sensitive or confidential information. Ms Chirwa said this in a telephone interview with ZNBC News yesterday.
Ms Chirwa also said that the institution has only distributed the same report to the President , Public and various stakeholders .
Ms Chirwa said F.I.C adds value to suspicious transaction report which are only distributed to the law enforcement agencies depending on the underlying crime that has been identified .
Ms Chirwa said Government should be praised for the work that the F.I.C is doing because it clearly shows that President Edgar Lungu is not interfering with its operations, and further urged the public to read the law.
However, the Young African Leaders Initiative said that it was elated to hear from the Drug Enforcement Commission and its wise counsel to the Financial Intelligence Centre.
YALI President Andrew Ntewewe said that the advice given by the DEC is timely and the FIC will do well to heed this counsel.
He said it has been YALI’s long held view that the FIC oversteps its jurisdiction and mandate by publishing raw, inconclusive and speculative information and it is also clear, reading the FIC (Amendment) Act 2016, that dissemination of FIC data is limited to the clearly defined professional law enforcement and counterpart institutions both at home and abroad.
Mr. Ntewewe said the public is certainly not one of the entities to whom such information should be disseminated, not even in redacted form.
He has reiterated that the role of the FIC is collect and collate, but not to publish raw intelligence as they must simply disseminate information regarding suspicious financial or other transactions, to the Law Enforcement Agencies for them to pursue.
Mr. Ntewewe said YALI is opposed to publishing inconclusive and raw intelligence data to the public as it has dire consequences on the country.
He said these reports of raw data unfairly and unnecessarily harm the reputation of otherwise perfectly innocent persons as a result of the speculation generated by the format of the FIC which purport to have some basis for labelling the Suspicious Activities being reported.
Mr. Ntewewe added that without any detailed investigation at both ends of any such suspicious transaction, the FIC has utterly no basis for suggesting impropriety in its reporting, and any such suggestion is unfounded and possibly malicious.
He has emphasised that YALI considers the Financial Intelligence Centre to be an absolutely vital tool in Zambia’s fight against corruption and in detecting and preventing financial flows which facilitate terrorism.
Aggrey Chiyangi says Chipolopolo respects Botswana but have a plan for The Zebras’ in Saturday’s 2019 COSAFA Cup final at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Chipolopolo face Botswana in their first COSAFA Cup final meeting from three previous encounters in the tournament since 2000.
Botswana eliminated host South Africa 5-4 on post-match penalties after a 2-2 draw in the quarterfinals and beat Lesotho 2-1 in the semifinals.
Zambia on the other hand have been unconvincing and toiled their way to the finals with two post-match shootout victories over Malawi in the quarterfinals and defending champions Zimbabwe in the semifinals after 2-2 and 0-0 fulltime draws respectively.
“Every game is different but there is saying in our language that goes: ‘A small snake does not just lie on a path, if it does, then it can bite’,” Chiyangi said.
“So we are not looking at Botswana as an underdog, they have a very good team, I saw them play and they’re playing very well.
“We are going to be serious with them in the same way we planned for Zimbabwe.”
Meanwhile, Botswana have yet to beat Zambia in the COSAFA Cup and Chipolopolo has won all three meetings.
Their last date was at the quarterfinal stage of the 2017 edition that Zambia won 2-1.
This will also be the first of two matches between the two sides over the coming months with the second scheduled for July 27 in the second round of the 2020 CHAN qualifiers
Former Chipolopolo star Elijah Litana has counselled the current generation of players on the significance of financial literacy.
Litana is urging players to use money prudently.
The former Saudi Arabia based defender has in the past opened up on his story of squandering huge earnings through gambling and drinking at his peak.
“As former players we must tell young players what we went through,” Litana said on the sidelines of financial literacy training for footballers organised by Barclay Bank in Ndola.
“Let’s talk about finances and what happens if you not saving money. There is a future after you retire. These young players you need to motivate them,” he said.
Litana spent five seasons at Saudi club Al-Hilal which used to fly him around in a royal private jet.
He now lives at a farm in Masaiti near a place called Masangano.
Commissioner of the Drug Enforcement Commission Alita Mbahwe
The Drug Enforcement Commission is concerned with the publication of raw intelligence data by the Financial Intelligence Center as it compromises investigations by law enforcement agencies.
Commissioner of the Drug Enforcement Commission Alita Mbahwe said this is because the same intelligence report disseminated to law enforcement agencies is also disseminated to the public and, therefore, jeopardizes investigations as the perpetrators are alerted and begin to destroy vital evidence.
