The Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security has said that the recent leakage of confidential investigation documents is receiving serious attention to ensure the personnel responsible are dealt with according to the law.

Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security Public Relations Officer Nephas Chifuta says the leaked document was issued by one of the Security Wings to the Zambia Institute of Estate Agents.

Mr. Chifuta has described the leakage of the document as regrettable.

He has warned that unauthorized access to confidential or classified information and publishing the same constitutes a serious criminal offense punishable by law.

Mr. Chifuta says personnel suspected to have leaked the document on social media have violated Section 49 Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act Number two of 2021 and that the penalty attracts imprisonment of not less than five years upon conviction.

The Office of the Public Protector has appealed to the new dawn administration to completely detach it from the executive.

Public Protector Caroline Sokoni said that the office must be left independent and not have officers who belong to the civil service investigating the same civil service.

Speaking during a media briefing in Lusaka yesterday, Ms. Sokoni further said that there is a need for harmonization among the three arms of government and to remove the ambiguity in the operations of her office.

She said that a number of technical positions have not been operationalized in the institution which is hindering the effective delivery of services.

Ms. Sokoni said that her Office has submitted a request to implement the second phase of the Treasury Authority and hopes it will be approved to beef up on the staff numbers.

She further said that with the support of the Ministry of Justice, her office will engage Parliament to ensure standing orders are put in place so that a committee that will look at the investigative reports of the office of the Public Protector is in place.

Ms. Sokoni said that the office also needs to amend the Public Protector Act to ensure provisions for administrative autonomy are adequately provided for.

Meanwhile, Ms. Sokoni said that the office of the Public Protector is delighted with the current Government’s stance in the fight against corruption and administrative injustice in the country.

And Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe said that the government is committed to ensuring increased funding allocation to the office of the Public Protector to make it more effective.

Mr. Haimbe said the government will see to it that the parliamentary service commission comes into effect so that all employees of the office of the Public Protector are employed and managed by the commission.

He said this will ensure they carry out their duties independently and professionally without compromise.

Lately, Human Rights Defender Brebner Changala has challenged President Hakainde Hichilema to fulfill his promise by making the office of the Public Protector effective to curb corruption in his administration.

Mr.Changala said that he is shocked that the new dawn administration has not shown any commitment to operationalize this office which enjoys the security of tenure by taking the necessary legislation to parliament for approval.

Mr.Changala said that corruption has become endemic in Zambia and the office of the Public Protector is critical to rid this vice.

Mr. Changala said that the Public Protector is the only government wing that can fight corruption in the country and that the Office of Public Protector was provided for in the Constitution as amended in 2016, which is a replacement of the commission for investigations Act that was enacted in 1991 and that the office has not been actualised since former president Edgar Lungu’s assent to the amended Constitution on January 5, 2016.

According to the Act, among the functions of the Office of Public Protector are to: “(h) monitor and evaluate administrative activities and standards in State institutions and issue reports on matters of public interest; (i) promote public awareness of policies and administrative procedures on matters relating to administrative justice; (j) advise government on good administrative practices; and (k) perform any other functions as necessary or incidental to the performance of its functions under this Act or as may be prescribed under any written law.”

Mr Changala said that even the fertiliser scam would have been investigated properly if such an office was active.

“I have to give you a good example. We have a fertiliser scandal which the Executive does not want to discuss because they are part of the scam. Now if the Public Protector was functional, I know that scam would have received due attention,” he told The Mast. “The Anti-Corruption Commission, ask them whether they are looking into the fertiliser scam. Go to DEC (Drug Enforcement Commission), ask them whether they have even moved an inch towards the fertiliser scam. Go to the Zambia Police. Worse still because they are looking at who is behind this scam, what are the connections to the powers that be. And that is problem number one. And that’s where the tragedy comes in.”

Changala warned that without such an office being fully functional, President Hakainde Hichilema should forget about fighting corruption.

“Without a Public Protector, then-President Hichilema is going to do it on the basis of a good man. And this country does not need good men. It needs good laws and strong institutions. Good laws and good institutions are what we want, not good men,” he said.

“Those good men can go to Church. The fight against corruption should not only have a political will. It must also have strong laws and strong institutions. It must not be only about good men versus bad men or bad women. It is the laws that control the dignity of any ambition to fight the scourge of corruption.”

