MINISTER of Justice Wynter Kabimba has said that he will resign if President Sata steps down.

Mr Kabimba said that he cannot serve under any other president but Mr Sata because President Sata tolerates him.

“President Sata is like my father or uncle. I have known him for over 30 years. He is a good man who tolerates me,” Mr Kabimba said.

“When President Sata sends me around the country to mobilise the party, some people peddle lies that I am campaigning to be President. That’s nonsense!” he said.

Mr Kabimba said he is not interested in positions but to see that the PF grows and continues to serve the interests of Zambians.

He appealed to new PF members to have respect for long-serving members, who he said sacrificed a lot for the party.

“People like Judge Ngoma and Jimmy Nyirenda laid down their lives for Michael Sata and this party. We ought to respect these guys. Some people who sacrificed for PF have not yet even benefited,” Mr Kabimba said.

A heavy police presence under the command of deputy provincial commissioner of police Hudson Namachila and the PF security detail led by Judge Ngoma kept the rowdy crowd under control.

Two factions had positioned themselves to clash over differences of leadership.

Meanwhile, Mr Kabimba has ordered members of the party using President Sata’s name to commit wrong things to immediately stop or leave the party.

Mr Kabimba said he is aware that a lot of people are using the President’s name to promote personal agendas.

He was speaking at a heated meeting between two PF factions held at Luangwa House, where there was heavy presence of police.

“Let us not spoil the name of President Sata by using it to do wrong things. We need to respect our President,” Mr Kabimba said.

He said a known person in Eastern Province is using President Sata’s name and running a group called Jimbos that is harassing and maiming innocent people.

“We can’t allow drunken thugs running amok with pangas and even firearms maiming innocent women. We have a police service in this country to protect the people,” Mr Kabimba said.

He has since ordered the police to arrest the Jimbos and their leader if they continue with their activities.

Christian Democratic Party (CDP) leader, Danny Pule, has expressed commitment to reserve 30 per cent of party portfolios to women once his party forms government in 2016.

Speaking to journalists in Chipata at Luangwa Lodge, Dr Pule stated that his party has outlined its manifesto that it intends to bridge the gap between men and women in different portfolios.

Dr Pule said he was optimistic that his party will form government in 2016 and wished President Micheal Sata well so that he hands over power properly to his party.

He also said his party has been well received among the people in the country because it is formed on the foundation of Biblical values.

Dr Pule has since appealed to President Sata to accord Chipata a city status alongside Chingola and Solwezi because of their economic status.

He said once his party comes into power it will give all towns city status once they have a university in place which will be built in all the provincial centres.

Dr Pule, however, bemoaned the depreciation of the currency alleging that it has contributed to the high cost of living being experienced in the country.

He said mealie meal prices have continued to escalate because farming has been mismanaged by the PF government.

Dr Pule noted that the first year PF did well in input delivery but mismanaged it in the second year of their term in power adding that as CDP it will ensure farmers were well supported.

He also said the CDP will ensure that there is free education from Grades1 to 12 to ensure that the country had an educated population.

He also said teachers will have bachelor degrees in education and those without the qualification will be assisted to acquire it in an effort to improve on teaching skills in the country.

And Dr Pule called on government to release the constitution as promised prior to the 2011 general elections so that people decide whether to go for a referendum or not.

He stated that the technical committee did a good job and that the fear for PF was the 50 plus 1 vote but CDP will form government with or without the new constitution.

OFFICIAL REACTION

VP Scott’s interview on ZNBC

The Vice President was interviewed by Kenneth Maduma on a number of issues affecting the country. They ranged from the constitution crisis, President Sata’s health, the kwacha depreciation, up to the demolition of homes in Kitwe.

On the constitution-making process:

The interview was characterized by the VP showing total personal confidence and arrogance in response to the issues raised. The VP showed total ignorance as to how the last constitutional review process had been undertaken. He mocked the idea that it was a people’s driven constitution as, in his opinion; it was created by a “certain committee.”

The fact is that the constitution process was people driven as the committee had travelled around the 10 provinces of Zambia and received contribution from members of the public. Secondly, there was a constitution review conference organized at Mulungushi Conference Centre with the intention of receiving comments from various stakeholders.

The VP concluded by saying that the current proposed constitution is not satisfactory but he did not specify what was wrong. He however did not rule out a new constitution by 2016. On the other hand Minister of Justice Wynter Kabimba informed people in Petauke that the constitution process is stalled but PF will continue endeavoring to have a people’s driven constitution.

The VP has shown the arrogance of the party by declaring that the process was not people-driven. One wonders why they had paid all those allowances to the committee members, the participants of the constitution making process and the various miscellaneous costs involved with the ?

The remark by the VP is contrary to what the Justice Minister – who happens to be the ruling party’s CEO as Secretary General. This is a sign a big division in the ruling party as regards to what to do with the constitutional process and let alone, putting in place a new constitution. Anyway, one does not need to take the VP’s remarks seriously as he is on record saying “Kabimba is boss”. But we are looking at what he is saying because he is officially the second most important person in the country after the president.

On depreciation of the kwacha.

On this one too, the VP showed totally lack of knowledge of how the foreign exchange market operates and factors that affect the exchange rate of the kwacha. The VP would have done better by recommending that the interviewer talks to BoZ and/or Ministry Finance officials.

Equipped with this ignorance, the VP went on to blame the free-float exchange rate as the cause of the depreciation of the kwacha. What Guy Scott was essentially saying was that he is pro exchange controls. He went on to say that the depreciation of the kwacha by 25% was no big deal! This was a sign of total misunderstanding of the consequences of such an increase (especially on those small SMEs who are importers and their profit margin is less than 25%).

