THE United Party for national Development (UPND), among various stakeholders, have welcomed Government’s decision to suspend the Patriotic Front (PF)-dominated Lusaka City Council (LCC) for alleged irregularities in allocation of plots.
The MMD, the National Restoration Party (NAREP), Committee of Citizens (CC), Transparency International Zambia (TIZ), Leadership in Development (LID) and Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) are among organisations that have agreed with Government’s action which will also include investigations on how over 100 plots were allocated.
They say that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) should ensure that the law takes its course.
Out of 102 plots, the councillors got 45, with 10 of them to the mayor while the deputy mayor got five plots. Members of the public were allocated 11 plots.
UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma appealed to the ACC to ensure that individual culprits are investigated on the alleged corruption.
Mr Kakoma said the law is very clear on how a person involved in corruption should be dealt with.
[pullquote]“It’s the PF and UPND councillors and members of Parliament who include Mr Lubinda himself that are running the Lusaka City Council, so what has he got to say about this,” Mr Nyangu said.[/pullquote]
He said, however, that it would have been better to suspend individuals implicated in the scam.
The MMD has said the ACC must investigate the matter and has demanded that the implicated political parties and individuals provide serious answers.
MMD acting national secretary Chembe Nyangu said: “The MMD would specifically address its demands to the PF spokesperson Mr Given Lubinda who is also the Zambia chapter chairperson for the African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (APNAC). We have mentioned Mr Lubinda because not only is he PF spokesperson, he has also been using his portfolio at APNAC to issue unnecessary criticisms and insults on the MMD and His Excellency President Rupiah Bwezani Banda in particular,” Mr Nyangu said.
He said the MMD is challenging Mr Lubinda to shed more light on his alleged corruption over land allocations and that of his party.
“It’s the PF and UPND councillors and members of Parliament who include Mr Lubinda himself that are running the Lusaka City Council, so what has he got to say about this,” Mr Nyangu said.
Mr Nyangu said Mr Lubinda should shed more light on the plots he has acquired since he became MP on a PF ticket in 2006.
“Can Mr Lubinda tell the public about the position he took during the council meeting which resolved to discipline two erring officials allegedly involved in fraudulent land allocations. Mr Lubinda should convincingly distance himself from the land scam,” the statement reads in part.
CC executive director, Gregory Chifire said it is disappointing that councillors in the PF-dominated council have allegedly allocated plots to themselves.
He said the CC is particularly disappointed that PF Kabwata MP Given Lubinda who sits on the APNAC did not discourage his fellow party members in the council from allegedly allocating plots to themselves.
“This just shows that the PF has no capacity to run the country. If they have failed to run the council how can they be trusted to run the national resources,” he asked.
Mr Chifire challenged the PF to tell the nation what action the party will take against its councillors implicated in the scam.
LID executive director Moses Kalonde said that in 2006 the PF-led LCC promised to change the face of city but it has failed to do so.
“They promised that within 90 days, they would improve the running of the council but today they are the ones involved in the alleged illegal land allocations,” he said.
[pullquote]“They promised that within 90 days, they would improve the running of the council but today they are the ones involved in the alleged illegal land allocations,” he said.[/pullquote]
He said the council has not contributed anything to the development of Lusaka.
NAREP president Elias Chipimo said the law should take its course and he appealed to the government to extend investigations of corruption to all areas of governance.
TIZ president Rueben Lifuka said the scam is of grave concern.
Mr Lifuka said it is also of concern that there was alleged false use of council resolutions by some councillors and chief council officers in the creation of plots.
He recommended for a broader probe into the land allocation by councils as TIZ believes such a scam could be a nation-wide problem.
SACCORD information officer Obby Chibuluma said that the suspension of LCC should serve as a warning to other municipalities not to engage in illegal activities.
Mr Chibuluma said in an interview on January 22 that the suspension of the council signifies bad leadership by the councillors.
He said members of the public expect leaders to be transparent and accountable in their operations.
Mr Chibuluma said councillors are supposed to exhibit good leadership by serving the people and not treating the council as a personal-to-holder institution.
