2005/06 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE AFRICAN PARLIAMENTARIANS NETWORK AGAINST CORRUPTION ZAMBIA CHAPTER
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF ZAMBIA
2005/06
1. INTRODUCTION The African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (APNAC) is a network of parliamentarians working together to strengthen the capacity of their respective parliaments to fight corruption and promote good governance. The first APNAC chapter was formed in Uganda in 1999.
Currently, a total of 18 APNAC chapters are spread across Central, West, East and Southern Africa. Included among these is APNAC Zambia chapter in the Southern Africa region. The African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption Zambia (APNACZ) Chapter came into existence on 19 th November, 2004 when its executive committee was elected into office. Nineteen Members of Parliament attended this first meeting. During the first part of 2005, the Publicity Secretary, Mr Fidelis Chisala, MP, passed away. He was replaced by Mr Charles R Banda, MP during an extraordinary meeting convened on 10 th March 2005.
By mid 2006, before the tripartite elections, the Executive Committee comprised:
Mr Crispin U Sibetta, MP – Chairperson Ms Catherine Namugala, MP – Vice Chairperson Mr Given Lubinda, MP – Secretary General Mr Timothy K Nyirenda, MP – Treasurer Mrs Ompie Nkumbula-Liebenthal, MP – Administrative Secretary Mr Charles R Banda, MP – Publicity Secretary Currently, the Chapter has nineteen Members of Parliament as its members. 2. VISION A transparent and accountable government and corruption free Zambia in which human development progresses without hindrance
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3. MISSION STATEMENT
To strengthen the commitment and enhance the capacity of Zambian parliamentarians and Parliament to exercise transparency and accountability in relation to matters of public affairs and to effectively perform their oversight function in the fight against corruption. 4. GOALS In order to organise itself with the sole purpose of reaching its overall objective of strengthening parliament’s fight against corruption, the APNAC Zambia chapter came up with a plan of action which outlined the activities the group wanted to implement. The activities were categorised under 4 goals.
4.1.
APNAC –Z and the Parliament of Zambia To enhance the performance of Parliament in its Oversight Role with particular emphasis on the fight against corruption.
4.2.
APNAC-Z and the Community To increase the visibility of Parliament’s role in the fight against corruption and engage the public on corruption issues and activities.
4.3.
Collaboration and Networking To contribute to the fight against corruption by strengthening linkages and collaboration among organisations engaged in corruption work.
4.4.
Capacity building for members of APNAC –Z To strengthen the capacity of APNAC-Z Chapter to fight corruption in Zambia.
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5. ACTIVITIES The work of APNAC-Z during the year under consideration was influenced by the above mentioned goals. 5.1 GOAL 1: APNAC –Z and the Parliament of Zambia OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF APNAC ZAMBIA CHAPTER The APNAC-Z chapter was officially launched on Thursday, 31 st March 2005. Forty (40) Members of Parliament attended the launch. The Guest of Honour was the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia, Mr Jason Mfula, MP. Apart from Members of Parliament, those in attendance included representatives from Transparency International Zambia (TIZ), Ireland Development Cooperation, Pact Zambia, Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), members of the media and others.
Speakers included the Director General of Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), the country representative of Pact Zambia, the chairperson of APNAC-Z, the Executive Director of TIZ and the Hon Deputy Speaker.
Pact Zambia country representative, Mr Jack McCanna informed the audience that Pact Zambia shared APNAC-Z’s objectives and would therefore, assist the Chapter contribute to Parliament’s anti corruption work. He further
added that this would be done through the Anti Corruption Initiative (under which Pact would provide financial support) which was USAID’s contribution to the Parliamentary Reform Project.
The Executive Director of Transparency International Zambia (TIZ), Mr Goodwell Lungu, revealed that his organisation had been looking forward to the formation of APNAC-Z because it would create a formal channel of interaction with Members of Parliament on issues of corruption. He assured
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APNAC-Z of his organisation’s support. Mr Lungu extended an invitation to three members of the Chapter to appear on a TIZ sponsored television programme themed “Transparency and Integrity Forum” on 3 rd April 2005.
Mr Nixon Banda, the Director General of the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) of Zambia, welcomed the formation of APNAC-Z chapter stating that his institution would work towards committing itself to equipping parliamentarians to ably fight corruption through its various interventions such as education and prevention tools.
