By KETRA KALUNGA
IT was morally wrong for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to appeal the decision of courts in Chiluba’s assets case after he had died, former Vice President, Enock Kavindele has said.
Mr. Kavindele, who served as vice president during the Chiluba and Mwanawasa administration, said the matter of his assets was taken to court which ruled that the assets he had were not from public funds, therefore, his assets should be returned to his family.
He said in an interview that it’s a pity that Dr Chiluba’s contribution to the country were undermined because as President, all his actions were scrutinised on a daily basis.
Mr. Kavindele explained that there was no money for Dr Chiluba to steal because his government ran a cash budget where only available money would be spent so that the nation could qualify for debt relief which the country did.
“Government under the late Levy Patrick Mwanawasa formed a task force that travelled all over the world to look for illicit dealings of Dr Chiluba, they found nothing and the matter of his assets was taken to court which ruled that the assets he had were not from public funds at all.
He said Dr Chiluba’s assets should be returned to the family for they were genuinely acquired because this task force scrutinised every inch of his actions and come up with nothing apart from some clothes he supposedly bought in Brussels.
Mr. Kavindele said that it’s sad that Dr Chiluba’s contributions to the country were undermined because this is a man who created the middle class in the country when he empowered people with houses.
He stated that if the late President didn’t sell houses to sitting tenants at the time, most of the people would have been on the streets like those without any pension.
And Mr. Kavindele said he is alive to the fact that this is a season of getting to book all those involved in corruption to account to the Zambians but the pace at which it was done is worrying.
“I fully support this endeavour but like most other Zambians, the slow pace is worrying, I do not want to discourage the ACC, we all wish that they could work a little faster,” he said.
