ZAMTEL has been at the center of a long protracted battle between government and its Libyan owners who government says acquired the firm illegally because they did not qualify to buy the company.

75 percent shares in the company were sold two years ago by the Rupiah Banda regime, for $38million while its actual value was estimated at $81 million, in a cloud of controversy and strong public opposition as allegations of corruption and irregularities sprung up and refused to die.

With a change in government last year, one of the first transactions that were placed under scrutiny and investigations concluded by the previous government was ZAMTEL which an inquiry established had been sold fraudulently resulting in the reversal.

A statement from President Sata’s office stated that the new owners of the company have been informed that the government had taken over the company using the appropriate laws available for such an action.

The government has also dissolved the board of directors at the firm and appointed a telecommunications consultant to take over as acting Chairman and Chief Executive of the company until the situation returns to normal.

It appears that the government intends to float the shares of the company on the Lusaka Stock Exchange once the legal wrangles are finalized to allow more Zambians to own shares in the company.

There was no immediate comment from the Libyan owners of the company, who stated previously that they would fight to the “bitter end” to ensure that their stake in the company is not forcibly taken over.

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Situmbeko Musokotwane who has been one of the strongest defenders of the flawed sale of the telecommunications firm, has insisted that the former government had not flouted any laws in the manner they sold the firm because they followed the correct procedures based on the advice they received.

The sale was concluded about two years ago and sold to a Libyan firm Lap GreenN which a commission of inquiry instituted by President Michael Sata has discovered was marred with corruption and irregularities.

The Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) a state-owned agency responsible for selling off state-owned firms conducted the actual sale of the firm which has now been widely condemned.

Among the irregularities discovered include the fact that Lap GreenN did not qualify to buy Zamtel because it failed three pre-qualification criteria, and should therefore have been disqualified from submitting a bid to buy the firm.

The selection of Lap GreenN is alleged to have been influenced by former President Banda whose son and former Communication Minister Dora Siliya are alleged to have taken center stage in orchestrating the sale.

But Musokotwane said any move to seize the company would result in Zambia losing millions of dollars because Lap GreenN had over the last two years invested more than 200 million dollars in the company which has seen the company become profitable once again.

He argued that Lap GreenN would be left with no choice but to seek legal intervention to get their investment back, so Zambia would stand to lose again.

But the government has dismissed Musokotwane’s arguments and instead state that the former Finance Minister should have thought about the cost to Zambia before engaging in a fraudulent sale of the firm.

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Speaking to the media, Scott said the current probe would not stop until all that had been stolen from the people of Zambia was returned to them.

Scott said the Patriotic Front (PF) government would now extend the investigations to include public contracts and procurements because from information available so far, it had become evident that these areas had been strongly influenced by corruption.

He cited instances where foreign contractors from South Africa and China were alleged to have been making “donations” to then ruling party Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) in exchange for the award of contracts as one area that would be thoroughly investigated.

According to the Zambian Vice-President, other allegation that had surfaced was that Chinese contractors in the road sector inflated their pricing for contracts, which the MMD influenced in their favor.

Once the contractors received payments from government, the difference was passed on to the MMD, which amounted to the MMD stealing government funds, he said.

Scott noted that it was wrong for the MMD to cry foul and accuse the PF government of vindictiveness because the best they could do was to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies.

There are growing calls for the arrest and prosecution of ex-president Banda as most of the alleged acts of corruption have been linked to him and his close family members, including his children and wife.

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Information minister Lubinda said the Patriotic Front (PF) government had no intention of regulating the media but would leave the media professionals themselves to come up with their own regulating mechanism.

Media regulation has been a controversial subject started by the previous government who wanted to introduce state regulation.

The media has always opposed that route, arguing that state regulation was aimed at muzzling the press and preventing highly critical privately-owned media houses from attacking the government.

Under state regulation, the administration of former head of state Rupiuh Banda had intended to issue practicing licenses to journalists who needed to meet certain academic criteria before being called a journalist.

In addition, the proposed state regulation would have had the power to jail journalists for publishing information the State deemed sensitive, but journalists opposed the proposals resulting in a long drawn out feud with the previous government.

Minister Lubinda said to further show its commitment to media freedom and reform, his ministry had set aside $2 million to set up an Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) that would be responsible for issuance of radio and television operating licenses among other things.

Currently all broadcast licenses are issued by the government who also have the power to revoke the licenses.

The previous governments had on many occasions suspended licenses for privately radio and television stations deemed to be too critical of the regime.

