GOVERNMENT has said Mr Martin Kalungu-Banda is not an advisor to President Mwanawasa and therefore his comments on the vulture fund court case in London did not represent the views of the state.
Chief Government spokesperson, Vernon Mwaanga, said in a statement in Lusaka yesterday that on February 16, Zambia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Anderson Chibwa, was authorised to write to the editor-in-chief of Newsnight programme of the BBC Television Centre, to correct the misleading report.
The High Commissioner was told to react to a statement, which quoted Mr Kalungu-Banda as an advisor to the Zambian President.
“I am now releasing Mr Chibwa’s letter to BBC for publication,” Mr Mwaanga said.
In the letter to the BBC, Mr Chibwa said Mr Kalungu-Banda was not President Mwanawasa’s advisor.
He said the report on the vulture fund threat to Third World countries on February 14, and Zambia’s loss of the vulture fund case sent on February 15, was factually incorrect in reference to Mr Kalungu-Banda as advisor to President Mwanawasa.
“Referring to recent statements in the news article, the BBC Newsnight has presented Mr Martin Kalungu-Banda as presidential advisor to the Zambian President, His Excellency Mr Levy P. Mwanawasa, SC.,†Mr Chibwa said.
“The High Commission of the Republic of Zambia in London wishes to correct the impression portraying Mr Martin Kalungu-Banda as an advisor to the President.”
Mr Chibwa said Mr Kalungu-Banda had no authority to pass comment on behalf of the Zambian government in this case.
 Daily- Mail.
Well done Kalungu..U may not be an advisor to the president, but you reperesented our Zed views well. The BBC did well to broadcast the item( apologies for mis-ID) and brought the plight of ordinary Zambians to the world, mostly caused by the vultures and selfish and irresponsible govts in Africa , Zambia in particular.
Viva Kalungu and BBC, Abash, corrupt govt and vultures
What is strange is that no kalungu-Banda is being disowned when for most of us we know that he is an advisor to the President. That is why after teh interview he was in Zambia. Some of us have seen him at State house when the President is having meetings and he works at State house, even has a business card showing that he is an advisor. If he has ceased being one, the respectiful thing for govt to do is to say that he was an advisor. It si making us beleive that he has never been when they know that he is. Sad story indeed. I agree viva Martin and abash fake politicians that have survived for over 30 years being fed by govts.
And this case also brings to the fore the extent of corruption in our systems. For those who have seen the Judgment you will see teh various names of people that have been mentioned and the roles they played. i will not be surprised if our govt fails to publish the judgment, as a lot of questions will be asked, like how did FTJ manage to get US$2M from the same Vulutres and how some people who were working for teh govt at the time found themselves working for the same vulture fund. Shameful indeed.
If someone had asked me to comment on the judgment I would have said similar things like Kalungu-Bnada because as a Zambian I am concerned taht there are fellow zambians tha are ready to sell our country. So there is nothing wrogn that Kalungu-Banda did. Who can comment on Zambia Vernon????????
It appears that this is still a sensitive matter. Ofcourse its difficult to trust anything Mwaanga says these days. Despite the validity of his sentiments, Martin didnt help matters by failing to steer clear of any association with Govt, real or perceived (assuming he knew that he wasn’t representing them any longer). Some people are overly driven by power and fame-seeking.
I think the report on bbc mentioned that Mr Banda as the former advisor to the President nothing wrong with that.
Recent reports highlight a misunderstanding concerning the appearance on BBC Newsnight of Martin Kalungu-Banda when that programme reported on the case between Zambia and Donegal International last week.
Oxfam are campaigning against the action which Donegal has taken and have been working with the BBC to bring the matter to international attention so that cases like this one can be prevented. Martin was offered to Newsnight as a spokesperson to speak as a Zambian citizen on behalf of Oxfam.
Newsnight knew that he had been a Special Consultant to the President but were aware that he is now a staff member of Oxfam. They made an error in referring to him as an advisor to the President.
The campaign has already had an impact. After seeing the BBC report, Congressman John Conyers in the USA has brought this case to the attention of President Bush who has indicated a willingness to tackle the issue.
Oxfam will be campaigning when the court reconvenes in March to decide the amount that Zambia must pay. Campaigners will be calling for Donegal not to take the money from Zambia where it is urgently needed to pay for more doctors, nurses and teachers.
let it be,
You poeple Mwanawasa is dead.