Mrs. Mbahwe said in some cases due to the manner in which information is verified, foreign nationals have fled the country upon realising that they are under investigation following inquiries made by the FIC.
She said further, the intelligence reports disseminated to law enforcement agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Commission sometimes turn out to be false on inquiry leading to closure of cases, a situation which is always misconstrued as inaction by investigative wings.
Mrs. Mbahwe said in certain instances, the method of intelligence gathering used, such as seizure of documents from various institutions affects the quality of investigations as other supporting documents that may not have been collected are destroyed before investigative wings move in.
She said this in some situations leads to closure of cases due to insufficient evidence or closure due to un-detection.
Mrs. Mbahwe said despite the workload and complex nature of Money Laundering investigations, the Commission has been working round the clock to ensure that each report is treated on a case-by-case basis by looking at the merits of each individual case for eventual arrest and prosecution.
She explained that Money Laundering cases take a long time to be concluded and has assured members of the public that the Commission is actively working to fulfil its mandate and contribute to the socioeconomic development of the nation.
Mrs. Mbahwe said DEC has on several occasions engaged the Financial Intelligence Centre on the need to review their modus operandi to avoid compromising investigations as well as creating a false impression.
She expressed hope that steps will be taken in this regard because part of the assessment criteria for money laundering compliance with international standards is the effective collaboration between law enforcement agencies and the Financial Intelligence Centre.
Mrs. Mbahwe said there is need for effective collaboration and coordination if Zambia is to fight all offences such as corruption, tax evasion, fraud, drug trafficking and money laundering in Zambia.
And Mrs. Mbahwe said the Commission received 16 cases out of the total number of reports indicated as being disseminated to law enforcement agencies, accounting for 20% and approximately K22 million of the total amount indicated in the FIC Trends Report.
Mrs. Mbahwe told a Media briefing that the 16 cases are currently under investigation at various stages and DEC will update members of the public on the action taken at an opportune time in order to avoid jeopardising the legal prospects of the cases.
She said while it does not please the Commission to discuss issues of security and intelligence nature in the press, they have been left with no option but to set the record straight in view of the impression created in which law enforcement agencies such as the DEC are seen to be inert or inept in the investigation of intelligence reports disseminated.
Mrs. Mbahwe said while DEC appreciates that the role of the Financial Intelligence Centre is to educate the public and reporting entities of their obligations as well as inform them of measures to detect, prevent and deter money laundering and financing of terrorism or proliferation, they are of the view that this report should not be published in the manner it has been in the past few years.
She said Information can either be constructive or destructive depending on how it is managed or disseminated.
Mrs. Mbahwe said it is therefore, important that information is disseminated to the rightful audience in line with a well thought out communication strategy to avoid speculation and undue pressure on Investigative Wings.
She said this therefore, means that the FIC should have different information prepared for their different audiences and not the current trend.
Facebook has taken steps to stop its apps being pre-installed on Huawei smartphones, Reuters reports.
The ban covers the main Facebook app, as well as apps from its subsidiary companies WhatsApp and Instagram.
The action was taken in response to US government action in May to bar US companies from using foreign telecom firms it regards as a security risk.
People who already own a Huawei phone and have the relevant apps installed can still continue to use them.
Facebook said they would also continue to supply updates to existing users on Huawei phones.
Huawei has not commented on the Facebook decision.
The decision only applies to pre-installed apps and does not stop Huawei smartphone owners downloading and installing the apps once they receive their phones.
However, this option will no longer be available if Google restricts access by Huawei phones to its Play store in the future.
The decision is another blow to Huawei, which this week learned that Google will no longer let the company use its core Android software after mid-August.
For now, the Play store for Android and all Google apps will continue to be available to Huawei.
Many other nations have imposed restrictions or outright bans on the use of Huawei equipment.
ZESCO Muzuma substation being upgraded to KV 330 (from KV 220) in order to be connected to the national grid as soon as the Maamba coal plant station is commissioned
The Economics Association of Zambia has commended Power Utility Company ZESCO for its proactive stance in managing the projected energy deficit across the sectors.
Dr. Austin Mwange, the Association Vice President said the EAZ acknowledges the systemic effects of drought across the Southern African region as a consequence of climate change effects, resulting in below average rainfall in areas where the Zambezi and the Kafue rivers flow hence impacting power generation capacity negatively.
Dr. Mwange said timely stakeholder engagement is a proactive step ZESCO has taken to enable for predictable business planning and this is a vivid attestation of the lessons learnt during the 2015/2016 energy deficit era.
