Lungu To Set Up Inquiry Into Privatisation

President Lungu has announced that he will set up a commission of inquiry to look into potential crimes committed during the privatisation of state assets in the 1990’s.

Speaking at State House on Friday morning, President Lungu responded to demands from the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), who had arrived to present him with a petition calling for such an inquiry.

The president thanked the youths for their dedication and said he would take the time to consider an inquiry.

“I will have to sit with those who are well vested with the matter of privatization and those who are very well vested with the law to tell me what will be the terms of reference for the commission. And also then we move in accordance with what the law provides. I think it’s a matter of time.”

President Lungu explained that it was well within his rights as president to set up such a commission and that he was not obliged to consult anybody.

The announcement follows accusations from former finance minister Edith Nawakwi that UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema enriched himself during the sale of state assets, including the Mosi-O-Tunya Hotel in Livingstone. 

Mr Hichilema has since been defended by fellow former finance minister Katele Kalumba, who oversaw the privatisation process at the time. Dr Kalumba said that the government had committed due diligence checks through the Zambia Privatisation Agency at the time of the sale and found no evidence of corruption.

HH himself says he welcomes the inquiry, saying that it will “give Mr Lungu a chance to explain his role in the privatisation exercise, and what happened to the assets and former employees of Zambia Cold Storage Board Limited”.