Lusaka Lawyer Eric Silwamba has described Tuesday’s High Court ruling that former transport Minister, Dora Siliya did not breach the constitution as a landmark judgment based on the 1996 law.

Mr. Silwamba said that the law requires a cabinet minister to seek the Attorney General’s legal opinion or advice before signing government contracts.

He said even though this requirement is mandatory under this law, compliance is not.

This means that the minister can choose to take the advice or ignore it.

Mr. Silwamba said the judgement also clears Ms. Siliya of all three allegations determined by the Judge Dennis Chirwa tribunal early this year.

Ms Siliya was alleged to have breached the Constitution when she ignored the advice from the attorney general and awarded a contract to RP Capital and partners to value Zamtel assets.

Delivering his ruling yesterday, High Court Judge Philip Musonda said the philosophy underlying the non-conferring on the attorney general, as chief legal advisor to the Government, veto or overriding power was that he gave professional advice, which was legalistic to the president and Cabinet.

He said the attorney general was not an elected official and he, therefore, did not factor the social, political and economic conditions prevailing at the time, which elected officials representing the people must take into account.[quote]

Mr Justice Musonda said the law moved slowly while the social, economic and political events happened instantly and needed an instantaneous response.

The judge said while in Article 56 (7) the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) would violate the Constitution if he did not follow the attorney generals direction, Article 54 (3) of the Constitution was without sanctions.

“What is unconstitutional is failure to get the advice of the attorney general and not failure to follow it, interpreting the law strictly,” he said.

“In that regard if legal opinion runs counter to achieving a certain objective, ministers have the option to ignore it, but to ignore it because they are profiting from it is the very evil the parliamentary and ministerial code of conduct reprehends,” he said.

“The tribunal’s findings that there was no breach of Part II of the ministerial code of conduct remain undisturbed, which means she is cleared by the tribunal under Part II and by this court under Article 54 (3) of the Constitution and it is so ordered,” he said.

The judge, however, said it was an uncomfortable fact to preside and respectfully disagree with members of the Dennis Chirwa-led tribunal, who were among the most gentle, friendliest, warm-hearted individuals in the institution.

“I say this because there may be especially among the laymen a mistaken notion that dissent or being reversed is synonymous with discord in the judiciary,” the judge said.

Some opposition political party leaders will be charged for treason if they continue to incite workers to go on with the strike.

Chief Government spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha issued the warning at a press briefing in Lusaka, Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. Shikapwasha said the law will take its course on UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema if he continues to call on workers to sustain their strike in which some people may be losing lives.

Gen. Shikapwasha said it is disheartening that some leaders are taking actions that are intended to bring down the Government of the day to gain access to power.

He said it is unreasonable for any political leader to gain political mileage by demanding that more people die through the strike action of some health workers.

He also dismissed Mr. Hichilema’s allegations that each ministry was losing K60 billion annually through corruption.

[ZNBC]

The Lusaka High Court has quashed the findings of the Dennis Chirwa tribunal that found former Communications and transport minister Dora Siliya in breach of the constitution.

Lusaka High Court Judge, Phillip Musonda has found that Dennis Chirwa tribunal exercised excessive jurisdiction when it invoked Article 54 sub-section 3 to declare Ms. Siliya in breach of the constitution.

The Dennis Chirwa tribunal found that Ms. Siliya breached the constitution for disregarding legal advice from the Attorney General’s chambers relating to a Memorandum of Understanding between government and RP Capital partners of Caymans Islands to value Zamtel Assets at $2 million.

Ms. Siliya applied for judicial review in which she challenged the Tribunals’ powers to invoke constitutional provisions which are a preserve of the High Court.

Judge Musonda in the ruling delivered found that Ms. Siliya did not breach the constitution and further said the Dennis Chirwa tribunal findings that there was no breach of part two of the parliamentary and ministerial code of conduct will remain undisturbed.

He said findings that Ms. Siliya did not breach part two of the parliamentary and ministerial code means she is cleared by the tribunal and the High Court under Article 54 subsection 3 of the constitution.

[ZNBC]

A MARKETEER in Ndola has bemoaned the involvement of politics in the running of urban markets.

Speaking in an interview in Ndola yesterday Mr Arthur Mataka said markets in the Ndola urban have remained in deplorable state because people entrusted with running them have been embroiled in political antagonisms that over take market developmental programmes.

Mr Mataka noted that Chifubu market lost out on the urban market upgrading programmes due to some political confusion that were fueled by a named opposition political party that crippled the market upgrading programme and caused it to be abandoned.

He observed that if the political antagonisms existing between the Patriotic Front and the Movement for Multi-party Democracy members in the running of markets are not addressed, that there will be no development in the market structures in Ndola and in all urban markets country wide.

