PRESIDENT Banda has exonerated Vice-President George Kunda from allegations of impropriety raised by Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata that Government paid Mr Kunda legal costs when there was no court order.

Mr Sata wrote to the President asking him to investigate Mr Kunda on allegations that the latter received payment through his legal firm Messrs George Kunda and Company from Government for legal costs when there was no order by the court.

This is contained in a statement issued in Lusaka yesterday by special assistant to the President for press and public relations Dickson Jere.

Mr Jere said in replying to Mr Sata’s letter, the President said he had conducted a thorough review and investigation of the various allegations made against the Vice-President.

“He said his investigations have revealed that the court did grant an order for costs. The determination of the actual quantum of the costs was the subject of verification by the court through the taxing master by way of legal procedure known as taxation of costs,” Mr Jere said.

He said the President informed Mr Sata that the records of the court proceeding relating to taxation of the costs are public and are available for scrutiny.

Mr Banda said his findings are in contrast to Mr Sata’s allegations that there was no order by the court to grant costs.

“The correct position is that there have in fact been subsequent subsidiary orders as to costs by the court,” he said.

The President also revealed that the court case on which Mr Sata based his allegations of payment of costs arose 15 years ago when the PF leader himself was in Government.[quote]

Mr Banda said it is unfortunate that Mr Sata could raise the issue now to deliberately give a false impression to the people that it is a matter which has come up for the first time during his tenure of office.

President Banda said he is concerned that it has become a norm for Mr Sata and other political leaders in the country to associate his Government with all the wrong things which happened before he assumed office.

The President said he has found this state of affairs to be unfair and regrettable.

“In the interest of fairness, President Banda said he would request Mr Sata and other leaders in the nation to hold his Government accountable for issues that have occurred or arisen during his tenure as President,” Mr Jere said.

President Banda said for Mr Sata’s record, the Vice-President ceased practising in Messrs George Kunda and Company in 2002 when he was appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General by late President Mwanawasa.

He said this was in compliance with the provisions of the Legal Practitioners Practice Rules of 2002 made pursuant to the provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act Chapter 30 of the Laws of Zambia.

Meanwhile, President Banda has thanked Mr Sata for having thought it prudent to write to him to seek clarification on the matter and urged all leaders to always engage in constant dialogue to resolve various challenges affecting the country.

The President urged Mr Sata and other political leaders to feel free to seek clarification from him on any matter which they think should be clarified.

Mr Banda, however, said he is concerned about the manner in which the PF leader writes letters to him.

He said Mr Sata has the tendency of leaking letters, including the recent one, to the press before they reach State House.

Mr Banda said the recent letter Mr Sata wrote to him received wide publicity in the media before it even reached his office.

President Banda said Mr Sata’s actions are not only regrettable but are also calculated to embarrass his administration because the PF leader’s last letter was not written to seek genuine clarification.

He said Zambians deserve a lot more from leaders than cheap political rhetoric.

In view of Mr Sata’s conduct regarding the manner in which he publicly circulated his letter, President Banda said he found it unavoidable to equally respond to the PF leader’s letter publicly.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

A political analyst on the Copperbelt has predicted increased apathy in the 2011 tripartite elections if the first degree requirement for a presidential candidate would be endorsed and adopted into the Republican Constitution.

Mr. Isaac Kanyanta says the first degree requirement for the republican presidential candidate should not be a constitutional requirement but instead should be left to political parties to handle.

He said some members of parliament and majority of the Zambian electorate were not first degree holders which should serve as a warning sign that academic papers were not always the yardstick of measuring one’s ability in leadership.

He called on the NCC Commissioners to take an inventory of all the African presidents from both the economically struggling countries and those who were powerful and look at their presidents’ academic qualifications.

He said Political parties were better placed to practice such segregation as an in house cleaning arrangement than putting it in the republican constitution.

Mr. Kanyanta added that first republican president Dr. Kenneth Kaunda though only Form Two managed to render extraordinary political, material and intellectual help to all the neighboring countries during the political liberation struggle.

He added that the few heads of State summits that were attended by Heads of States should not be used as an excuse for a segregatory clause to craft its way into the republican constitution.

He said no Head of State was compelled to take a position at the Summit of Heads of State when they did not understand the matter fully.

He added that majority of the Summits were not even taking a position on many issues because it was the collective wisdom of Heads of States that the official communiqué carried after the Summit.

Mr. Kanyanta agreed with the NCC lone Commissioner Mr. Joseph Mubali who opposed the Clause as political parties could best handle the matter when choosing the persons they wanted to float as presidential candidates.

Mr. Kanyanta said Zambia did not need an academician for a president but a leader with a vision, who was principled and morally upright because he should be an embodiment of Zambian values and cultural beliefs.

He added that academic qualifications were not synonymous with wisdom because many graduates were roaming the streets in the pride of their papers when those with wisdom were busy making money in the midst of academic arguments on the performance of the national economy.

He said the informal sector was booming with people without degrees but full of wisdom and when such people are excluded from entertaining presidential ambitions, they could easily persuade their likeminded less qualified academically to shun the 2011 elections which would increase levels of apathy and reduce political participation by a larger margin.