“It is unfortunate such a thing has happened because we expect councillors to be accountable and transparent and not behave as if the council is a personal-to-holder institution.
“It is a good move taken by Government to suspend the council and let it serve as a warning to other councils not to engage in illegal land allocation,” Mr Chibuluma said. He said the said plots in Lilayi were supposed to be advertised to allow members of the public an equal chance to acquire them.
[pullquote]“It is unfair and unfortunate that ordinary members of the public who are the voters that put these leaders in office find it almost impossible to acquire even the small pieces of land, when those that are supposed to be leaders and service providers are busy sharing plots,” he said.[/pullquote]
Operation Young Vote (OYV) executive director Guess Nyirenda said the government should repossess the plots and advertise them for the public to apply for them.
Mr Nyirenda said the law-breakers should be severely punished to deter other councillors from possibly doing the same thing.
“It is unfair and unfortunate that ordinary members of the public who are the voters that put these leaders in office find it almost impossible to acquire even the small pieces of land, when those that are supposed to be leaders and service providers are busy sharing plots,” he said.
On January 21, Government suspended the LCC for 90 days with immediate effect for allegedly illegally allocating land to itself without following the law governing the allocation of land.
Minister of Local Government and Housing, Brian Chituwo who announced the suspension, has appointed Mr Solomon Finandi Sakala, the Copperbelt Provincial Local Government officer as the administrator.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Scandal after scandal.Thats what defined PF. No one is spared beginning from the President down to his MPs, councillors and the so called PF grassroots.No wonder UPND has resolved to come out clean.
PF is a very funny party .I have always thought there is no difference between MMD and PF .This scandal just goes to confirm my long suspicions .People of zambia,2011,lets vote for real change in HH.
The thieves have been exposed. What more if they are to be exposed to the kind of wealth FTJ was exposed to? surely they would streap this country completely naked, N ‘way God is good he exposes liars and crooks in good time so that people are warned not to entrust National leadership in wrong crooked hands.
#1
should read: defines PF
Why is it corruption is real and terrible if it involves members of the opposition parties? Mabenga chewed millions he is still like nothing happened. William violence banda has been involved in illegal & violent plot grabbing in Lusaka but as usual no one condemned his acts.
We know and can see through these hollow schemes by the MMD govt
Corruption must be condemned despite the political shades of who is involved.
Given Lubinda is the main culprit, he has chains of land in Lusaka ranging from Namakau Hse in Kabwata, lilayi, Makeni, in different names. He talks clean but sleeps in dirty corruption
#1 and 4 no worries, no need for spell checks,as long as the message is clear.
#5
If u are caught in the act it doesn t help to say last week or last month my neighbour did this and that but was not caught. its u we have caught, in this case LCC has a responsibillity to serve the people of LSK and not to be sharing plots. Whilst it is true that Councillors and MPs are entitled to plots as and when they are available, the sharing of almost the whole piece of land is not only immoral but criminal against those who elected these thieves. Are u telling me that for the past 4 yrs these Cllrs and Mps have been in the Council they have not been allocated their entitled plots? The new mayor has been selling Plots the proof is there. The former Mayor Chikwelete had for a long time been a thief of land/plots. Awe PF must improove the callibre of its members
Nanga Membe emupsako angati mapuloto kuti ankhale zii, osalabila kanthu?
# 8..Corruption is still a cancer to the nation regardless of who is involved, whether it was committed last year or today. What is annoying is the selectivity when it comes to action taken. Govt is quick to act if opposition members are suspected and looks away if MMD is suspect.
If PF councillors are involved in illegal plot allocations they must be made to account for their actions.
The point is, there has to be zero tolerance to corruption across the board
This is money on your pocket Satan preaches about. It’s just like at home if your father insults so will kids do the same. In PF manifesto stealing is number one. The pipo of Zambian, I have told you before to stop wasting your time listening to those politicians as I will never do what they are saying now. They just want you to vote for them!