The keynote address was delivered by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Jason Mfula, MP. He pointed out that by putting forth earnest effort to fight corruption, the parliamentarians were contributing to the improvement of the quality of governance in the country and ultimately to the lives of their constituents. He assured stakeholders that APNAC-Z chapter would not work in isolation in implementing its activities and programme but with other organisations involved in the fight against corruption. In launching the chapter, he urged Members of Parliament to support the work of APNAC-Z by becoming members.
The concluding remarks were delivered by the Chairperson of APNAC Zambia chapter. Mr Crispin U Sibetta, MP told the gathering that he felt it was important for legislators to be associated with measures to fight the scourge of corruption. He stated that efforts to fight corruption on the part of parliamentarians should not be limited to merely passing the necessary legislation but that it should extend to ensuring that laws passed were implemented. This meant that parliamentarians might have to redefine the way they related to, and engaged with, anti corruption agencies, civil society and the media. He further encouraged parliamentarians to do whatever they could to ensure that the government not only ratified the African Union Convention on Corruption but that they domesticated it as well. This would
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heighten the levels of transparency and accountability in government and public life. 4.2 GOAL 3: Collaboration and Networking ANNUAL ANTI CORRUPTION DAY Two members of APNAC-Z, Mr Given Lubinda, MP and Mr Patrick Kalifungwa, MP attended the commemoration of the United Nations International Anti Corruption Day and TI-Zambia’s launch of the TI-Global Barometer Survey. The theme was, “You Can Stop Corruption”. The event took place on 9th December, 2005 at Mulungushi International Conference Centre. INSTITUTIONAL LINKAGES During the year, APNAC Zambia Chapter worked closely with the Network of African Youths Against Corruption (NAYAC) Zambia in implementing that Network’s Straight Talk Programme in 2 secondary schools in Lusaka. The APNAC-Z chapter was represented by the Vice Chairperson, Ms Catherine Namugala, MP and the Secretary General, Mr Given Lubinda, MP.
The TIZ invited some members of the Chapter to appear on its live phone in television sponsored programme. This resulted in APNAC-Z receiving wide publicity.
The APNAC-Z chapter liaised with the ACC, the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and the Public Service Pensions Fund (PSPF) concerning the corruption cases it had received from two members of the public. Letters were written to these organisations relating to the points raised by the complainants. Upon the invitation of Mr Nixon Banda, the Director General
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of the ACC, the Chairperson of APNAC-Z, Mr Crispin U Sibetta, MP, met with Mrs Wandi, the Deputy Director General, and Mr Chilanga, the Chief Investigations Officer, to discuss the case of one of the complainants. The complainant was also present during the meeting. After the discussion, it was agreed that the ACC should take over the case for further investigation. Mrs Wandi assured the chairperson that her institution would keep APNAC-Z informed on the progress of the case. Investigation of the case is still going on.
The first letter to the DEC did not elicit any response. The APNAC Z chapter wrote a second letter to which the DEC replied requesting for a meeting with the chapter. The meeting is yet to be arranged between APNAC Z, the
complainant and DEC.
4.3 GOAL 4: Capacity building for members of APNAC –Z
TRAINING Three members of the executive committee of APNAC-Z chapter, Mr Crispin U Sibetta, MP (Chairperson), Ms Catherine Namugala, MP (Vice Chairperson) and Mr Given Lubinda, MP attended an anti corruption course at the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI) Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania from 27 the June to 1st July 2005. Other participants came from APNAC chapters based in Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The program was designed in the wake of the growing recognition of the need to systematically combat corruption and enhance integrity and values in public service as part of the strategy for better or good governance. More
specifically the program aimed at building capacity of the Members of Parliament in fighting corruption.
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The training was organised by the Parliamentary Centre in Canada who hosts the APNAC secretariat. The Parliamentary Centre requested the chapter to invite a civil society organisation to attend the training with them. The APNAC-Z chapter extended an invitation to the Network of African Youths Against Corruption (NAYAC) Zambia. The NAYAC nominated its co-ordinator, Mr Andrew Ntewewe to undergo the training.