Mr. Kanyanta said the people of Zambia were the best judges through the ballot box whether to vote for a degree holder or a school leaver in whom they have seen the required leadership qualities that would help to steer the nation to higher political, economic, social and cultural attainments.

He said the segregatory Clause would create “the animal farm situation” in the political life of Zambia where some citizens would be forever denied their birth right to aspire for the presidency of the land.

He called on the NCC to consider the feelings of the people who would be injured by such a provision adding that not many educated people with degrees take an active role in the political life of the Nation.

He said majority voters were from the uneducated lot living in underdeveloped Townships and if such a clause passed, they would feel like tools being used to favour some educated Zambians with degrees at their expense.

Mr. Kanyanta added that majority of the Zambians would not want to be used by degree holders for political gains and expediency when they were also entitled to the same human rights of aspiring for the republican presidency.

He said leadership was about service and not just prestige of academic parlance and exclusive pride over the electorates.
ZANIS

Minister of Science Brian Chituwo says there is need to unlock the scientific potential that exist in Zambia and translate it into short and long term economic benefit in the country.

Dr. Chitwo said there is need to reposition scientific initiatives and venture into an innovation-led economy which will be driven by a highly skilled, creative and competitive work force in the country.

He said in order to carry out such a transformation, there is need to have a lot of researchers, scientists and engineers.

He said this in a speech read for him by his Deputy Crispin Musosha at the Youth Inventors Fund and Strategic Researcher Fund, Grant and awards giving ceremony held at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka today.

Dr. Chituwo said government will continue to provide an enabling platform for this transformation through various initiatives and funding for scientific research and innovation.

He added that this why government has developed the strategies research and youth inventors funds, which are under his ministry.

He pointed out that the common goal of these funds is to promote science and technology innovations and development in the country.

Dr. Chituwo noted that the two funds should address the challenges of developing a new generation of researchers, inventors and engineers working on matters of national relevance.

ZANIS

Out-spoken United Party for National Development (UPND) Namwala Member of Parliament (MP) Robbie Chizyuka has called for the immediate impeachment of UPND president Hakainde Hichilema because he is a vision-less leader.

And Maj Chizyuka has charged that Mr Hichilema is just being used by Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata in the UPND/PF Pact.

Maj Chizyuka urged UPND MPs to start the impeachment process on Mr Hichilema because he was following experienced politicians because he has no vision for himself in politics.

“I urge my fellow UPND MPs that time to impeach HH is now. I say so because UPND is doomed and going nowhere under the leadership of president Hichilema. HH formed an alliance – the UDA which cracked and today he is with Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata which is heeded for a split,” Maj. Chizyuka said.

Maj. Chizyuka said former Mongu Central MP Francis Simenda should lead UPND to the 2011 tripartite polls and not Mr Hichilema.

Maj. Chizyuka said this in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today.

He accused Mr Sata of being selfish and aspiring to became UPND/PF Pact presidential candidate in the 2011 polls.

Maj. Chizyuka accused Mr. Hichilema of having contributed to the failure of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in the 2006 run-up to tripartite elections.

UDA consisted of Edith Nawakwi’s Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) and the former ruling party United National Independence Party (UNIP) for Tilenji Kaunda.

He charged that time to impeach HH is now because UPND is doomed and going no-where under the leadership of president Hichilema.

He explained that Mr. Hichilema, who was also UDA President in 2006 failed to run the Alliance because he was a visionless leader who was just being used by (PF) leader Michael Sata in the UPND/PF Pact.

And commenting on Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata who vowed that a degree or piece of paper will not stand in the way of his political presidential aspirations, Maj. Chizyuka described the UPND/PF Pact as a failure that is aimed at ‘killing’ the UPND.

The National Constitutional Conference’s (NCC) this week unanimously adopted a clause requiring those aspiring to stand as presidential candidates in future elections to have a degree as a minimum qualification for the top post.

The PF leader has no such qualifications and has described the clause as nonsense and waste of time by individuals suffering from inferiority complex.

ZANIS

Home Affairs Minister Lameck Mangani says calls for Inspector General of Police Francis Kabonde to step down to pave way for investigations into his alleged involvement in the overpayment of K1 billion to a South African traffic equipment and car dealer, are premature

Transparency International Zambia has asked Inspector General of Police Francis Kabonde to step aside to pave way for ongoing investigations in his alleged involvement in the overpayment of K1 billion to a South African traffic equipment and car dealer.[quote]

Mr Mangani says government will not bow to pressure and fire Mr Kabonde unless the Anti Corruption recommends so.

He says should the ongoing investigations find Mr.Kabonde with a case to answer, he will be asked to step down.

Mr Mangani adds that government did not ask private prosecutor Mutembo Nchito to resign when he was being probed over the Zambian Airways saga and it will not do so with Mr.Kabonde.

A Joint investigations team consisting officers from the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), Zambia Police and the Zambia Security Intelligence Service (ZSIS) has recorded a warn and caution statement from Kabonde in connection with unaccounted for K1 billion overpaid to South Africa’s Instrumentation for Traffic Law Enforcement (Pty) Limited.

QFM