He said the engagement carried out by the power utility in Lusaka, and Copperbelt provinces will allow for predictable business planning across the industry, thereby enabling players to equip themselves with backup energy supplements.
Dr. Mwange said much as a load management is disruptive to operations of businesses, the approach ZESCO has taken will ensure that effects of predictable outages are managed appropriately.
He added that the openness in information dissemination will curb speculation thereby managing uncertainty better.
Dr. Mwange added that Zambia is on a growth trajectory that entails rising demand for power which is forecast to rise to 3,000 Megawatts by 2021 and by 2030 is expected to climb higher to 3,525 megawatts.
He said there is need to widen additional supply through increased investment in well diversified energy sources and the exponential and sustainable increase in demand for electricity is due to growth in economic activities that the country has been experiencing and will continue to experience.
Dr. Mwange said Zambia therefore has no choice to finding solutions that will provide sustainable, clean and affordable energy supply as the economy continues to grow.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mwange has called for aggressive diversification in energy investment so as to hedge against hydrological risks of over-dependence on water for power generation.
He said Energy bottlenecks vividly signal the need to increase investment in the sector which provides funding opportunities for investment partners.
Dr. Mwange said Zambia is 84% dependent on hydro while the remaining 16% is exposure to Heavy Fuel Oils -HFOs such as coal and geothermal sources.
He has bemoaned the impact the deficit will have on the manufacturing and mining ecosystem especially that these sectors consume over 57% of the grid.
Dr. Mwange has since forecast this deficit as a major contributor of cost push inflationary pressure which will impact private sector pulse and is confident the proactive step taken by ZESCO will help business offset some of the risks posed by unpredictable load management.
He has advised the mining and manufacturing entities to consider investing in power generation facilities to self-sustain their operations thereby easing to ease pressure of the grid in times as these.
The Jesuit Center for Theological Reflection says the Load shedding will result into reduced production in various sectors such as mining, employee retrenchments and loss of income for majority small business.
JCTR Executive Director Fr. Emmanuel Mumba said the most affected will be those that could not invest in alternative energy sources and will experience increased production cost and subsequent price increases of basic commodity for those that invested in alternative additional sources of energy.
Father Mumba said Load shedding will most likely impact negatively on the growth of Zambia’s economy and general welfare of citizens.
He cited mining, manufacturing and the informal sector as some of the challenges that will find it challenging to operate at their maximum potential and without any corrective measures, their output will certainly reduce.
Father Mumba said the consequences of reduced output in various sectors and businesses will likely be lay-off of workers, loss of income among families, reduction in government revenue to be collected and reduced foreign exchange.
“Currently, the mining sector is the major driver of the Zambian economy, and any disruptions in its production capacity will have serious negative implications on the performance of the local currency and Zambian economy. Already, in the recent past, the Kwacha has faced serious challenges against major currencies such as the US dollar”, Father Mumba has said.
He added that Load shedding will also likely cripple micro, small and medium enterprises for most of them will likely fail to afford investing in alternative energy sources.
Father Mumba said these largely depend on a steady supply of electricity from Zesco and sadly this will lead to reduced income or income loss for many families especially those in the informal sector running businesses such as barbershops and saloons, increasing suffering for many ordinary already poor households.
He noted that in instances where businesses opt to invest in other additional sources of energy to sustain their operations, production costs will increase and subsequently prices of end products such as food will increase.
Father Mumba said the foregoing situation will make it harder for already struggling majority households to afford the already high cost of living.
He also expressed concern that with increased load shedding, charcoal will become the alternative source of energy for most households and this will likely increase demand for charcoal and will promote rampant cutting down of trees and charcoal production.
Father Mumba has wondered if the monopoly of electricity production by a government Parastatal still has room in a globalized economy.
He has since urged Government through ZESCO to logically load shed in a manner that will not adversely affect strategic businesses such as small-scale businesses where the majority poor strive to make a living.
He noted that there has been so much effort and concentration on hydro power generation and government needs to invest more to expand its power sources to include alternatives such as solar energy and Bio-fuels as these will not only be cheaper but will also be more sustainable.
Power Utility Company Zesco has commenced a four-hour daily load shedding starting on June 1st, 2019 which is expected to last until December 2019.
Government has attributed the decision to lower water levels at power generation points such as Kariba North Bank hence its decision to moderate power generation to facilitate generation until the next rainy season when the reservoirs are expected to be refilled.