I thought it is government and NOT a political party’s duty to deal with erring govt officials. So what is this nonsense that the PF/Lubinda should deal with these council official. If Minister of Local Government and Housing, Brian Chituwo, has the constitutional powers to suspend councilors, what is stopping him from mating out punishment too? PF is not in govt, it is therefore ridiculous to dare Mr Lubinda to do something about these erring LCC officials!!
If PF as a Party wants to deal with them again so be it. But LCC and everybody who reports to work under this umbrella is part of the current govt—PF, MMD, UPND, FDD, or whatever!! So it is incumbent upon the current govt to ensure that all councils are run properly. Despite all his titles, it is NOT GIVEN LUBINDA’S JOB!!!
The cornerstone in this matter is that the suspension is pending investigations about who is involved and any efforts to pin down a person before investigations are concluded or make it an MMD vs PF battle will undermine the credibility of the whole effort.
Don’t rush. Conclude investigations first, then pin down culprits later on.
As PF I would like to state that we do not condone corruption of any sort. If these individuals are found wanting it definately does not represent what our party stands for, but the element if the individual.
However we strong oppose persecution of opposition, be it UNIP, FDD, UPND or even ourselves regradless.
Please let us not get over excited with this until the facts are laid bare and proven.
Long live PF, long live UPND, long live Pact, Long live mother Zambia. Michael Sata for President of the republic of Zambia 2011
It’s easier for a learned community to expose these land scandals and quickly take action , but in rural settings public land is shared with impunity. Ndeke Airport land has been shared by those in authority in Mazabuka, depriving the rightful owners, the government is fully aware. Is this because it’s an ‘ MMD ‘ stronghold .
What about the plots in Chongwe we were stripped off our cash why dont they suspend Chongwe and Kafue also?????????????
The problem we have is that everything in Zambia is political! If there people who have ”stolen land” then let the competent people handle the matter objectively and the nation be informed accordingly. Last time the nation was told that the Post boss had ”stolen” millions of dollars todate the nation has not been told anything apart from the usual..invistigations are still on going!
all you people saying sata should pave way for a young leader stop wasting your time we know the young leader you mean is hh, there is no way sta can give 4 provinces on a silver plate to someone who only controls one province……i would rather we get someone else like chirwa, bob sichinga, given lubinda etc,,if at all sata gives way to hh for the pact president then better we continue with mmd and rb….no where in the world a leader with larger following giving way to a someone with a smaller following….hh should stop his greedness and give sata a chance otherwise mwailasha, it will not happen, never!!!!!!
#18 HOW MANY PROVINCE DO CHIRWA, BOB SICHINGA OR LUBINDA CONTROL? DONT SHOW YOUR PERSONAL HATRED FOR HH.
HH is young in politics…the implication is the greedy is better paid with nothin #19. Any way viva PACT. DONCHI KUBEBA
This is what defines PF leadership, they cant think of anything to say about these allegations. In fact we are still waiting for the reponse to RBs allegations of misuse of funds in PF councils as promised by Sata. aahhh PF kaponyas, no vision to develop zambia to talk about only a 90 day miraculas development with PF kaponyas waking to find manee in their pockets, wife beaters and genocidal priests in the forefront while another conman fake preacher escapes justice in the USA and heads PF rallies, scandle after scandle with no response. On the CB we typical hipocritical PF behaviour with Kambwili because his companies are not give preferential supply contracts with the mine, he is now concentrating his energies on the mine forgetting roads, hospitals are in falling into dereliction.
HH the experienced loser should change his party,s name from UPND (united propagand for national damaging) to T T P ( TONGA TRIBAL PARTY) that way he will be true to his people, but remember alot of our Tonga brother and sisters believe in one zambia one nation.let s keep the fire burning
KC 21 =#
SATA HAS LOST TWICE AND SO HAS HH, CAN YOU IMAGINE GORDON BROWN COMING BACK FOR RE-ELECTION NO WAY NO CHANCE SO BOTH HH AND BLACK ARE VERY EXPERIENCED LOSERS WHO SHOULD GIVE IT UP, AGE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT
n# 18.. john phiri.
