Malawi’s former agriculture minister, George Chaponda, was arrested on Wednesday and faces graft charges over a procurement contract with neighbouring Zambia, his lawyer and the country’s Anti-Corruption Bureau said on Wednesday.

It is the latest governance scandal to hit the impoverished southern African nation, which suffers periodic food shortages and relies heavily on donor aid.

Malawi President Peter Mutharika in January ordered an investigation into a $34.5 million government maize order, after a Zambian opposition leader said he had seen documents showing Malawi had been charged $345 per tonne for 100,000 tonnes of Zambian white maize worth $215 a tonne.

Chaponda’s lawyer, Jai Bandam confirmed the arrest in a telephone interview with Reuters.

He could not say when his client would be taken to court.

Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau said in a statement that its “investigation had established that there were offences committed in the procurement of maize from Zambia.”

“Chaponda is likely to be charged with corruptly performing public functions, misuse of public office and possession of foreign currency contrary to” exchange control regulations, it said.

And several Malawian media outlets are reporting that the ACB also arrested former Chairperson for Grain Traders Association of Malaw Grace Mijiga Mhango and Rashid Tayub of Transglobe after establishing that offences were committed in the procurement of maize from Zambia.

ACB Senior Public Relations Officer, Egrita Ndala indicated in a statement that Chaponda will weekly be charged with corruptly performing public functions, misuse of public office and possession of foreign currency contrary to section, 25A(1), 25B (1) of the Corrupt Practices Act and Regulation 25A(1) of the Exchange Control Regulations as read with Section 3 of the Exchange Control Act respectively.

According to ACB, Mijiga Mhango will be charged with forgery contrary to Section 351 of the Penal Code while Tayub is expected to appear for the Bureau.

“On 14th July, 2017, the Bureau obtained a warrant of arrest for the suspects. On 19th July, 2017, the Anti-Corruption Bureau executed the warrants on the three,” reads the statement in part.
She said they would be taken to Court after the Bureau has recorded caution statements from them.

The statement further claims that in December 2016, the Bureau received a complaint alleging that procurement procedures were not followed in the procurement of maize from Zambia by ADMARC.

ACB has been conducting investigation into the matter and sent its officers to Zambia in January where they together with the Anti-Corruption Commission of Zambia interviewed various people whom it felt had information relevant to the matter.

On 21 February 2017, the Bureau conducted a search and seizure operation on various premises after it obtained search and seizure warrants from the court.

“The Bureau has in recent times come under intense pressure and scrutiny on this matter, others suggested we were under instruction from the executive to obstruct justice in this matter for political reasons.

“We wish to make it clear to the public and all stakeholders that the ACB remains an independent professional institution which operates independently without any influence from any one. The process of investigations can be complicated and needs to be conducted with due process and detailed care,”said Ndala.

She claimed the Bureau empathizes with the concerns of the public for speedy investigations but quickly pointed out that such calls, in a democracy, need to be balanced with the due process required under the law.

“It should also be understood that in some cases where accused persons are members of parliament, parliamentary immunity when they are sitting in parliament may also delay such processes,” the statement reads.

The bureau said like all accused persons, the accused remain “innocent until proven guilty by a competent court of law.”

Many parents and guardians in Lusaka’s Bauleni Compound do not see the value of taking their children to school because they are financially handicapped.

According to a Bauleni resident Timothy Lungu parents in Bauleni Township cannot afford to pay schools fees for their children adding that the situation makes them not to appreciate the value of educating a child.

Lungu also bemoaned the increase of bars in the area which has contributed to the decaying of the moral fabric among the youth especially those that have not had the opportunity to go to school.

“Parents cannot afford to pay schools fees for their children adding that the situation makes them not to appreciate the value of educating a child” Lungu said

And another Bauleni resident Rosemary Mwela said some teenage mothers in the area are deprived of their right from benefitting the reentry policy that Government introduced for the girl-child who falls pregnant whilst in school.

“Some teenage mothers in the area are deprived of their right from benefitting the reentry policy that Government introduced for the girl-child who falls pregnant whilst in school” Mwela said

Meanwhile, Amos Banda of Bauleni has implored government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to set up recreational facilities in the community to curb immorality which the youth fall prey to.

“Government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) should set up recreational facilities in the community to curb immorality which the youth fall prey to” Banda said

United Party for National Development (UPND) National Youth Spokesperson Gilbert Liswaniso has said the Patriotic Front (PF)’s Pro-poor approach to Zambians is now dead.