Mr Mataka who is also Chifubu market advisory committee chairman called on the council officers to put politics aside when carrying out their civic administrative duties so that they could improve the infrastructure in markets and also serve all Zambians regardless of their political affiliations.

He appealed to the Ndola City Council to deliver services that it ought to deliver to the people in the markets and ensure that sanity is brought to the markets.

He also urged political party cadres from the two political parties to desist from interfering with the Council Management in its running of the city.

ZANIS

THE Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) has advised investigative wings probing the operations of the defunct Zambian Airways to extend their investigative sphere to other countries to avoid piecemeal conclusions.

Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) welcomed the directive to extend the investigation to foreign countries, saying that it would ensure comprehensiveness in the investigation of the matter.

Inspector-General of Police, Francis Kabonde said officers from the Ministry of Finance and National Planning audit department had been called in to strengthen the team and would soon travel outside Zambia for investigations.

The combined investigating team had handed over to the DPP a preliminary report on the airline’s failure to remit about US$1,793,782 in passenger service charges.

Mr Kabonde said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that in order to avoid inconclusive findings, it was imperative that the investigations were not only restricted to Zambia but spread out to other countries where the airline had offices.

The police chief said the investigation was complex but the probe team comprising officers from the police, Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had made headways.

Sources said the investigating team was pursuing the criminal charge of theft by agent against the airline’s directors, in contravention of Section 272 and 280 of the Penal Code, Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.[quote]

The team was also investigating how the Zambian Airways in 2007 secured a $5.5 million loan through a consortium of financial lending institutions, which consisted of Investrust Bank, Intermarket Banking Corporation and the Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ).

Police have already recorded warn and caution statements from the directors of Zambian Airways in connection with the investigation into the operations of the airline.

TIZ president, Rueben Lifuka said the investigators and prosecutors should commit to doing a thorough job and thus enhance the chances of success of these cases in the courts of law.

Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) executive director, Paul Mususu welcomed the widening of the investigation but cautioned the probe team to ensure that they did not use more money than that would be recovered.

Zambian Airways early this year suspended operations citing the high cost of aviation fuel and other operating costs for the decision.

[Times of Zambia]

Several Kitwe based School Teachers today staged a peaceful demonstration at the office of the Kitwe District Commissioner to protest over the 15 percent salary increment government has awarded to public workers.

The Teachers had in the early ours of the morning gathered at Rokana Basic School were their union leaders lead by Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) Branch Chairman Paul Chisenga wanted to brief them on the 2009 collective agreement.

The uncompromising teachers who were chanting political slogans demanded for the removal of all National Executive Members of the three teacher unions who they accused of being compromised and betray them.

The teachers who walked from Rokana to the Boma offices in the city centre claimed that it was an insult for their leaders to have settled for a meager 15% salary increment at a time when the cost of living and poverty levels were so high in the country.

The teachers vowed to continue with the strike if government does not increase the percent given the teachers.

But Kitwe District Education Board Secretary Sackis Mwanga pleaded with the teachers to immediately resume work.

Mr. Mwanga said teachers must immediately resume work because their leaders had already signed for the 15% .

He said Government has decided to allocate all the two billion to Kitwe for clearing fixed band housing allowances while the other towns would be paid later.

Mr. Chisenga s appealed to teachers to immediately resume work so as to prevent themselves from unnecessary problems.

He said all those who will be staying away will do it at their own peril.

Mr. Chisenga also requested the teachers to deal with the National leaders who have betrayed them.

And in Mumbwa , Teachers have lashed out in their District Union representatives whom they have accused of lacking allegiance to the plight of Teachers.

The complaining teachers from three unions, who mostly preferred to remain anonymous, said that the general morale of the teaching fraternity was very low because of the call by their union leaders to end their strike.[quote]

Mumbwa’s Zambia Congress Trade Unions( ZCTU) Chairperson Muyambango Kalaluka had officially announced to the teachers that the unions had signed the 15 percent salary increment offered by Government during a meeting held at Mumbwa high school.

The teachers disclosed that they had passed a vote of no confidence in their union representatives, and that many were planning to stop paying their monthly contributions to the union bodies.

Some alleged that their contributions to union bodies were being abused by union leaders, and that there was need for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to probe union leaders from BETUZ (Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia) ZNUT (Zambia Union of Teachers) and SESTUZ (Secondary Schools Teachers Union of Zambia).

One Teacher said that the teaching fraternity would carry on with what he termed as ‘working under protest’, adding that they were not happy with union leaders whom they accused of not consulting members before signing the 15 percent salary increment.

“We will carry on striking spiritually, our morale is low because of our double treacherous union leaders” he commented.

Teachers from SESTUZ, ZNUT, and BETUZ have been on strike since the official opening of schools on 11th May for term 2.

Teachers resorted to strike action demanding for salary increments as well as unpaid allowances such as Rural Hardship and Fixed band for Housing.

ZANIS