During the training, the participants enjoyed the privilege of going on field visits to a sugar plantation and a tanzanite mine. This gave them an
opportunity to relate theory to practice on some of the issues they had learnt in class. The participants were also helped to understand the importance of the African Union Convention on Combating and Preventing Corruption as a tool in anti corruption reforms. CONFERENCES The Southern Africa Regional Conference themed “New Challenges in Fighting Corruption” took place from 29 th to 31st September 2005 in Cape Town, South Africa. It focused on corruption in the electoral process; political party funding; the African Union Anti Corruption Convention and many other similar topics. The APNAC-Z chapter was represented by Mr C U Sibetta, MP, Mr G Lubinda, MP, Mrs O Nkumbula-Liebenthal, MP and Mr T K Nyirenda, MP.
The conference afforded Members of Parliament an opportunity to discuss and debate new parliamentary challenges in the fight against electoral corruption, political party funding and the linking of APNAC to parliamentary committees. Country experiences and lessons were shared
during deliberations. The MPs resolved to fight corruption and fraud in its various manifestations. Representatives from countries in the Southern
Africa Development Community (SADC) which do not have APNAC
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chapters indicated a strong inclination to establish chapters in their own countries.
MEETINGS The APNAC Annual General Meeting was held from 21 st to 23rd November 2005 in Accra, Ghana. The meeting is held every two years. It is during this meeting that a new executive committee is elected. The APNAC-Z chapter was represented by the Vice Chairperson, Ms Catherine Namugala, MP and the Publicity Secretary, Mr Charles R Banda, MP. Hon Namugala was one of the two Southern Africa MPs elected to sit on the Executive Council for two terms.
4.5 GOAL 2: APNAC-Z and the Community
TELEVISION PROGRAMMES On 3rd April 2005, the Vice Chairperson, Ms Catherine Namugala, MP and the Publicity Secretary, Mr Charles R Banda, MP appeared on a TIZ sponsored live phone-in television programme whose theme was “Transparency and Integrity Forum.” The topic discussed was “the Role of Parliamentarians and the role of the newly launched APNAC in Fighting Corruption.” The
programme gave the MPs an opportunity to talk about the goals and objectives of the newly launched APNAC chapter.
On 14th August 2005, APNAC was again invited to appear on the TIZ television programme themed “Transparency and Integrity Forum”. The
members who appeared on the program included Mr Crispin U Sibetta, Chairperson, Ms Catherine Namugala, Vice Chairperson and Mr Given Lubinda, Secretary General. The MPs discussed the progress of APNAC after the launch and MPs best practices in the fight against corruption.
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It was reported that some members of the public had approached the members who had appeared on the programme to commend them for the formation of APNAC-Z. Two noteworthy letters were received by APNAC-Z from two individuals complaining of corruption practices. Initially, the
Secretary General, Mr Given Lubinda met with the complainants to get further details. One of the cases was referred to the ACC and the DEC.
The second case regarding a pensioner was referred to the Pensions Fund who replied after the second letter had been written to dispute the allegations of the complainant. The complainant expressed disagreement with the
response. He was advised by APNAC to seek the assistance of the Investigator General. However, the complainant has since taken the matter to the industrial relations court and advised APNAC accordingly.
STRAIGHT TALK PROGRAMME In September 2005, two members of the APNAC Executive Committee participated in the Straight Talk Programme of the Network of African Youths Against Corruption (NAYAC) Zambia Chapter. The theme was
“Meet the Young Electorate Program.” Two members of the executive committee, Ms Catherine Namugala, MP and Vice Chairperson, and Mr Given Lubinda, MP and Secretary General had an opportunity to interact with young people at 2 different secondary schools. They interacted with young people aged 15 to 17 during a question and answer session. The events were reported in the local newspapers the following day. CHALLENGES The biggest challenge was lack of funding. The APNAC Zambia Chapter had an excellent and comprehensive work plan which outlined its activities. However, due to problems of funding very few activities were implemented.
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CONCLUSION
Generally, the year 2005 was challenging for APNAC Zambia Chapter. Apart from the launch, the television interviews, and a few meetings here and there with some institutions and individuals, nothing much was done to implement the activities in the work plan. It is hoped that with more funding the
Chapter will encounter fewer obstacles in executing its programme.
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