Changala said the fight against corruption by the UPND government would be nothing but in vain if it did not functionalize the Office of Public Protector.

He said the Public Protector was the only institution that could genuinely lead the fight against corruption embarked on by President Hichilema.

“Public Protector is the only tool to fight corruption and they are free from the Executive because this corruption mainly is in the arm of the Executive. I know it is also in the Judiciary. It is also in the Legislature but the main players are the Executive because they control the pace, they control the treasury and is a honey that has been attracting the bees,” Changala added.

He said he wanted to send a message to the new dawn administration that the fight against corruption would be nothing but the usual stories if such an office was not actualized.

Changala said no corruption fight would be achieved until the Public Protector’s office was functional.

“But for the current form that it is in, the Public Protector is in a good test. It is independent, it is as independent as the Judiciary. And that is the more reason we will not rest because this fight against corruption is only used against opponents because it does not go for criminals that are embedded in the Executive arm of the government,” he said.

Concerned senior citizens of Eastern Province have demanded that Infrastructure, Housing, and Urban Development Minister Charles Milupi apologizes to the people of Eastern Province over his recent remarks on the eastern province road network.

Speaking at a media briefing on behalf of the senior citizens, major Francis Kamanga said that Easterners are agitated by Mr. Milupi’s insensitive remarks on the already procured roads and has appealed to president Hichilema to look into the matter and ensure that the roads that have already been procured are built.

Major Kamanga who is also former Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications Permanent Secretary under the late president Michael Sata said that it is difficult to comprehend why the minister would opt to adopt such an antagonistic stance over the roads president Hichilema promised would be built when the UPND forms government.

Major Kamanga stated that equitable distribution should be a fundamental pillar of any well-intentioned government and as such, the senior citizens and people of Eastern province in general regard the minister’s position as deliberately misleading and not representing what the people of eastern province expect and deserve.

Major Kamanga said that Eastern province contributes to the country’s gross domestic product [GDP] through agriculture hence all roads are viable stressing that farmers require a good road network to access the market for their produce.

Another Senior Citizen Lameck Mangani has reminded the UPND alliance government that failure by the PF regime to work on the same roads won them votes in the August 12th polls hence Mr. Milupi’s statement has not been well received.

Meanwhile, lieutenant colonel Bizwayo Nkunika has cautioned the government not to use the public-private partnership model to suppress development in some parts of the country saying resources should be distributed equally across the country.

However, Mr. Milupi did clarify earlier this week that every road is important, but ranked differently in a statement posted on his Facebook page. Below is the full statement

EACH AND EVERY ROAD IS ECONOMICALLY VIABLE AND IMPORTANT BUT RANKED DIFFERENTLY

Allow me, in the first place, to thank Fr Evans Miti of the Catholic Diocese of Chipata, and the good people of Chipata, Chadiza and Vubwi districts in the Eastern Province, for having keenly followed our recent inspection tour of roads and other public infrastructure in three provinces of our country.
For us to undertake that inspection tour, it is confirmation of the seriousness we attach to addressing the bad state of our roads and other public infrastructure countrywide. We had to see for ourselves so that when we start devising ways to address the deplorable state of our road network, we do so from a well-informed position.

We, therefore, note with great appreciation, the concerns raised by our fellow citizens following our remarks about the ‘viability’ of the Chipata-Vubwi Road. Let me state here that all roads contribute to the growth of the country’s economy, hence economically viable.

However, in the area of road sector management, there is what is referred to as the core road network, which the New Dawn administration will work on using the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Model. Chipata-Vubwi Road is an economically-viable road but it is not commercially-viable in so far as inclusion on the list of roads to be done through the PPP Model is concerned. We were speaking from the context of the PPP Model vis-a-vis management of the core and feeder road network.

To this end, describing a road as not being commercially-viable within the context of the PPP Model, is not the same as saying that road is not going to be worked on or less important. The Chipata-Vubwi Road, and any other road falling within that category, will definitely be worked on by your government as a matter of economic necessity. We note that, sadly, this important road project was procured in 2011 under the Link Zambia 8000 Road Project but it has remained in a deplorable state all these years. It is our public duty to do the needful and work on that economically-viable road. Thanks so much.

