By SILUMESI MALUMO
LANDS and Natural Resources Minister, Jean Kapata, has joined other former ministers who have paid back salaries and allowances for staying in office after Parliament was dissolved in 2016.
Ms Kapata confirmed yesterday that she had paid back the money as ordered by the Constitutional Court.
She said that it was her duty to honour the Constitutional Court ruling, which had directed that all the 64 ministers must pay back.
“We just have to pay back the money, and I can confirm that I have paid back. It is our obligation to respect the ruling of the Constitutional Court. We have to be law abiding citizens.
Ms Kapata has paid back about K58, 679.16
Last week, Tourism and Arts Minister Ronald Chitotela and Democratic Party president Harry Kalaba paid back the money for illegally staying in office and getting salaries after parliament was dissolved in 2016.
Mr Chitotela had paid back the sum of K50, 811 while Mr Kalaba, who served as Foreign Affairs Minister at the time, paid back K60, 434.88.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Likando Kalaluka said a number of former ministers had shown willingness to pay back the salaries they withdrawal after dissolution of Parliament.
Mr Kalaluka said in a separate interview yesterday all the former ministers had been given bank details where they were supposed to deposit the money.
He said that some of the ex-ministers had already deposited the money without giving information to the public.
“Yes a number of them have paid back the money, what is happening is that others are paying back quietly without publishing on social media,” Mr Kalaluka said.
