Inquiries wasteful

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:05:19 +0000

THE Commissions of Inquiry established by President Michael Sata were a sheer waste of time and resources as they have not served their intended purposes, says Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD) president Charles Milupi.

Mr. Milupi expressed disappointment in the manner government had handled the findings of all the commissions set up to investigate suspected corruption in the MMD government.

In an interview Mr. Milupi who had earlier supported President Sata’s setting up of the commissions said it was now clear that the probe teams were created to fight political opponents.

“You remember very well that after a few days in government President Sata set up several commissions to investigate suspected wrongs by MMD. But it has come to light that they were only targeting some individuals. And all those inquiries that did not carry President Sata’s perception were trashed,” he said.

Mr. Milupi said huge amounts of money were used to set up the commissions of inquiry and it would only be prudent for the PF government to embrace accountability and transparency.

He said that President Sata and the PF government had lost an opportunity to address and respect the rule of law had they handled issues of commissions with sincerity.

“The commissions of inquiry were not set up in a genuine manner. It was a way to reward those that supported Mr. Sata and the PF to get into government. Why put up the commission of inquiry without holding a Press conference to tell the nation what you suspect?” asked Mr. Milupi.

He said that the corruption fight in the PF was just intended at harassing and persecuting those with divergent views.

“The issues of Dora Siliya are one of those examples. Tell them to release the report on Ms. Siliya’s conduct in the Zamtel, and there is little to talk about. Look at the Barotse Agreement of 1964 commission, Look at the Zanaco commission and even the Finance Bank commission which did not even take place. All these were politically tailored to target at some individuals,” he said.

He said that it was sad that the PF government had also appointed corrupt people to head certain government departments whose records were tarnished.