K50 MILLION PONZI SCHEMERS FACE JAIL
By OLIVER SAMBOKO
SEVEN directors of two Ponzi schemes, Ono Savings Initiative Limited and COMSAVE Credit Union will now be prosecuted for allegedly failing to honor a plea agreement involving refund of over K50 million owed to 10,000 investors.
In 2020, DEC through its Anti-Money Laundering Investigations Unit arrested and charged seven directors who include four from Ono Initiative Limited and three from COMSAVE Credit Union for money laundering related offences involving K69.4 million.
Those to be prosecuted are Directors of ONO Savings, Isaac Mvula 40, Ackim Mugala 39, Khuna Ncheema 65 and Chuunya Chilala, female aged 34. Others are Given Muleka Given, male aged 29, Onester Sondashi, female aged 33 and Collins Chilufya, male aged 42 who are directors of COMSAVE Credit Union.
And DEC public relations officer Mathias Kamanga said in a statement to the Daily Nation that following successful investigations into the operations of Ono Savings and Credit Association and Comsave Credit Union, the State entered into an ex-curia agreement with the Directors in which it was agreed that they would refund the investors. He explained that the refunds were to be made by 30th September, 30, 2021 for Ono and 31st December, 31, and 2021 for Comsave at a lower rate than they had initially promised the investors.
Mr Kamanga said the Directors for the two schemes have failed to refund the investors as per said agreement entered into by the two parties and that therefore the state has decided to prosecute them for the offences for which they were initially charged and arrested for. He has since advised the affected investors to be patient and allow the legal process to complete and that the state will issue an update once the case has been disposed-off in the court of law
Govt localises hiring of teachers GOVERNMENT has localised the hiring of teachers to curtail teacher migration, Minister of Education Douglas Syakalima has said. Dr Syakalima said Government would ensure that teachers were recruited from various districts to avoid teachers abandoning rural areas. He said Government through the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) would put in place mechanisms to ensure that schools in rural areas were well-staffed. And Dr Syakalima urged parents to send their children to school.
Meanwhile, Dr Syakalima said Government had terminated the contract for the contractor engaged to construct World Bank-funded Samu Secondary school in Mafinga. He said the termination was as result of poor workmanship by the local con[1]tractor, adding that there was need to engage another contractor without delay so that the project
