LUNGU LAND GIFT LEGAL - LAZ
THERE was no corruption in the land gift President Edgar Lungu received from Eswantini as there is no law stopping the President from receiving gifts, the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has said. According to a statement released yesterday, LAZ observed that the President was not bound by the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct Act, because he was not a member of Parliament. The association has however advised the President to hand over the land given in his personal capacity to government. “The view that LAZ has taken in relation to the definition of the word "member" under the provisions of section 2 of the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct Act, effectively means the President is not bound by the provisions of the said Act. “Accordingly, under the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct Act, the President is not restricted from receiving gifts that economically benefit him, such as the land in issue,” reads the statement in part. LAZ however notes that, “the definition of the word, member the in Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct Act notwithstanding, LAZ is of the firm position that declaration of gifts received by any public officer or public body is good international practice as it promotes the tenets of transparency, good governance, public accountability, social justice and the rule of law.” “The President is accordingly implored to lead the way in declaring/ disclosing all gifts of a significant value (or gifts that do not amount to casual gifts) to the nation or Parliament whenever he receives them, given the very high public office he occupies,” LAZ has said. LAZ has also noted the serious insinuations and allegations of corruption against the Head of State that have erupted following the revelations of his receipt of the said land. LAZ has further noted from various media reports that there are certain official documents in the Kingdom of eSwatini, which indicate that the land in issue was one of around 90 plots owned by a company called Inyatsi Properties Limited, which land the Company had lawfully acquired from another Company called Rudolph Investments in the year 2017. It is also public knowledge that Inyatsi Properties Limited was awarded two contracts in the year 2015 in Zambia to upgrade and build two main roads, namely, Chikankata Road and the Ndola-Mufulira Road, worth billions of Kwacha. However, Inyatsi last week denied giving the President any land and that they were awarded road contracts in mid 2014 long before Mr Lungu became President. LAZ has also established from media reports that the spokesperson of the Government of eSwatini, Mr. Percy Simelane was recently quoted by the Times of Swaziland Newspaper as indicating that the purchase of land to build a family house for President Lungu in eSwatini is a private issue. LAZ says it decided to issue a statement in the light of the intense public interest on the subject of the legality of receiving gifts by a sitting President from another head of state or indeed any other person or otherwise and in accordance with its objectives under Section 4 of the Law Association of Zambia Act, Chapter 31 of the Laws of Zambia, which mandates LAZ to, inter alia, seek the advancement of the rule of law, promote reform of the law in Zambia and to assist the public on matters touching on the law. “In relation to the gift of land to President Lungu, LAZ is of the considered view that, if indeed the land was a gift to the President from his counterpart, the mere receipt of the gift by the President, in and of itself, did not and does not constitute a breach of Section 21 (1) (b) of the Anti-Corruption Act, especially in the absence of evidence that the receipt of the gift was preceded by some "abuse" of position or authority on the President's part.