You sound like you are living in the old days! By the way who is a big loser if SATANA don’t pave a way for HH and he HH wish to go it alone? Who have more years to contest elections??? hahahahaha..SATANA is UNIP/MMD. We can not repeat the same old folks!!!!. Be aware that SATANA will never ride on a back of HH, the young man is too smart for that. No HH No change….PERIOD!!!!!
DELETED AFTER FIVE COMPLAINTS
I am underwhelmed by Kabimba’s position on this matter, as reported in The Post. He essentially sees it as an MMD tactic to weaken PF. He also claims Dr. Chituwo has also used his official influence in Mumbwa to obtain land. So, if Dr. Chituwo ‘steals’, PF has to, also? is this the Change We Can Believe in? If a lawyer like Kabimba can’t see the alleged conflict of interest in such issues, then Zambia owes FTJ an apology. Whatever happened to carrying out fiducial duties with fear and trembling! I have been a secret admirer of Kabimba’s, based on his mostly sensible statements in the media, but now I know chinangwafye nankwe. Lubinda is usually reasonable. I can’t wait to hear what he says
these Pf will do anything to win. even if it means setting zambia ablaze. it seems everything go for them
# 22 .advise yr old satan serpent to change party PF ( Foolish Bemba Party- FBP) if u wish. Tongas are too smart for u chaps to attempt riding on their backs, beter try your YES BWANA easterners.Yr hatred for Tongas shows tat useless monkey tricks have failed to earn you a livings in Southern province.
F”K yr as.hole..!
#22 &28 let’s not reduce ourselves to such levels, there better ways of expressing our emotions.
let hh and sata go it alone, we will see who is going to come third..
by the way if hh loses this years elections we are going to forget about him just like we will to sata, we have more fresh ideals like milupi, mutati, chipimo, chirwa, lubinda and the likes.
#28 you very fooolish don’t give us your uselesss names, its you who is a yes bwana…kupwalala!!!
iwe chi n# 30 John Phiri… you are very dull!!! the point is not about comin third in elections, it’s about who is a big loser in the case of HH and SATANA in these coming elections if chi SATANA don’t pave a way for HH!! get to understand that HH will still contest even in 2016….and by then SATANA will be a bad history to our children!!
iwe chi #32 ndiwe chippuba wavela, hh if he loses this year’s elections he will also be big loser we will forget about him, we will for others with fresh ideals not ma oppoturnists bana bwalela pa malilo!!!
in 2016 we don’t want losers those whose ideals the zambians keep rejecting.
n# 33
when did you ever voted for HH??? you sound childish..!! people who vote for HH they will still vote for him in even in 2016-2021 untill he becomes our president. it’s only you who won’t vote!
you are calling my president ati satana, don’t think that we don’t know how to do it, we can also write ma rubbish just like you are doing….keep enjoying the support in southern province we see how your hh( hakaivotele haka) is going to rule zambia. my advice is that let him stand as an mp in choma!!!
i voted for hh in 2006 but i have seen how f00lish some support of upnd have become….plus the slongan (only a tonga should replace mazoka is still fresh in our minds though voted him).. i am now working with the winning team pf, i will camp in easterner province for 6 months just to make sure sata gets the desired votes from there.
PF Mwacilamo, too much corruption, I wonder when you come to power it will be sangwapo, what a den of thieves in a party. Wake up Zambians thieves have now re-grouped in PF and want to rule us. Their MPs have been involved in a lot of scandles e.g Mushili saga where he swindled ministry of Defence, failure by MPs to retire imprest, Sata’s children drug trafficking saga, and many more. MMD is full of thieves the same as pf, what next bana baesu.
As for central, North-western, Western and Southern will never vote for these thieves.
These thieves are not there to serve us but to share our little resources, Got forbid.
Zed politicians are ALL the same! We’re condemning PF today but MMD politicians have equally been involved in the illegal and lucrative practice of irregular land aquisition. That’s not to say these guys don’t have a right to own land but it’s the greedy manner in which they do so at the expense of millions of other deserving Zambians!
