PEOPLE’S Alliance for Change (PAC) president Andyford Banda says President Edgar Lungu’s fight against corruption is stage-managed and selective.
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) entered a nolle prosequi, Tuesday, in a matter where former Intelligent Mobility Solutions (IMS) board chairman Walid El Nahas was jointly-charged with President Edgar Lungu’s former Press Aide Amos Chanda and former RTSA chief executive officer Zindaba Soko for corrupt practices.
In this matter, Nahas was charged with two counts of corrupt practices with a pubic ofiicer, whereas Soko and Chanda were changed with four counts of corrupt practices by a public officer and possession of property reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime.
Commenting on the development, Banda said the outcome of the case came as no surprise to Zambians as the PF government remained uncommitted in genuinely fighting corruption.
“The truth of the matter is that what happened yesterday (Tuesday) where the Director of Public Prosecution entered a nolle prosequi is not a surprise to us. We have noticed that President Lungu’s fight against corruption is stage-managed. It is not real! He just wants to squeeze some people so that they can be scared, maybe when he hears a rumour, but there is no commitment whatsoever. Why we say it’s stage-managed, also, is that if it was the opposition member, who was involved in those allegations, they would not have discontinued the case; they would have prolonged it for the longest time! I mean, we have seen NDC leader, Chishimba Kambwili, going to court almost every week apart from this time when we have Coronavirus,” Banda complained.
“So, President Lungu is not committed to fighting corruption, he just stage-manages it to show people that he is independent; it doesn’t matter who you are, you are going to be taken to court. But what is the end result of this corruption fight? Zero! So, we don’t have any hope and this leaves us in a desperate situation, as a country, that what is more important is change. There is no direction, whether he is fighting corruption or anything in this country! Nothing at all. We are just on auto-pilot.”
He said the PAC government would decisively deal with corruption.
“We cannot expect anything coming out from this PF government on the fight against corruption and everything else. So, let the clock tick, let us get to 2021 and let the people of Zambia change government so that we usher in a new government, new vision and new direction for the country,” Banda added.
“We have to ensure that once we form government, as PAC, we re-visit what is happening so that we can show examples of how not to get involved with corruption. We have to ensure that we punish the offenders and we ensure that not only do they pay back, but other people should also learn that when they are going to into government to learn that getting involved in corruption is something they should not entertain.”
He also said the change of government would equally help the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to properly conduct its investigation in all suspected corruption cases.
“ACC should not stop. I think they should not despair; they should carry on and they should just keep the files safely somewhere. The change of government is coming and their work is going to be paid off once things are changed. I think they should carry on by compiling files. They should not give up. Sometimes things change, they can try to take things to court if it fails where it is going. I know we don’t expect much from the PF, but they (ACC) shouldn’t give up, they should continue what they do to ensure that we have a foundation to start from when the next government forms,” said Banda.