The Zambia Police Service says it has recorded a reduction in Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases in the last quarter of 2021.

Police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga said during the Fourth Quarter of 2021 a 7.4 % reduction was recorded in reported GBV cases compared to the same period in 2020.

Mr. Hamoonga disclosed that a total of 7,920 cases of GBV were reported countrywide during the Fourth Quarter of 2021 compared to 8,557 cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases recorded in the Fourth Quarter of 2020 showing a reduction of 637 cases translating to 7.4 %.

He said police data indicates that 1,814 child victims were abused countrywide representing 22.9% of all the victims of Gender Based Violence.

“A total of 7,920 cases of Gender Based Violence were reported Countrywide during the Fourth Quarter of 2021 compared to 8,557 cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases recorded in the Fourth Quarter of 2020 showing a reduction of 637 cases translating to 7.4% reduction. Out of 7,920 reports, 4,948 were criminal cases while 2,972 were non-criminal reports translating to 62.5% and 37.5% respectively. The 2021 Fourth Quarter Gender Based Violence Disaggregated Data indicates that 1,814 child victims were abused countrywide representing 22.9% of all the victims of Gender Based Violence. Out of the 1,814 children, 1,342 were girls representing 74% while 472 were boys representing 26%of all abused child victims respectively,” Mr. Hamoonga said.

“4,790 women and 1,316 men were abused countrywide representing 60.5% and 16.6% respectively. In terms of gender vulnerability, a total of 6,132 women and girls representing 77.4% while 1, 788 men and boys representing 22.6% were abused during the period under review countrywide. Under forms of violence in the criminal data category, the highest reports filed were under Physical Violence with 3,055 Physical abuse cases translating to 61.7%, 881 Sexual Offences translating to 17.8%, 728 Economic Violence translating to 14.7% and 272 emotional abuse translating to 5.5%,” Mr. Hamoonga said.

He said Lusaka Province recorded the highest GBV reports totaling to 1,004 followed by Copperbelt with 928 GBV reports.

“Lusaka Province recorded the highest GBV reports totaling to 1,004 translating to 20.3%, followed by Copper belt with 928 GBV reports translating to 18.8%, Airport Division recorded the lowest number of GBV reports with 15cases translating to 0.3%. Others are Central Province recorded 684 reports translating to 13.8%, Eastern Province 563 reports translating to 11.3% Western Province 543 cases translating to 10.9%, Mchinga Province 380 cases translating to 7.7%, North-Western Province 318 cases translating to 6.4%, Southern Province with 203 cases translating to 4.1%, Northern Province 190 cases translating to 3.8%, Luapula Province 78 cases translating to 1.5% and Tazara Division with 42 cases translating to 0.8%,” Mr. Hamoonga said.

“The 2021 Fourth Quarter Crime Statistical Report indicates that 6,840 victims and offenders were counseled in police Stations countrywide. Out of which 4,787 were criminal cases comprising 3,090 victims and 1,697 offenders while 2,053 were non- criminal reports. Out of the 4,787 counseled in the criminal case category, 2,007 were female victims, 602 girl victims, and 331 victims were men while 150 victims were boys. Out of the 1, 697 offenders, 1,108 were females, 303 girls, and 181 men while 105 were boys,” he said.

Mr. Hamoonga added:”Under Physical Abuse, during the period under review, the country recorded 3,055 cases translating to 62% of all the criminal reports made. Out of these, 2,228 were women translating to73%, 540 were men translating to 18%,152 were boys translating to 5%, while 135 were girls translating to 4% of all the criminal reports made compared to 2,369 cases in 2020 showing an increase of 686 cases translating to 28.9% increase.”

“Out of 3,055 Physical Abuse cases, 2,691 Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm (O.AB.H) cases were recorded country wide representing 88%. Out of the 2,691 Assault OABH cases, 2,179 were females translating to 81%, while 512 were men translating to 19 %.”

“During the period under review, the country recorded 2,691 Assault OABH cases compared to the Fourth quarter of 2020 in which 2,049 cases of Assault OABH were recorded showing an increase of 642 translating to 31% increase,” he concluded.