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Buttressing on need for legal assistance to the poor, Sata said he understood what it was like to be “thrown in jail” with no hope of redemption simply because one could not afford to hire a lawyer, which was a preserve for the rich.

It could be recalled that Sata has been in prison before.

The head of state called on Mwenye to ensure that the government Legal Aid that provides free legal services to those unable to hire a lawyer is revived.

The department has been operating with a critical shortage of lawyers who opt to work in the private sector, due to poor pay in the Legal Aid department.

Sata said he was pleased that the Ministry of Justice was now complete with a “deadly and formidable team” that he hoped will help bring speedy justice to those requiring it .

He also hoped the team will play an active role in bringing to book former leaders from the Banda regime that had been involved in acts of corruption and abuse of office.

Nchito was previously engaged as a private prosecutor by the government of the late President Levy Mwanawasa and helped convict several people in high profile corruption cases, including those involving late President Frederick Chiluba.

He was however later accused of several criminal and civil cases, none of which proved true, by former President Rupiah Banda, who also freed Chiluba from conviction, and instead accused Nchito of being unprofessional.

On the other hand, Mwenye was also until his current appointment the president of the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) the umbrella body that regulates the legal profession in Zambia.

However, he too faced hostility from the Banda regime, because of his many criticisms of the Banda government.

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President Sata reversed the sale when he took office two months ago.

Credit Suisse sought the intervention of international courts after the Zambian government under former President Rupiah Banda and the BOZ arbitrarily took control of FBZ in 2012 on allegations that the local bank had flouted financial laws.

Despite pleas from Credit Suisse and other shareholders in FBZ the central bank went ahead and sold off FBZ to a South African bank.

FBZ board chairman Rajan Mahtani told journalists on Tuesday that in appreciation for the sale reversal, Credit Suisse had withdrawn the court case and instead has committed itself to greater participation in Zambia’s economic development.

He said the whole process to hastily sell off FBZ by the previous government had been driven by malice and a desire to "punish" the bank’s shareholders such as himself.

The sale of FBZ was one of several controversial decisions that were taken by the Rupiah Banda administration which the Sata government has been reviewing.

A decision on the controversial sale of Zambia’s giant telecommunication company ZAMTEL that was sold to a Libyan company is currently under review, and is likely to be reversed as well.

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Sata said on Monday that the Banda regime contracted two foreign money printing firms to print the money.

He said Zambia normally uses one money printing company to print its notes and the process is regulated and controlled by the central Bank of Zambia.

Sata said the "counterfeit" money is in circulation all over the country, side by side with the regular notes.

He said it was unfortunate that his government had not been informed that additional money had been released into the economy by senior civil servants who served under Banda and are still in office.

The former ruling party the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) ran an extravagant election campaign that did not seem short of funds, leaving many wondering where the party had suddenly obtained funding from.

MMD has to date insisted that it funded its campaign from donations from well-wishers that it has so far refused to name.

Prior to the September elections, crisp new notes of various denominations of the Zambian Kwacha appeared in the economy and a few economic analysts questioned the name of the printing company appearing on the notes but they were brushed aside.

There was no immediate comment from Banda or the Bank of Zambia to Sata’s revelation but it is likely that the central bank will have to mop up the illegal notes from circulation.

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The death caused riots by residents of a squatter settlement called Kalingalinga where the incident occurred on Saturday when a police reserve on patrol opened fire at a night club where a fight had broken out killing one man instantly.

Angry residents took to the streets in protest and damaged several motor vehicles and the local police station forcing the police to use tear gas and rubber bullets to break up the riot.

But the Minister of Home Affairs Kennedy Sakeni told journalists on Sunday that it is unacceptable for the police to use live ammunition to end a fight in a night club.

Several civil society groups also condemned the police action saying they were supposed to protect lives and not end the lives of unarmed civilians.

In his response, the Inspector General of Police Martin Malama regretted the loss of life from the shooting incident and said the police are working hard to respect human rights of everyone.

The policeman involved in the incident has been charged with murder and would appear in court soon.

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Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon is an innovative partnership between the George W. Bush Institute, the U.S. Department of State President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) that leverages public and private investments and existing health infrastructures to combat cervical and breast cancer, the two leading causes of cancer deaths among women in Sub-Saharan Africa. The cervical cancer partnership will utilize the platform and resources at PEPFAR and will draw from lessons learned in the significant scaling-up of access to HIV interventions in recent years.

"Today I’m proud to announce that Zambia is the first country to implement a new effort to combat cervical and breast cancer in the developing world," said President Bush. It’s not acceptable to save a woman’s life from HIV/AIDS and watch her die from cervical cancer."

Joining President and Mrs. Bush, Dr. Kaseba and Ambassador Storella were Sr. Joseph Kasonde, Minister of Health, Zambia; Gary Cohen, Executive Vice President, Becton Dickinson; Katrina McGhee, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Susan G. Komen for the Cure; Dr. Sheila Tlou, Regional Director, UNAIDS and Dr. Julie Gerberding, President, Merck Vaccines.

Ambassador Storella said, "Zambia has the flagship program for screening and early treatment of cervical cancer in Africa. This additional funding and the support of the Government of Zambia will help prevent the terrible suffering due to cervical cancer across the country through prevention, early detection and treatment."

PEPFAR will contribute an additional $3 million U.S. dollars, and the Zambian Ministry of Health will dedicate nurses and clinic space to perform simple screening to highlight potential cancers at an early stage, when they can be treated on the spot before they progress.

The University Teaching Hospital Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, supported by the Centre of Infectious Disease Research, Zambia (CIDRZ) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), developed a program in 2005, to train nurses to perform a visual inspection technique and to take a picture of the cervix using a simple digital camera. This way it is possible to see even small lesions, and the findings can be confirmed by an expert panel.

In addition, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, will pilot vaccination of fourth-grade girls against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), the cause of nearly all cervical cancer.

An initial donation of Gardasil® HPV vaccine was made by Merck Inc., one of the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon corporate partners. The Ministry will seek to expand this program to reach high-risk districts through a program of vaccination and prevention messages. Susan G. Komen for the Cure, in partnership with Merck, will invest approximately $1.5 million over three years for cervical and breast cancer community sensitization and mobilization activities in Zambia. All activities will be under the direction and in partnership with the ministry of health and will be integrated as part of their efforts at a comprehensive cancer control plan. BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), another Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon corporate partner, will assist in supporting the School of Medicine in training in pathology and cytology.

Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon has commitments of $75 million over five years, and is expected to grow to include additional participants and services. The goals are to reduce deaths from cervical cancer by an estimated 25 percent among women screened and treated through the initiative, significantly increase access to breast and cervical cancer prevention, screening and treatment programs, and create innovative models that can be scaled up and used globally.

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Police and other law enforcement agencies carried out a raid at a farm owned by Austin Liato, who served as Labour Minister until three months ago when Rupiah Banda was defeated in elections.

Zambia’ s Inspector General of Police, Martin Malama confirmed the operation in which a search was conducted at the farm west of Lusaka, and two metal trunks were discovered after the search.

The two trunks which contained the money had been buried and the area was covered with a concrete slab, with a fortified electric wire fence surrounding the area.

The consignment was then taken to a location in Lusaka where police officers counted the cash in bundles of K50,000 ($10). After the count the total amount was discovered to be K2.1 billion.

President Sata said through his spokesman, George Chella that such “mafia style” of hiding cash by former government ministers did not augur well for the country as it was capable of sending a wrong message to the outside world.

He however said no stone would be left unturned to ensure that all money and properties that were looted under the previous government were returned to the Zambian people and culprits punished.

He warned those in the former president’s government who have been complaining of unfair harassment and persecution that the investigations had just begun, and would end only after each piece of property and money was accounted for.

Friday’s seizure adds to several other seizures that police have carried out that have included confiscating motor vehicles, bicycles and motor bikes found at the homes of former ministers.

Former President Banda has expressed surprise at the on-going investigations complaining that it was unfair that his former ministers were being subjected to persecution when he had handed over power to Sata peacefully.

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She was speaking on Wednesday during a stakeholders meeting called to discuss the way forward in providing more decent and affordable housing to the urban and rural poor.

She said the current housing policy drawn up in 1996 although well meaning had not been implemented and had now become obsolete and would need to be reviewed in order to come up with a policy that will reflect the current situation on the ground.

She said the majority of people in the country did not have access to decent housing, leading to the mushrooming of squatter settlements, particularly in the capital city which is completely surrounded by large unplanned settlements.

Nkandu said the shortage of housing also brought other negative conditions such as poor health as people living in unplanned areas often did not have clean water supply or sanitation facilities which escalated incidents of disease.

The minister also noted that providing affordable housing for the poor populations in the country was important for the Patriotic Front (PF) government because this was one of its campaign promises.