Many stakeholders and citizens have expressed anxiety following their experience of massive load shedding in 2015.
Residents of Kasama district in Northern Province have expressed mixed feelings following the announcement by mobile service providers to conduct another simcard registration exercise.
Speaking to ZANIS in separate interviews, the residents said the move is retrogressive to the growth of the mobile service industry in the country.
Prudence Chewe said the move will see mobile service providers spend more money on an exercise that has little impact on the users instead of them using the money to improve service delivery.
Ms Chewe observed the need for the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) to find amicable solutions to curbing cybercrime unlike resorting to conducting fresh registrations.
She explained that security reinforcement in the ICT sector is achievable by introducing technologically advanced equipment that can deter crimes and other fraudulent activities among mobile network users.
Ms Chewe added that it is disheartening to see mobile service providers fail to track lost phones despite people having registered their simcards during the first registration exercise.
And John Kambole, a small-scale businessman disclosed that he has lost some money through hoax messages he has received in the past.
Mr Kambole noted that despite people registering their simcards in the first exercise, the mobile service providers have failed to track offenders using the details in their systems.
He further advised the mobile service providers to conduct a verification exercise and not fresh sim registration adding that the exercise will only bring further complications in the mobile service industry.
ZICTA has directed all mobile network operators to conduct a fresh sim registration exercise in order to reinforce security in the ICT sector.
This is also in line with the implementation deadline for the sim registration directive under the ICTs Registration of Electronic Communication Apparatus Statutory Instrument No. 65 of 2011.
File:President Edgar Lungu with His Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Mr Amos Chanda at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport before departure for a Private Visit to Kenya at the invitation of His counterpart President Uhuru Kenyatta, on Thursday, 14th June, 2018. Pictures by Eddie Mwanaleza/State House
The Civil Society Constitution Agenda (CiSCA) would like to bring to the attention of the public a significant part of the former Presidential Spokesperson, Amos Chanda’s resignation speech in which he states that having seen the NDF resolutions he decided to resign than be caught up if in future he decided to run for public office.
What does that tell us? Under President Lungu Parliament is a rubber stamp! How can Amos be so sure that what came out of the NDF is going to be enacted even before the Bill is presented to the legislature for legislation? The man put this in writing meaning he had time to carefully think through it. He confirmed what the church mother bodies and all other people who have the best interest of the nation that the NDF was a scam, a scheme and a charade orchestrated to justify the circumventing of the will of the people of the constitution.
The NDF resolutions were a fait accompli even before the sittings begun. Like the Buddha said there are three things one cannot hide, the Sun, the Moon and the Truth! We now know the truth in black and white, Parliament under the current hegemony is only a hammer to nail down the executive’s wishes. Amos Chanda just confirmed that Zambia is currently a defacto autocracy. We strongly urge the MPs not to be used as a rubber stamp of State House but to send a stronger message to State House that you are there not only to represent your constituents’ collective will but to also provide the checks and balances by maintaining the doctrine of the separation of powers. When the Bill rears its head in Parliament, with a clear conscience, consign the NDF Bill to the dustbin where it belongs together with the NCC Bill.
Minister of General Education David Mabumba flanked by Minister of High Education Nkandu Luo speaking to Journalists whilst listens during the Joint Media Briefing at Ministry of High Education
Dear Minister Luo,
On 29 April 2019, News Diggers published the most recent public comments you have made on the continued closure of the Copperbelt University (CBU). In the published story, you were quoted by the newspaper as expressing the hope that
‘President Edgar Lungu will decide to reopen the Copperbelt University now that the students have apologised for their conduct. I closed CBU with [a] heavy heart. My decision [or desire] has never been to close any institution. But I want to applaud the CBU students for taking the trouble to apologise to the President of this Republic. I am only an appointee of His Excellency the President of Zambia and if he finds it in his heart to forgive them, who am I [not to reopen CBU]? I act on his behalf so I want to applaud them for apologising”
Minister, the implications of your remarks are threefold.
The first is that you closed the university at the behest of President Lungu. You personally were not for the decision to shut down CBU, but being an appointee of the President, who was ostensibly offended by the actions of the students, you simply gave expression to the President’s wish that the most appropriate punishment for their conduct was to close the university.
The second is that you, Minister, are not personally averse to reopening CBU. Indeed, how can you be opposed when it was never your desire to close the university in the first place? Had you had enough power or if much depended on you alone, you would have already announced the reopening of the institution. The problem is that you require permission from President Lungu to ‘unclose’ CBU, which permission has not been granted to you. Just like you merely acted on the President’s wish when closing the institution on 5 April 2019, you are now waiting for him to inform you that it is his wish that ‘now is the time to reopen CBU’.