““They promised that within 90 days, they would improve the running of the council but today they are the ones involved in the alleged illegal land allocations,” he said.” End quote.
Did you honestly believe that?? lol
! yr on, the drainage project remains unfinished! Kanshi they r sharing mapuloto!!! kekekekeke Thieves
#41 is meant to be “1yr on”.
@@ 36 iwe ka john phiri … ka jonhy kako, why hide in an easterner name when we can tell you are a bemba who have so much heart for other tribes es[ecially tongas, the issue here is not about HH but that your party PF ( PARTY for Fieves) is a disgrace from your head sata to your councillor its scandles after scamdles, we dont hear the sort of rubbish in UPND that characterises PF, so dont sway the bloggers from the topic deal with it, your party stinks corruption, i cant wait for UPND to pull out. any way by next year this time sata will be bad history of zambia
sorry i meant to say hurt
Is that true that HH is finally out, if so that is great news! The Zed is ready for a new page! hopefully!
OCTOPUS PAUL BWALYA
you hate bembas mambala, no wander they ca not vote for hh and your upnd.
I dont think the whole council needs to be suspended. That is a political move. There are culprits who can be identified so these are the ones who should be facing the music. And in a corruption case the political party does not have to issue statements. We have seen it in the UK Both opposition and ruling party MPs have been found with cases to answer over corrupt practices. None of the parties have come out to defend the culprits;The law must take its course. Period
Fatherless Bwalya and his red card cant speak on this issue for him its okey. Corruption in PF is welcome not RB. Father Bwalya any comment?
Arrest the greedy thieves. They were taking land for Xmas bonus. Corruption at its best, in LCC PF grouping.
wapya munzi basa..!!
The investigations must be extended to Chongwe Council where we applied for land and later none of us were successful. It was rumoured that the Councilors together with party cadres shared the plots. What is happening to this country kanshi! Ba PF have been castigating govt on corruption and yet they are the architecs of corruption themselves. What a shame! How can we vote for them? Imagine what would happen if they were mandated to rule this country! God forbid. They have effectively decampaigned hemselves. No wonder the PF manifesto has been so difficult to comprehend. It is as empty as the thieving councilors themselves.
What is the cause of this rotten practice? How can we avoid future accurances?
WHAT IS STRANGE IS THE QUIETNESS OF THE POST ON THIS ISSUE. CORRUPT MMEMBE HAS NOT SAID ANYTHING YET HE CLAIMS TO BE FIHTING FOR THE POOR MASSES. WHAT RUBBISH. AND THE MOST ANNOYING THING IS THAT PEOPLE IN LUSAKA AND THE COPPERBELT HAVE BEEN BRAINWASHED BY MMEMBE’S PROPAGANDA. WAKE UP, YOU EDUCATED PEOPLE. WHERE IS YOUR POWER OF ANALYSIS
# 52 Mopawo, the cause for this ill practice is the jackle, hyena mentality. It is all about greed!
Given Lubinda is also guilty of this land thieving. Some plots have been given to the girl working HERE at the airport (girlfriend). Right now he is in damage control excercise trying to change the name of the recipient of the plots from Ireen .We also want plots as citizens of this country.We cant all be his girfriends for us to get the plots.We dont even want to be his girlfriends because of his AMALWELE !
The Post must stand up on this issue and bring out all the nonse PF councilors have done on land allocation. Corruption is corruption whether in government or opposition. It must be condemned with the same message, vigor and strength. What pains most of us is the selective application of who to write about in the media. I have come to detest both our Public and Private media. They all don’t mean well for this country.
INADEQUACY ON THE PART OF LAW
The law must be revised in as far as plot allocation is concerned. Those(councillors) that approve the allocatoin of plots should have their applications submitted somewhere else(maybe DDCC) for approval cleary stating that the applicants are councilors with other additional information inter alia how many plots they already have. This is serious conflict of interest.
In the meantime let the current law deal with the culprits.
@ 53 Selective journalism has engulfed our media houses. There is nothing professional any more in the way things are reported.
