The Good, The Bad And The Ugly: 10 Years Of PF Corruption

Corruption within Zambia is endemic and affects people at a every level: from citizens paying bribes to access public services, to government officials utilising public funds for personal purchases. 

According to the Global Corruption Barometer, in 2019 nearly one in five Zambians paid bribes to receive services including healthcare and education.  

Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index reflects this, showing that corruption within the country has got far worse since the Patriotic Front came to power in 2011, having droped seven places on the global corruption scale since.  

Government Embezzlement of Aid

The Patriotic Front, the very people who are in power to uphold the constitution and prevent corruption, are known to have pocketed money which was provided to support those who live below the poverty line and require cash assistance so desperately.  

For example, in 2018 the UK, Ireland, Finland and Sweden suspended almost $34 million worth of aid to the country, due to be used as part of the Social Cash Transfer programme, as a result of the “misappropriation” of $4.3m worth of aid. 

A statement from the Swedish government’s aid agency, Sida, said there had been “strong suspicions of irregularities” in the use of these funds.  

Africa Confidential believes that the money was instead used by government officials to buy expensive vehicles, rather than reach its intended recipient, poor Zambians, as part of the Social Cash Transfer programme. 

In an attempt to cover up the embezzlement of funds, the Information and Broadcast Minister Dora Siliya described claims of the incident as “misleading and false”, adding that no funding had been suspended. 

Shortly after these comments were made, Siliya backtracked and tweeted that “His Excellency, President Edgar Lungu has actively swiftly, relieved Honourable E Kabanshi as minister of community development following the misuse of funds allegations in her ministry.” 

In spite of this, it has taken the government three years to jail the perpetrator. Kabanshi was imprisoned for a maximum of 14 years on 28th May 2021. 

Similar corruption-based issues in 2018 caused the Finance Minister to resign, having had enough of the issue plaguing the Patriotic Front government. Earlier that year, the Foreign Minister also resigned in protest of corruption within the government. Two years prior, Lucky Musala (a member of the cabinet), was sacked by the government for accusing them of covering up gross mismanagement that led to an electricity crisis in 2016. 

Healthcare Corruption

If there was ever a case which perfectly demonstrated the level of corruption within the government, it would be the scandal surrounding the Ministry of Health’s dangerous  procurement of health kits which put the lives of millions of citizens at risk. 

In June 2020, Zambian investigative journalists revealed a story that outlined irregularities in the procurement of $17 million worth health kits by the government the previous year. 

Before 2019, the government held a similar contract with a different supplier, Missionpharma, for several years in which they supplied the country with drugs and healthcare kits. However, the contract fell through when the government refused to pay a $1 million debt to the company. 

Seeking a replacement to Missionpharma, the government provided a contract to HoneyBee Pharmacy Limited to supply the country with healthcare kits. However, at the time HoneyBee Pharmacy was not registered as a company, so how could it have won the bid? Simple: the government provided a contract to an illegitimate company.  

The story gets worse. 

Laboratory test carried out on the healthcare equipment supplied by HoneyBee showcased that it was unsafe to use. The kits included condoms and latex gloves that leaked when filled with water and paracetamol tablets which had passed their expiration dates. 

Nevertheless, the Ministry of Health distributed the supplies to the public, knowing that they had not passed laboratory testing. 

In spite of the damning evidence which was released to the public by journalists, the government failed to launch investigations into possible corruption or seek accountability for the monstrous negligence which occurred. The civil society organisation Transparency International then got involved and urged President Edgar Lungu to take accountability and act on the events which had occurred. They suggested to suspend the Minister of Health and instigate an independent investigation. 

President Lungu responded with a passionate rebuttal, however, a few days later appeared to backtrack his decision and fired the Ministry of Health. 

Although these actions are an important start, Transparency International urged Mr Lungu to follow up with a proper investigation. However, this has yet to be seen. 

Corruption of Natural Resources 

In 2019 Transparency International called for a full investigation into allegations that President Edgar Lungu, his daughter and several high-ranking politicians were allegedly involved in the illicit trade of mukula wood. 

Mukula is a rare African tree and one of the rosewood species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.  

Traffickers of the wood reportedly told undercover Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) operatives that Tasila Lungu, daughter of President Edgar Lungu, was involved in the illegal trade of the protected mukula timber. Government officials including the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Jean Kapta, and the Minister of Justice, Given Lubinda are also said to be involved. 

The EIA estimates that the illegal trade generates approximately US$7.5 million in bribes and informal fees annually for the select few involved, allowing the rich to become even richer through corrupt means. Money lost to the illegal trade could have been used by the government to be spent on public services that benefit the lives of Zambians rather than the loss of trees that threatens the livelihoods of local communities. 

The mining sector has also been exposed to government corruption. In February 2015, the former mines minister was convicted of corruption and sentenced to one year in prison with hard labour. The minister extorted bribes in exchange for awarding operating licences to foreign companies.