The third is that the reopening of CBU, now that the students have apologised for their misconduct – conduct that I also deplore – is now entirely dependent on whether the President has the ‘heart to forgive them’. This is what is keeping you from announcing the reopening of CBU – the absence of a proclamation from President Lungu confirming that he, like you have done, has forgiven the students for their transgressions that forced your delegated hand to close the Copperbelt University. It is to this third and final implication of your remarks that I wish to briefly address myself.
Minister, can you please find out from the President if he has forgiven the students and then share his response with the nation. If President Lungu has already forgiven the students, may I then implore you to either reopen the university or at least have the courtesy to explain to the public and the affected students why the institution should remain closed? Public accountability demands that you provide responses to the questions and concerns of those in whose name you lead and serve.
If he has not forgiven the students, may l please implore you to remind President Lungu that he is a self-confessed Christian presiding over a country, populated by fellow Christians, that has been officially declared as guided by Christian values. One of the key values of the Christian faith is forgiveness. In fact, if we are to follow the Biblical injunctions, the President has no choice but to forgive the students because they are yet to reach the ‘seventy-seven times’ threshold that Jesus Christ prescribed as the limits to forgiveness in Mathews 18 verse 21-22:
‘Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times’.
With this declaration, Christ unilaterally amended the seven times limit that had existed until then. Ordinarily, before anyone seeks forgiveness, there must be an element of admission of wrongdoing on their part to say ‘After careful self-introspection and analysis, I have come to the realisation that my conduct against you fell shot. I was wrong and I am sorry. Please forgive me’. On the basis of this contrition, the offended then proceeds to forgive the offender. By your own admission, the students have admitted that they were wrong and have communicated this position to you and the President. What then is preventing you from reopening CBU, Minister?
Unless there is another reason that explains why you have not announced the opening of CBU, I implore you to reopen the institution both because the scriptures make it very clear that President Lungu has little sway on the matter, especially since those who supposedly offended his emotions have apologised, and because reopening CBU is the correct thing to do. If there are other reasons that are holding you back from reopening the institution, please share them with the public so that we may seek to understand your point of view. As an educated person yourself, I do not think you need any reminder about the tragic effect of keeping CBU closed on the reputation of our public universities, the aspirations of the affected young people, and Zambia’s future.
I would like to end my letter with a quote from former South African president, Thabo Mbeki:
‘As we travel along the long road of life that all of us must traverse, we must forever remember that others who will follow in our footsteps tomorrow, but overtake us the day after and become our guides, should never have occasion to accuse us that what we did demonstrate selfish concern about ourselves, with reckless regard of the interests of other people, including the generations that have yet to come, as the calves will come from the borrowed herds’.
Minister, I urge you and indeed your colleagues in Cabinet to reflect on Mbeki’s thoughts with the necessary critical distance. Most importantly, I appeal to you and the President to reopen the Copperbelt University immediately.
Government has noted with concern that most parents in some parts of the country have this term opted not to pay school fees for their children, despite the reduction of the user fees by the Ministry of General Education.
Minister of General Education David Mabumba says through consultations with a number of school managers on the Copperbelt and Northwestern province have revealed that some parents do not want to pay any single ngwee for their children to be enrolled in school.
Mr Mabumba says parents must be grateful to Government and that they should appreciate this gesture which is unprecedented.
The Minister said Government reduced school fees as a measure to allow vulnerable children whose parents cannot afford to pay.
He said the danger of not paying school fees is that it may affect operations at schools.
He said this at a meeting held at Mufulira high school after a number of school head teachers complained to him that parents have opted not to pay school fees.
The Minister has however appealed to the local leadership to help sensitize parents on the importance of paying school fees.
Ministry of General Education permanent secretary Jobbicks Kalumba
A PURGE of corrupt civil servants behind the misappropriation of billions of Kwacha from donors at the Ministry of General Education has resulted in the dismissal of about 21 officers.
Initially, the officers were served with suspension letters before they were recalled on condition of monthly salary deductions until the amount owed by each was recovered, but that decision has been overturned and about 21 of them have so far received their dismissal letters.
According to one of the letters dated May 29, 2019, and signed by Education Permanent Secretary Jobbicks Kalumba, the warning letters issued to them have been revoked and that their terminal benefits had been forfeited to the state following the termination of their employment.