However, he correctly observed Zambia’s failure to produce various products for export and the failure to accumulate foreign exchange; all these have led to increased poverty and underdevelopment in Zambia. But the VP did not mention how his government’s failure to properly tax the mines and control money flows as a result of copper exports, is one of the major reasons for the depreciation of the kwacha.

He equally failed to mention that the massive foreign debt his government is accumulating is also responsible for the depreciation of the kwacha. There is also unpredictability relating to the Presidency, which is a potential instability factor that currency speculators are utilizing to benefit from the further depreciation of the kwacha.

In his usual stance, he down-played the role played by BoZ and Ministy of Finance officials in their failure to stabilize the kwacha. He thought that BoZ intervention was right and at an appropriate time. Yet, everybody knows that BoZ’s reaction was belated and undertaken with so much pomposity that the currency speculators were ready to “swallow up” any reserves BoZ put on the market.

Therefore, BoZ’s interference was a total failure that just enriched a few currency speculators and made imports much more expensive. Yet the VP is on public TV saying BoZ’s actions were correct.

From our standpoint, Guy Scott missed an opportunity to explain policy to the nation. But on the one hand we understand, if “DONCHI KUBEBA” was all there was to the PF campaign while in opposition, we should not expect anything from Guy Scott and his cohort because their prime preoccupation in 2011 and before was to get into Government for the sake of themselves and no one else.

We did not cover the President’s health and Guy’s comments because we do not believe that Guy Scott, was competent to handle that question even if he made a mess of it when he attempted to answer it.

Batuke Imenda
UPND National Coordinator

The opposition MMD says it has no intentions of supporting any political party in the forthcoming parliamentary by-elections.

The MMD youth leadership in Kaoma district of Western Province has urged the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) not to field a parliamentary candidate in the forthcoming Mangango Constituency by-elections slated for August 19, 2014, but instead rally behind the UPND.

MMD President Dr. Nevers Mumba has told QFM News in an interview that the party is still strong in all parts of the country and is confident of returning the Mangango seat.

Dr. Mumba says the decision whether or not to contest any parliamentary by-election is entirely the responsibility of NEC and that no party organ is allowed to issue out statements in that nature.

He has since revealed that the party has directed the district office to summon MMD Kaoma district youth Chairman Kenny Ndumba to find out who influenced him to state that the party is unpopular in the area.

Dr. Mumba says the district office will also establish who influenced Mr. Ndumba to lie that some party members at constituency level have defected to the ruling PF and that a lot more at district level have defected to the opposition UPND.

Dr. Mumba has since dismissed assertions that the party has lost popularity in Mangango constituency, stating that the popularity of the former ruling party will be tested during the Mangango by-election.

A State witness in Dr. Nevers Mumba’s case of abuse of authority of office yesterday admitted that he over stepped his mandate by auditing a private account which was opened by Dr. Mumba in Canada for funds he sourced from Barrick Gold Corporation in his private capacity.

Mr Jolyzia Manyonga, an auditor in the office of the Auditor-General said that he received a report that Dr Mumba received a sum of 122.229 Canadian dollars which he allegedly misused by not following financial regulations.

But In cross examination Dr Mumba’s lawyer Mr Makebi Zulu challenged Mr. Manyonga to explain what made him think that the money allegedly used by the High Commission to sponsor the Amayenge Cultural ensemble belonged to the Zambian government when the group was funded by Barrick Gold Co-operation.

Mr Zulu further asked Mr. Manyonga if he knew that Dr. Mumba wrote a letter to the ministry of Community Development to sponsor the Amayenge Cultural Ensemble to travel to Canada and that the ministry replied that it did not have money for sponsorship.

Mr. Manyonga admitted that he was aware about the letter and the reply from the Ministry and he was also aware that it was Barrick Gold Co-operation which sponsored the group.

Mr Zulu further asked Mr.Manyonga to confirm whether he audited a public or a private account which had money from the sponsors to which he replied that he was given wrong information because he was only told that money was misused by the High Commissioner.

Mr Manyonga told court that according to an investigation, the former High Commissioner to Canada received 122,229 Canadian dollars in two instalments.The first instalment of 41,500 Canadian dollars was received in August 2011 and the second instalment of 80,759 Canadian dollars was received in September.The money sourced by Dr Mumba was meant to support the Canada-Zambia Exchange Show which invited the Amayenge Cultural Ensemble.

Mr. Manyonga said from the bank statement the auditors were able to establish that a sum of 30,000 Canadian dollars was not accounted for because it lacked supporting documents in the form of payment vouchers and receipts.
He added that the same bank statement showed that an account did not belong to the Zambian government and the Secretary to the Treasury had no authority over it.

Mr.Manyonga further stated that same account had four signatories who were the High Commissioner Dr.Mumba,Dr.Joseph Daka,Cecillia Mulenga and Mable Chipasha and the three were not employees of the Zambian government in Canada which was very irregular to have outsiders as signatories to an account opened by a government official(Dr.Mumba)

He also told the court that some payments were done without following financial regulations which he did not explain.
Mr Manyonga however said Dr Mumba did not seek authority to open an account and there lack of preparation and reconciliations of the bank statements.He said there was also a wasteful of expenditures and the worst of all was the former High Commissioner’s involvement of his wife in the project.

Trial continues on August 26 .

[Daily Nation]