In a statement availed to Pan African Radio today, Liswaniso said it would not be prudent for any person to claim that the PF led Government is pro-poor because vulnerable children and other vulnerable sectors of society across the country have been neglected

Liswaniso said the UPND find it weird for Government to allow children to live, marry and populate on the street, adding that children living on the street are a time bomb.

Liswaniso observed that the opposition UPND have never heard President Edgar Lungu or the relevant ministry pronounce a serious intervention plan towards the welfare of children living on the street.

And Liswaniso said the money which will be spent on the operations of the police and other security wings during the 90 day life span of the invoked Article 31 could have gone to the welfare of children living on the street across the country to better their lives.

“The money which will be spent on the operations of the police and other security wings during the 90 day life span of the invoked Article 31 could have gone to the welfare of children living on the street across the country to better their lives” Liswaniso said

THE Government has commenced the process of repatriating Zambians stranded in foreign countries for various reasons, Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba has said.

Mr Kalaba advised Zambians to visit Zambian embassies in the countries where they were for formalities that would facilitate their return home.

The minister said in an interview yesterday that in Mali, for instance, there were more than 200 Zambians stranded due to either loss of documentation or compromised marital statuses in the case of most women.

“We have engaged our embassies across the globe to ensure that our people in need of returning home are helped to do so,” said Mr Kalaba, who, however, added that those comfortable with their statuses abroad would not be forced to return home.

Meanwhile, Mr Kalaba has reiterated that the country’s international profile has made a remarkable leap owing to the leadership provided by President Edgar Lungu.

He said the international travels of the Head of State, which had been reciprocated by his counterparts, had raked in several benefits for the country.

Mr Kalaba said this when he featured on a ZNBC television programme dubbed ‘Government Forum’ in Lusaka on Monday.

He announced that Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma was next month expected in the country for a State visit at the invitation of President Lungu.

Mr Koroma will join a list of notable foreign heads of State and Government to visit Zambia this year, among them, Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Ghana’s Nana Akufo-Addo

A former student leader has called on citizens to take a leading role in sustaining the “Keep Zambia Clean” campaign which he says has remained a huge failure despite efforts from stakeholders to sustain it.

In a statement, Former ZANASU President Humphrey Milandile observed that it was unfortunate that the campaign to make the country clean has yielded no benefits despite the efforts from civic leaders, government and other stakeholders.

Mr Milandile who is also former Copperbelt University Students Union (COBUSU) president accused the citizenry of failing to take up responsibilities of maintaining their environment hence leading to the campaign’s failure.

“For the past decade there has been consented efforts by successive national governments to make Zambia Clean and health through the “make Zambia clean campaign. Successive governments have fought hard to ensure clean and health environment conducive for living by many Zambian’s.

“Unfortunately the campaigns, calls and hard work of civic leaders and the government to make Zambia clean has yield no benefit in actualising this dream. The problem lies with us the citizens, people are too irresponsible, primitive and careless to protect the environment. The minds of our citizens are clogged and needs thorough cleaning and rehabilitation if we are to achieve a meaningful keep Zambia clean campaign.

“In the pursuit to make the cities clean and health ,the government needs the support of every member of society to take a leading role to clean and safe guard our yards as well as other surroundings,” he said.

He said cleaning the environment should be the responsibility of all well meaning Zambians and not only the local authorities.

He called on the local authorities and schools to come up with deliberate policy to educate communities on the importance and need for a clean environment.

“Cleaning the environment is the duty of every citizen and garbage collection lies in the hands of the local authority. Currently the local authority has been tasked with cleaning and collection of garbage, this is an abnormality which has become normal due to lack of participation and responsibility by citizens.

“I would like to urge the councils, primary and secondary schools to educate citizens the need for a clean and health environment by inculcating a sense of responsibility. There is need for every Zambian to safe guard and clean the environment they are trading, residing and operating from.

“I wish also to urge our beloved citizens to show sense of responsibility, care and love for our environment, uncontrolled disposal of waste is causing a catastrophic chain reaction of environmental degradation resulting into disease outbreak such as typhoid, cholera, malaria and many other diseases,” he said.

He also commended the Kitwe who has continued to take a leading role in ensuring that the city is clean saying government and local communities should complement each other in perusing pursuing a clean Zambia.

“Further; I congratulate the Mayor of Kitwe City Council Christopher Kang’ombe for his relentless efforts to make the city clean and health. There is need for the community and the government to complement each others efforts in the pursuit to make Zambia clean and health.”