‘Commission of inquiry justified’
BADLY managed privatisation has led to the death and destitution of many pensioners while making a few very rich, time has come to redress the situation, a pensioner has said.
He said individuals claiming that setting up a Commission of Inquiry into privatisation will be costly for the State should think about the thousands of pensioners who are languishing because of unpaid benefits.
A representative of BP pensioners, Expendito Chipalo said that many people had died after falling into destitution as they were not able to get their dues after serving in companies for many years.
“Think of the impoverished and destitutes who must suffer for no reason of their making,” he said.
Mr Chipalo said it was unfortunate that some people want perpetrators to go unpunished for reasons such as the cost of a commission of inquiry.
He said people putting the cost of the inquiry ahead of the plight of humanity should think of former miners whose pension benefits ended up in a convoluted matrix meant to deprive them of their hard earned money.
Mr Chipalo was reacting to Chief Macha of Southern Province who said setting up a commission of inquiry into privatisation would be costly.
Last week, President Edgar Lungu announced that a commission of inquiry into privatisation would be established.
Mr Chipalo urged Chief Macha and others holding similar views to think of the 235 former BP employees who had been in court since 2002 fighting for their pension, all because of the fraudulent privatisation process.
“Think of the impoverished and destitutes who must suffer for no reason of their making,” he said.
He said over 100 of the BP pensioners had died and that their relatives had not received the pension benefits.
Mr Chipalo said some individuals had become extremely rich at the expense of poor pensioners, some of whom had died without getting their money.
He said “107 of our colleagues have died and their families have not received the pension.”
Mr Chipalo said the commission of inquiry was the only hope for justice to prevail and “thieves” to be exposed.
He said there was no way 10 individuals who enriched themselves through privatisation would be held in high esteem over that of over 20, 000 pensioners leading destitute lives.
Mr Chipalo said there was no law that prohibited President Lungu from setting up a commission of inquiry into privatisation and that the time it has taken for the probe to be instituted did not matter.
He said there should not be any “lame” excuse to stop the inquiry because several pensioners were suffering.
Mr Chipalo said it was unfortunate that some people want perpetrators to go unpunished for reasons such as the cost of a