The Executive Committee of the National Constitutional Conference-NCC- has rejected recommendations that a convicted former head of state forfeits his gratuity.

The committee decided to strike out Article 137 5C after a heated debate on Thursday morning.

The NCC members with opposing views only toned down when Justice Permanent Secretary, Getrude Imbwae intervened with a legal interpretation.

Ms Imbwae explained that accrued rights of any individual can not be taken away unconstitutionally.

She said the relevant criminal laws would fully deal with erring individuals without necessary attaching their accrued rights such as gratuity and pension.

Earlier, NCC commissioners Vincent Mwale, Edwin Sakala, Daniel Munkombwe, Richard Kapita and others opposed the provisions of Article 137 5C.

On the Other hand, Commissioners Mukondo Lungu,, Reverend David Masupa, Pastor Peter Mulenga and Mwiya Limata supported the forfeiture of gratuity.

[ZNBC]

By Philos Zambianos ([email protected])

Corruption: Noun

– Lack of integrity or honesty (especially susceptibility to bribery); use of a position of trust for dishonest gain

– Inducement (as of a public official) by improper means (as bribery) to violate duty (as by committing a felony)

I must admit that I did not quite expect the controversy that erupted from my earlier article here on corruption and morality. As I read the comments on it, I was amused, intrigued and irritated. The people that irritated me are the ones who did not bother to fully read and understand my article in context. In this group are those who claim (among other things) that I am corrupt, I encourage corruption or have succumbed to it, not to mention the censorship freaks.

All the people who argued against the thesis of the article did not address its central argument of morality application in the context of force. It is important to be fully conscious of this foundational issue if you are to argue intelligently. I would like the naysayers to state what is logically wrong with the principle that when another person uses force against you, the obligation to follow the normal rules of morality is no longer applicable with respect to that specific situation. In other words, how can you talk about morality when the conditions for “normal morality” (i.e. absence of force) no longer exist?

If Angola sends troops to invade Zambia, would it make sense for us to sit and be butchered because it is supposedly immoral to send our fighter planes to bomb our neighbour (with the loss of innocent lives)? Imagine if that was the logic used during the time of Hitler, Mussolini and the Japanese. In times of peace, it would obviously be immoral and wrong to bomb Angola. So the idea that corruption is wrong, no matter what the circumstances, is obviously senseless (and rather silly) when you understand it from the angle of force.

Just south of our border, we have a tinpot despot called Robert Gabriel Mugabe who has turned Zimbabwe into a personal chiefdom where he rules supreme. The SADC and African Union leadership has failed miserably to sort him out but they keep claiming that “African problems need African solutions”. What stupidity! The situation there no longer falls under the normal rules of morality because Mugabe does not respect human rights and is using force against his own people.

So I find it ludicrous that Morgan Tsvangirai, Thabo Mbeki and other hopeless African leaders keep advocating going back to the negotiation table to talk endlessly while people are starving and dying everyday. What nonsense! Mugabe needs to be overthrown by all means necessary including (but not limited to) nationwide street protests, full-blown economic sanctions, expulsion from SADC and AU, invasion by other countries or covert assassination plot funded by the American CIA and British MI6.

I know a certain person that bought a piece of land for farming but could not obtain title deeds to the land for over ten years (this is not an exaggeration). More than half of that period was during Levy Mwanawasa’s tenure by the way. Their file kept getting lost or the person who was signing the papers was attending a workshop or there was a funeral for some director, etc. This person steadfastly refused to pay any bribes and they paid dearly for it because during that period, they could not develop the land for fear that it could get repossessed anytime since it was legally not theirs. They suffered many economic hardships as the money they had earmarked for their farming projects ended up being used for living expenses. They even ended up selling some of their property just to get by.

The idea that I am succumbing to corruption when I am being held to ransom just does not make sense. I reiterate that when force is used against you, it no longer makes sense to talk about morality. I had a Nigerian Christian friend who had to bribe people in his country just to get a visa to go study in England. He would not have got it any other way no matter what he did.

I am amused at how naïve people can get when they talk about how we can easily eradicate corruption in Zambia. They fail to realise that the whole corruption thing is an “ecosystem” to borrow a word from one of the comments on my earlier article. Firstly, the police are corrupt so how do they even arrest offenders? The courts are full of underpaid overworked people. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is also staffed by people that can be bought. As we learnt from the era of former president Frederick Chiluba, Ministers and even presidents can be totally corrupt. How do you kill an entire ecosystem like that? By praying and confessing to God? Give me a massive fat break!