The media, especially the private media has done nothing but promote hatred. We cannot allow this negativity to grow into a cancer that will become incurable in the end. We have to stop it now. The Post has become extremely irritating nowadays. All they do is personalised reporting. I would like to tell them that no matter how much they promote a selected party, if it is not destined to win the elections, then it will not happen. Do not damage our country with your useless agenda. We want to continue as a united people. Maybe you have somewhere else to go. We the Zambians are saying NO to this NONSENSE. We are tired of your sensionalised reporting. Stop it now.
I HAVE TIME AND AGAIN WARNED MY FELLOW ZAMBIANS THAT PF IS WORSER THAN MMD IN EVERYTHING, CORRUPTION NAME THEM! NEVER VOTE FOR THESE CROOKS MALABISHI
NI HH FOR PRESIDENT IN 2011….VIVA UPND…VIVA…HH
My worry is why did the MoLGH act from the minutes since all council minutes are made public and these allocations were recorded in the said minutes? It had to take a sacked director to spill the beans why?
Every person has a degree of dishonesty in him/her.It just differs in individuals.Who would’nt want a plot for himself honestly?What matters are the controls and deterents we have in place.Given an opportunity anyone would steal including preacher men!What we need to work on are the controls.PF,UPND,MMD,NAREP….if they were in the councils with such weak controls they would definetly do the same.
THE POST SHOULD BE TOLD THAT A WRONG IS A WRONG. A WRONG SHOULD NOT BE CALLED A RIGHT WHEN IT IS COMMITTED BY A CERTAIN SECTION OF SOCIETY. WHEN MMD,PF OR UPND COMMITS A WRONG SAY SO WITH A BIG HEADLINE AND NOT OTHERWISE
On “Minister of Local Government and Housing, Brian Chituwo who announced the suspension, has appointed Mr Solomon Finandi Sakala, the Copperbelt Provincial Local Government officer as the administrator why is it an Easterner Sakala again being appointed. The tribalism exhibited by MMD of RB Banda is worrying.
Anyway, we just have a few months before things are made better by us voters.
As for the UPND Team, keep it up. PF had started growing wings but UPND is cutting them to size nicely as Decision 2011 draws near.
Be blest all.
_
Matt 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.
PF GIVE THEM A YARD THE TAKE A MILE. ARE THESE TH PIPO TO TRUST WITH INSTRUMENT OF POWER HELL NO. MERZAF, AVONDALE SCANDALS DO THEY RING A BELL
Very disappointing indeed. Believe me, what scares me is not Sata ( the man of action) but the people around him. He can do the job but i wish he had the caliber of people surrounding HH. On the other hand, HH will be like Chiluba because though not talkative, believe me he has brains of a master dribbler. No wonder i should emphasise on voting for the right MP’s because those will shape the president.
Corruption is o ova, what we need is a govt that will get our natural resources and distribute them equally, problem with us zambians we vote using our tribes, poverty levels, dependentia syndrome instead of looking at capable individuals who can deliver and will listen to us. WHY DO WE FEAR POLITICIANS SO MUCH. I have seen pipo in bars freezing before an mp mere mp when the chap is suppossed to answer from you xxxxxxxs
So if Mumba Flo is to be investigated no one speaks aloud. If kafupi is to be investigated no one speaks out…why do we have to condenm a group that want to bring emancipation to our loving zambia? is it because some of us have no jobs? We rely on brown envelops to feed and dress our families? Well…tell me who in the MMD government is not corrupt …i bet none and thats the reason we want our peace loving zambia to get back to its feet by riding zambia or looters. PEACE.DONTCH KUBEBA!
DONCH KUBEBA in bakawalala chituwo tuma kapokola vimangeni.Where is chi dings deeper chanu PPFP meaning post patrotic frant paper it is de most corrupt paper so far in zambia,where de pipo represented from ths paper ba MMD na ba UPND chaya vima journalist va post useless marubbish post viva zambia
KEEP A GOOD JOB HH ED UPND WE THER FO U VIVA REAL CHANGE hahaha WAPYA MUNZI the hand In the front forward bane.
The hand in frant viva upnd viva HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH