THE Registrar of Societies has rescinded the decision to de-register the MMD in the interest of good governance and democracy.
The MMD has engaged Hobday Kabwe & Company to help resolve the issue of close to K400 million in outstanding arrears from annual returns.
Registrar of Societies, Clement Andeleki, said Mr Kabwe had requested his office to see how best they could resolve the arrears which have accumulated since 1993.
He said in the interest of good governance and in order to prevent the declaration of 55 parliamentary seats vacant, his office would discuss other ways through which the K390 million could be settled.
“I have been approached by several stakeholders involved in good governance and democracy not to deregister the party as this would be an injury to the young democracy and the economy of the country more especially that we recently held elections,” he said.
He said his office had written several reminders to MMD from as far back as 1993 about its obligation to pay annual returns.
Mr Andeleki availed the Times of Zambia copies of the reminders which date back to 1993 with the most recent one being in 2007 when MMD was still in power.
He also availed the Times of Zambia copies of the application by the MMD to register 156 branches countrywide of which the Registrar of Societies gave the party certificates to this effect.
“All the documentation concerning these transactions is available and we have also forwarded the accumulated bills of the amount to the party lawyer who has since confirmed receipt,” he said.
He said the move was not politicall y motivated but was a requirement for the party to remit annual returns.
And copies of correspondence obtained by this newspaper indicate that the then Registrar of Societies in 1993, a Mr C.M. D. Zulu, wrote to the MMD on November 16, 1993 reminding the party that it had not submitted annual returns from the time it was registered on January 4, 1991.
“This circular serves to remind you to submit the same immediately failure to which will constitute penalties against office bearers,” the reminder read.
Another letter dated February 2, 2007 and signed by then Registrar of Societies, Jones Mwelwa, also reminded the MMD on the need to register its branches countrywide.
Mr Mwelwa said it was a legal requirement under Section 6 (1) of Cap 119 of the Laws of Zambia and SI No 48 of 2004, pursuant of rule No 22 of Section 38 of Cap 119 that all branches of registered societies or organisations, churches and political parties be registered by his office.
QFM
“This circular serves to remind you to submit the same immediately failure to which will constitute penalties against office bearers,” the reminder read
ONE MMD OFFICIAL CAME OUT IN PUBLIC LAST MONTH SAYING NO THE STORY WAS NOT TRUE BECAUSE MMD HAD BEEN REMITTING ITS DUES…I CHALLENGE THAT SAME GUY TO COME OUT IN THE OPEN AGAIN……MMD WERE JUST PLAIN CROOKS
How can a sane person de-register mmd? Even those selling water in plastics at KMB can’t think of such a thing
You are not suggesting that we must stop observing the law. This is not personal but a legal requirement. If eventually that’s what it will come to, that MMD be deregistered, so be it
This is a good idea so that the batch of thieves are kept in one place that is transparent to all. It will also be easier to fish them out when there are labelled MMD. The tag should continue as PF continue to put issues on the table. Not even the BRE issue should take the attention from fighting corruption and getting back stolen public resources.
Dont tell me this guy was serious about deregistering MMD. I thought it was one of those jockes. Deregistering MMD??????????????????????? Countrymen lets be serious.
@4, Tonga Bull,
MMD is a legally registered Party and should therefore operate within the confines of the Law. It is not Mr Andeleki to decide werther to de-register MMD or not. Much as I agree with the Registra, I see a bad precedent being set here. What will happen to our democracy if the other small parties start behaving like MMD? And some of you where quick at saying Sata want to kill our democracy. Shame
Law ni law. It should be adhered to by everyone.
This Andeleki is silly. He has rescinded his decision becos he has realised that the man in State House was part of MMD and at the helm of the Party’s National Secretariat, Let him say the truth instead of hiding in good governance which never occurred to him the time he was making that announcement. Awe mwandi tubantu twina situfunika certain postions cos they r dreamers.
What I understood from previous articles on LT about this subject is that it was only the BRANCHES of MMD that had not paid registration fees whereas registration fees had been paid at the national level. In this case, de-registering the entire party should never have been a question since the MMD was (and still is) registered at the national level. As for declaring the seats vacant, this would have been nothing short of an ADMINISTRATIVE COUP and surely illegal since the candidates ran on the MMD’s national ticket, not MMD Kalomo or whatever.
Therefore seems to me this registrar is silly man mainly interested in scoring points with his PF masters….. but, true to PF form, not having thought things through very well.
You risk being isolated internationally is you want to close out the opposition.
Andeleki should be fired. I thought he knew Sata has run out of ‘MMD stock’ to fire, recent firings have been from his own new ‘PF stock’, so Andeleki should not think he is immune.
This chap should have merely extended the deadline and insisted on payment being made. This is a bad precedent and is tantamount to the continued robbing of the tax payer by MMD.
He is also MMD how can he de-register his party?
Andeleki, now show us the notices that you have issued to other political parties. According to you, MMD has arrears but its branches are registered. But I bet you that PF has not even registered its branches. If Andeleki took this matter further he would have found that impeachment would look like a child’s picnic. You see if MMD were to be deregistered for its arrears (and PF branches for being unregistered), then all PF and MMD MPs would be vacant. Parliament would dissolve, so would cabinet etc etc. Then we would have fresh elections to parley, and other offices of course :-). That is the reason for the u-turn, what else do you think would cause PF to miss such an opportunity to sort out MMD by way of bye-elections which they have tried by forcing resignations and election petitions?
Pf u have failed the masses
These registrars of societies should just shut up and not make U turns like our president is currently doing. It’s annoying how politicians and supposedly now civil servants think that we are dumb! Put measures in place so as the private sector grows, because the government ( opposition included ) suck and are mostly useless mwe.
It is issues like these which require commissions of enquiry on how ALL the political parties are registered. Recommendations would then level the playing field. I think they should investigate if ALL the political parties have been paying their fees, starting say, 1991. There should be no sacred cows.
but why did you want to behave like a truly PF cadre sir..?thats the way to go..
May be Sata talked to this man. Sata was top dog in MMD 1993 to 2001.
One way to go is to remove the need to pay these fees. Its clear that a ruling party doesnt want to pay and cannot be forced to pay. Possibly Pf is not paying and will not pay while they are in govt.
U TURNS order of the day in PF government to symbolise failureness.why always acting before thinking only to be told later(you are stepping on your landmine)….