One question I wish everyone to ponder is whether paying someone at the passport office to get a passport in one day is wrong. Think about it. How long should it take to produce a passport? There is nothing complicated about it. It is just a bunch of papers, ink and plastic put together by a machine. So why should it take a week or a month to get a passport? Did you know that it takes less time to produce a brand new Mercedes Benz S-Class car with thousands of complex parts than it takes to produce a Zambian passport?

The truth is that the officers at the passport office (registration card office, road traffic, lands department, etc.) deliberately slow down things so that people get frustrated and offer to pay them to fast forward the process. Even if there is an express service, it is still useless if it takes days. So if I pay some clerk K300,000 and get my new passport in one day (which is actually the “normal” time it should have taken in the first place), is that really corruption?

Federation for Free Trade Union of Zambia (FFTUZ) President, Joyce Nonde has challenged the youths in the country to stand up and be proactive if they are to take up positions in politics.

Mrs. Nonde said the youths in the country are not given leadership position because they are dormant and luck understanding on issues.

She said young people need to be proactive and change there attitudes and face the challenge in order to be leaders.

Mrs. Nonde said politicians need maturity but that most youths in the country lack that and are therefore used by politicians for violence purposes.

And the Global Justice Zambia has implored politicians in the country to learn from America and groom the youths if Zambia was to develop politically, economically and socially.

Global Justice Zambia Executive Director John Phiri also said Zambia risks being in a leadership crisis if youths were not groomed to take up political leadership in the country.

He said there is need for old politicians in the country to groom the new generation that could push the country forward.

He said for a long time now, youths have been used by older politicians only as agents of violence and political hooliganism.

Mr. Phiri said this in an interview with ZANIS at the American centre after giving a presentation of his observation of last year’s United States historical election where he represented Zambia as an international election observer.

He said there was need for politicians to invest in the youths, who are future leaders, adding they should only involve them in issue based politics.

He said politicians should put in place a deliberate policy that will ensure that the youths were prepared for leadership transition.

Mr. Phiri added that politicians should not look at the youths as threats but as partners in the development of the country.

He said the United States has shown the world, including Zambia, that investing in young people will result in social, political and economic development.

ZANIS/GP/KSH/ENDS.

The National Pensions Scheme Authority, NAPSA, has recorded a 45 per cent increase in contributions collected exclusive of penalties and an overall increase in net assets of 20 percent.

Labour and Social Security Minister Austin Liato, who confirmed the development in a ministerial statement made in parliament today on the 2007 Financial Statements, said the scheme recorded an overall increase in net assets of 4 percent as a result of revaluation gains.

Mr Liato explained that the Pension Scheme recorded an increase of about K1.7 billion while Provident Fund recorded an increase of about K288.3 billion.

He further explained that the National Pension Scheme which had a total number of 18,563 registered employers and a cumulative membership of 985,747 as in 2007, the scheme’s monthly average collection stood at K35.1 billion.

He disclosed that NAPSA paid-out K24.8 billion as lumpsum benefits to its retired members, while a total of K3.7 billion was paid in form of pensions adding that another K20.1 billion was paid to beneficiaries under the repealed Zambia National Provident Fund.

Mr Liato further disclosed that NAPSA’s investment portfolios as at 2007 for the pension scheme recorded K510.4 billion in treasury bills, while K884.9 billion was recorded in government bonds, adding that another K102 billion was recorded in term deposits.

He added that K77.9 billion was recorded in equities and a K32 billion was further recorded as fixed interest securities.

Mr Liato also disclosed that NAPSA’s investment portfolios for the provident fund as at 2007 stood at K35.5 billion in treasury bills, while K37.9 billion was recorded in government bond and a K7.7 billion was recorded in term deposits and a further K118.3 billion was recorded in equities.

He added that K108.3 billion was recorded in fixed interest securities.

He said NAPSA has diversified its investment portfolios from the traditional Bank deposits to investment in real estate development and participation in the equity market.

Mr Liato said the move was done in line with government’s policy of safeguarding members’ funds and promoting projects that contribute to social and national development.

He has since reaffirmed government’s continued commitment to the prudent management and utilization of NAPSA funds with a view to creating efficiency and transparency in the sector.

ZANIS/TK/ENDS/SJK