Meanwhile, sources within the ministry told the Daily Nation yesterday that even though only 21 out of about 80 employees who were suspended last year had received their dismissal letters, the process was ongoing and more people would be fired.
“The people who were fired had initially been given warning letters after serving their suspension. Upon resuming work, each one of them signed consent letters that the money they are alleged to have misappropriated will be deducted from their salaries and the deductions had been in effect.
“This comes to them as a shock because some of them were alleged to have misappropriated as little as K2, 000 and had already cleared their bill before they received these letters. What we are getting is that this is an on-going process as more people may be receiving their dismissal letters soon,” the source said.
Efforts to get a comment from Dr. Kalumba proved futile as his phone went unanswered while WhatsApp message sent to him was not responded to.
A forensic audit that was done by the Auditor General up to September 26, 2018, established that K19.5 million was embezzled by staff at the ministry. About 80 officials were suspended to pave way for the probe.
The suspensions came after African Confidential reported that massive fraud had taken place at the Ministry of General Education.
Bank of Zambia Governor Denny Kalyalya displays a Kwacha note to Journalists during a news briefing
The Bank of Zambia has called on business entities and citizens to focus on opportunities that exist in the country amidst the economic challenges facing the country.
Bank of Zambia Governor Denny Kalyalya has also urged Barclays Bank Zambia and Absa Group to explore ways in which the Bank can assist in addressing some of the challenges facing the country such as load shedding.
Dr. Kalyalya said this during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Barclays Bank Zambia new Head office in Lusaka yesterday.
He said Barclays Bank is also expected to continue supporting SMEs in the country as the sector is key to sustainable development and economic growth.
Dr. Kalyalya said construction of the head office is a demonstration that the Bank is focused on possibilities and opportunities in the country.
And Barclays Bank Zambia Board Chairperson Chishala Kateka said the Bank will continue to support key sectors that support growth of the country’s economy even as it transitions into Absa.
Ms. Kateka has reiterated the Bank’s commitment to support the country’s development agenda.
Meanwhile Bank of Zambia (BOZ) Governor, Denny Kalyalya, has said that the central Bank is confident that the austerity measures announced by cabinet will be implemented.
Dr. Kalyalya said that the measures are important in ensuring that arrears are reduced, interest rates pushed downwards, adding that this would trigger growth in the economy.
Dr. Kalyalya was speaking in Kabwe during the Kabwe Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) organised business breakfast.
And Kabwe Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice President, Thomas Muwowo, said the current financial environment is choking the small, medium and emerging enterprises in the country.
Mr. Muwowo said in as much as growth of the economy is backed by a thriving financial environment, it must not choke the growth of budding enterprises.
He said the revision of the policy rate has come at a great cost and detrimental to the business community countrywide.
Former President President Lungu’s spokesperson Amos Chanda has hinted on the possibility of entering the political life after he tendered in his resignation yesterday.
In the the resignation statement, Mr Chanda said that he had perused the draft constitution and that he did not want to be caught up should he aspire for Political Office.
“I have perused the draft constitution, particularly the clause requiring civil servants to vacate office at least two years ahead of elections, and I would not want to be caught up with this should I aspire for political office,” read his prepared statement
Mr Chanda said that despite considering pursuing roles in the private sector and a possible political career, his support for President Lungu is unwavering and he will continue to do so despite him vacating State House.
Speaking at State House yesterday when he resigned, Mr Chanda said that he wanted President Lungu to succeed and that all Ministers must want the president to succeed as well.
“I want the President to succeed. All ministers must want the President to succeed in fact they must do more to ensure the President succeeds.
We support him as he presides over the utilization of our very limited resources. So anyone who worries about the President must do anything that reduces his chances to succeed,” Amos said.
“I must stress that in supporting the President, The clarion call I make to everyone who supports him, worries about him, supports his vision is that whenever you think or feel your stay, even just one percent will endanger the political success of the President you must listen to your inner voice and do the right thing so that you support the President,” Amos urged.
He then went on to caution public servants to look above self and remember the greater good which is that of the 17 million Zambians.
“They are 17 million Zambians and Amos Chanda is one person, Minister X is just another. So whenever anyone of us feels your stay will impede successful running of government, cohesive running of government, you must be able to look at the bigger picture and project the greater good for the greatest majority,” he said.
“So when certain questions are raised about you, sometimes the inner voice must tell you, that is whether you are guilty or not guilty to ensure that you do not undermine, not for a moment the chances of the President to succeed.”
