Suspend thieves, says RB

President Rupiah Banda is not happy that no attempt is made to suspend civil servants allegedly stealing public funds. Banda said this May 21 when he closed the sixth Zambia International Business Advisory Council (ZIBAC) conference in Livingstone.

He said instead of facilitating investigations by suspending those suspected of theft, it seems nothing is being done as the accused continue to freely serve in public office. He said transferring a person from one ministry to another does not solve anything at all but only shifts the problem.

“We have this problem of the K10 billion for which I have been attacked as President. I wasn’t there when they were stealing and building those mansions.
If you ask the Secretary to the Cabinet (Dr Joshua Kanganja who was present) or anyone of those who are responsible, the (suspects) are still sitting in the ministry right now,” he said.

Banda wondered why there has been no single attempt to suspend the suspects despite some of their property having been frozen by the Anti-Corruption Commission. He called for serious investigations into the matter and find out what was going on than just looking at the suspects.

“So you have the Patriotic Front having a hey day, you have The Post newspaper, the UPND (United Party for National Development), all of them saying it’s Rupiah Banda who caused all this. But Rupiah Banda was not even there, he was working with his gum boots at the farm. But the people who did this are sitting in the ministry today,” President Banda said.

He said he would like to see a situation where when one is caught stealing, that person is not allowed to continue serving but put aside until the matter is resolved.

“If someone is sitting on 10 cars and builds mansions, unless he says they are not his but belong to his grandfather, they should be put aside and investigated properly. Suspend all others who could have been there also,” President Banda said.

He said there is need to be tough with the manner with which public resources are being handled. He said allowing people with selfish motives to plunder public funds will make the current leadership fail to leave a legacy for posterity. He said there is a bad atmosphere in the country especially that there is a new President after the demise of President Mwanawasa.However, he said the bad atmosphere should not be there but instead everyone should be ready to work as one family regardless of class in society.

President Banda said ZIBAC has been helpful to Government such that it has brought to the fore the need to do more than what has been done and more especially on the need to implement the set recommendations.

“In order to implement recommendations, there must be harmony amongst all of us. Discussions help a lot. The private sector is our partner and without it we cannot resolve many of these problems we are facing,” Banda said.

And Lord Cairns said he did not want to interfere in the running of the country but that if there are civil servants or ministers who are not ready to move with President Banda’s vision, they should be changed. He urged President Banda to see to it that Cabinet and the civil service are accountable.