By GRACE CHAILE LESOETSA
THE State has no authority to suspend KCM Provisional Liquidator, Milingo Lungu, as doing so is contempt of court, Makebi Zulu Advocates has said.
Mr Milingo’s lawyers, Makebi Zulu Advocates, have since written to the Administrator General and Official Receiver, Ms Natasha Kalimukwa, stating that her office does not hold such authority.
The lawyers advised that the State’s action stands in contempt of winding up court proceedings under cause no 2019/HP/0761.
Meanwhile, KCM in a statement has reiterated that Mr Lungu is still KCM Provisional Liquidator.
“We wish to emphasize that the Administrator General has no powers to suspend the operation of the court order, court directives or decisions.
“This is because nowhere in Section 69 of the Corporate Insolvency Act no.9 of 2017 or any other law is the Administrator General given powers to suspend a liquidator appointed by the courts of law,” said KCM.
On Thursday, Ms Kalimukwa announced that Mr Lungu had been suspended as Konkola Copper Mine (KCM in liquidation) Provisional Liquidator pending the outcome of an inquiry instituted pursuant to section 69 subsection one of the Corporate Insolvency Act number 9, 2017.
She said that the suspension was as a result of a complaint lodged by ZCCM Investment Holdings Plc involving contract mismanagement, financial misconduct and asset mishandling.
Ms Kalimukwa said that Mr Lungu’s suspension would not halt the liquidation process nor lead to the handover of the mining operations.
Meanwhile Mine Workers Union of Zambia (MUZ) President Joseph Chewe said that government needed not politicise the matter of Mr Lungu.
He said it was going to be unfortunate if the matter was politicised and was aimed at trying to bring back Vedanta.
Mr Chewe said that government needed to learn lessons from the past and that they should not back Vedanta which almost ruined people’s lives.
“Government should learn from mistakes if they want to bring an investor let it be a genuine one and not one that would jeopardise the life of thousands of miners,” he said.
He said MUZ had maintained that it hoped that the mining firm would remain in the control of Zambians so that people could benefit.