The PF swept into power on a pro-poor platform after receiving overwhelming votes mainly from the urban poor voters and unemployed youth, who identified with the party which promised to address the many challenges that these marginalized groups faced,

The minister said it was important for the government to work all stakeholders in order to arrive and housing financing methods that will take in the poor.

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Upon assuming office in September, President Sata appointed Justice minister Sebastian Zulu to head the Commission of Inquiry to investigate the sale process.

ZAMTEL was a state-owned firm sold to a company with links to slain Libyan leader Muammar Ghadaffi about two years ago by former President Rupiah Banda despite a huge wave of public disapproval.

Several interest groups that were opposed to the sale cited several irregularities in the sale of a 75 percent stakes to LAP Green of Libya but the public opposition was dismissed by Banda.

Presenting its findings on Thursday, Zulu said the investigation of the sale had proved that ZAMTEL had been fraudulently and irregularly sold by the previous government.

Zulu said, when he presented the report to Sata, that other irregularities included in the short listing of LAP Green as the final buyer because the buyer failed to meet three of the critical criterion for the sale but was still picked as buyer.

President Sata said when receiving the report that the full cabinet would decide whether to reverse the sale or allow ZAMTEL to continue running as it is.

It should be noted that if the government opts to reverse the sale, this will be the second company whose sale will be nullified by the Sata government.

The new regime also reversed the sale of a local bank, Finance Bank Zambia, that was irregularly sold to a South African bank by the Banda regime.

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Police Inspector General Martin Malama told journalists on Sunday that investigations had reached an advanced stage and several arrests were expected to take place in the next few days.

Malama who was recently appointed as police chief said the investigations had taken time to conclude because there were a number of allegations involving a number of former government officials which needed to be thoroughly investigated.

President Banda lost power in September’s presidential election partly because of allegations of corruption involving him, his sons and several of his former ministers and other high ranking officials.

According to the police, under Banda, the government entered into several transactions with foreign suppliers for the supply of various goods and services running into millions of US dollars, but without following laid down procedures.

There have been public calls that Banda and his inner circle be investigated for corruption which prompted the police chief to set up a task force to carry out the investigations.

He said the public needed to exercise patience as the police carried out their work, because the allegations were serious and required those incriminated to appear in court.

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Finance minister Alexander Chikwanda is expected to present the budget Friday, which many expect will provide clues as to the direction the Patriotic Front (PF) government intend to drive the national economy.

The United States ambassador to Zambia Mark C. Storella told journalists on Thursday that there is much anticipation in the first budget to be presented by the PF, because it would provide the party an opportunity to translate into reality the many campaign promises it had made.

The PF is also enjoying goodwill from the Western countries, some of whom like the United Kingdom (UK) have already pledged to increase financial support to the country.

Relations between Zambia and its Western donors had been strained under the Rupiah Banda regime who often launched scathing public attacks on Western diplomats accredited to Zambia claiming they were interfering with the country’s sovereignty.

The donors had often criticized the Banda regime for not vigorously fighting corruption, but with the coming in of Michael Sata as president, the donors have expressed happiness at the PF’s strong anti corruption message.

Analysts expect that the PF budget is likely to provide greater incentives that will make it cheaper to do business in the country, and also expect reductions in some of the many taxes that currently strangle several sectors of the economy.

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FRA executive director, David Matongo, told journalists that the agency hopes to raise 850 billion Zambian Kwacha (US$170 million) from the sales.

Matongo said $140 million (K700 billion) of the amount would be used to settle the agency’s debts with commercial banks.

The FRA obtained huge loans from a consortium of local banks at the start of the crop marketing season to enable it to buy maize and other crops from mainly peasant farmers across the country.

Matongo said in addition the agency needed to store up to 2 million metric tons of maize, but would require additional storage space to be able to do this.

The FRA is racing against time to collect the crop from peasant farmers across the country, before the rainy season begins (November to April).

Although Zambia has recorded bumper harvests of maize in recent years, most of the crop cannot be secured because the country lacks adequate storage facilities, resulting in tons of the crop going to waste once the grain gets soaked by rains.

The Michael Sata government has however promised to put an end to the cycle in which substantial quantities of the crop goes to waste each year because of late purchase of the crop by the FRA.

The FRA has said it had averted 60 percent of the crop that was destined for waste, after the change of government as the new government had worked round the clock to bring in as much crop to storage before the rains.

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