High Court Deputy Director of Court Operations Edward Musona sitting as Magistrate, granted Dr. Kalumba, former Finance permanent secretary Stella Chibanda, former Access Financial Services Directors Aaron Chungu and Faustin Kabwe bail in their own cognizance with two reputable working sureties each.

The K500 million bail conditions also apply to each of the working sureties for the convicts.

Magistrate Musona granted the quartet bail when the matter came up for bail application hearing in chambers today.

And Ms Chibanda’s lawyer Nicholas Chanda confirmed to journalists that the convicts have been granted bail worthy K500 million each.

The convicted have since been ordered to surrender their passports to the clerk of courts.

On Wednesday, Mr. Musona convicted Dr. Kalumba together with his co-accused on corruption charges and sentenced them to five years imprison each.

The corruption charges relate to the irregular payments made to US security companies Systems Innovations and Wilbain Incorporated amounting to US$20 million.
[ QFM ]

The Energy Regulation Board (ERB) has fined North-Western Energy Corporation (NWEC) K2.7 million for charging an unauthorized tariff to residential customers in Lumwana.

The ERB has since approved a tariff of K285.6/kwh effective May 1, this year far below the unauthorized K452.2/kwh the utility company was charging its customers.

ERB Board Chairperson, Sikota Wina has ordered NWEC to refund all residential customers that were charged the unauthorized tariff the difference between the approved rate and the disallowed rate from the time that they started charging the unauthorized rate.

“With effect from 1st May 2010, the approved tariff to be charged by NWEC is set at USC6/kwh; this translates to a tariff amounting to K285.6/kwh at the rate of K4,760/USD.

“The ERB further orders as follows: that NWEC be fined K2,700,000 for charging an unauthorized tariff to residential customers;

“that NWEC refunds all residential customers that were charged the unauthorized tariff the difference between the approved rate and the disallowed rate from the date that they started charging the unauthorized USC9.5/kwh up to 30th April 2010,” Mr Wina said.

Mr Wina said this during ERB meeting on the application by NWEC to effect electricity tariff held at Lumwana Mine in Solwezi today.

He further directed NWEC to work out and furnish the ERB with a mechanism by which it will compensate customers for the unauthorized tariff within 60 days and that the compensation must be made in full to all affected customers within 24 months thereafter.

Meanwhile, the ERB has commended NWEC for taking up the initiative to supply power to Lumwana and urged the utility company to expand its customer base.

ZANIS

This is in a case in which Mpombo is charged with an offence of a dishonoured cheque.

In his ruling in the Ndola Magistrates Court yesterday, Mr Limbani said he had considered the evidence on record and found that the State had established a prima facie case against Mpombo in accordance with chapter 207 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), which requires him to be put on his defence.

Mr Limbani said six witnesses testified in the case and that the State filed written submissions while the defence made oral ones.

Particulars of the offence are that Mpombo, on December 18, 2009 with intent to defraud, issued a cheque number 000014 worth K10 million to Colwyn Limited of Ndola on an insufficiently funded account, which rendered the cheque dishonoured.
[pullquote]“When I reached his place, I told him that the hydraulic system on both my tractors had packed up and I needed K10 million to sort out the hydraulic system because I was unable to spray the crop…..it was very, very urgent, absolutely urgent,” Mpombo said.[/pullquote]

During his examination-in-chief led by his lawyer Bonaventure Mutale, Mpombo said on December 10, 2009, he went to Mr Terence Findlay’s office after the latter invited him through a Mr Watson Katema Mutale.

He said Mr Findlay was excited to see him and asked him why he had resigned from his ministerial portfolio.

“When I reached his place, I told him that the hydraulic system on both my tractors had packed up and I needed K10 million to sort out the hydraulic system because I was unable to spray the crop…..it was very, very urgent, absolutely urgent,” Mpombo said.

He testified that Mr Findlay was sympathetic with him and agreed to lend him K10 million in exchange with a postdated cheque.

“I was given K10 million cash, we agreed that I will give him a post-dated cheque for K10 million. I issued the cheque and it was drawn on my account,” Mpombo said.

He testified that he issued a postdated cheque to Mr Findlay because his account had insufficient money at the time.

“I had to sort out the problem of selling animals at the farm and Mr Findlay was aware that my account had insufficient funds.

Notwithstanding this, he accepted the cheque,” Mpombo said.

He said he issued a postdated cheque to Mr Findlay, which was to be deposited on December 18, 2009, but that on December 17, 2009, he phoned Mr Findlay and told him not to proceed to deposit the cheque because he was mobilising funds.

Mpombo told the court that by December 17, 2009, he had mobilised K10 million and agreed with Mr Findlay that he could make the payment another day because the matter was not urgent.

“Mr Findlay told me that he was not pushing me and that I could make the payment another day. It is a blatant lie that he told me to deposit the money in Lusaka,” Mpombo said.

He denied allegations that he dishonestly issued the K10 million cheque to Mr Findlay with intent to defraud him.

During cross examination by prosecutor Lawrence Mudenda, Mpombo said he did not make arrangements with his bank to pay the K10 million to Mr Findlay in case the cheque was deposited.

He admitted that on December 18, 2009, he had K46,000 as available balance in his bank account and that the money could not cover the K10 million he owed Mr Findlay.

“Mr Findlay is my bapongoshi (son-in-law), he assured me that he would not deposit the cheque on December 18, 2009,” Mpombo said.

Mr Limbani set July 16, 2010 as the date on which he will deliver judgment. He ordered the State to make its written submissions on June 10, 2010 while the defence will make theirs on June 25, 2010.
[Zambia Daily Mail ]

Former Finance minister Katele Kalumba and three others have filed notices of appeal against the five-year jail terms slapped on each of them by a Lusaka magistrate’s court.

Kalumba, former Ministry of Finance permanent secretary Stella Chibanda, Access Financial Services (AFS) directors Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu were on Wednesday each convicted and sentenced for five years imprisonment on various corrupt charges.

The four have also filed in affidavits in support of summons for bail pending appeal to the High Court.

Kalumba argued in his grounds of appeal that the trial magistrate erred in law and fact in convicting him against the weight of evidence.

Other grounds of appeal would follow after his lawyers study the case record.
Kabwe and Chungu said in their grounds of appeal that the trial magistrate misdirected himself on points of law by not considering the ingredients of the offences under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act.

Kabwe said the court misdirected itself on a point of law and fact by finding him guilty of corruptly erecting a cottage for former secretary to the treasury Benjamin Mweene.

Magistrate Musona is today expected to hear the bail pending appeal application although Chibanda’s bail application hearing date is yet to be set as her affidavit for bail was filed late.

In the same case Mr Musona also sentenced former chief economist Bede Mphande, former director of budget Boniface Nonde and Mweene to five years imprisonment each but suspended for 24 months.

The general director of SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency) Anders Nordström is fired and the authority will be re-organized.

The reason is that the government is not happy with the control over money spent on development cooperation. The management of the authority bears the responsibility for the lack of control and for the organisational shortcomings according to the government.

After the revelation last year about development mean for Zambia being used for corruption and embezzlement in the African country, the government realised that something had do be done writes Minister for Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson on the debate site Newsmill.

– The control over SIDA must be better and comprehensive changes are necessary to reach the vision about an aid that makes a difference writes Ms Carlsson

Charlotte Petri Gornitzka has been appointed new General Director at SIDA.

Tommie Ullman
[email protected]

[Stockholm News]