BANDA GOVERNMENT: RESIGNED TO CORRUPTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 LUSAKA 000295 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2019 TAGS: KCOR PGOV ZA SUBJECT: BANDA GOVERNMENT: RESIGNED TO CORRUPTION REF: LUSAKA 220 LUSAKA 00000295 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Ambassador Donald E. Booth for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Communications and Transport Minister Dora Siliya resigned from office shortly after a tribunal published the findings of its corruption probe. Although discredited, Siliya is far from disgraced. The recalcitrant and impenitent minister has announced her intention to appeal the tribunal pronouncement. President Rupiah Banda, whose support of Siliya has raised suspicions of his own involvement, accepted Siliya's resignation regretfully and with no acknowledgement of Siliya's fault. Instead, Banda leveled the blame at the Attorney General's Office, pointing to its imminent reorganization, fired the procurement authority head, who had testified against Siliya, and replaced the procurement authority board. The new board consists primarily of members of his cabinet. Civil society and opposition leaders continue to call for the resignation of Vice President George Kunda, Siliya's unfaltering protector and a perceived obstacle to progress on the anti-corruption front. None of this bodes well for Banda's campaign promise to maintain his predecessor's anti-corruption campaign -- the firing of the procurement authority head indicates his transition from passively ignoring corruption to actively undermining anti-corruption efforts. The Task Force on Corruption faces the threat of disbandment, while the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) dithers in response to acts of intimidation and interference. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) On April 16, a tribunal that had been launched to investigate three acts of impropriety by Communications and Transport Minister Dora Siliya (reftel) published its findings. The judges determined that there was insufficient evidence to support two of the charges, but found Siliya guilty on the third: --Charge One: Siliya allegedly cancelled a duly-awarded contract by the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA). The judges determined that Siliya had attempted to nullify the contract (unsuccessfully),but that attempting to do so does not constitute a punishable offense. --Charge Two: Siliya allegedly sought reimbursement for supplying money for bore hole equipment in Petauke District above the cost of the equipment. These allegations were refuted by a witness, who produced receipts that showed she had paid for the bore hole construction, not merely the equipment. (These receipts were not lodged with the Petauke Council until after the case was publicized.) --Charge Three: Siliya circumvented tender procedures in awarding a contract to RP Capital Partners of Cayman Islands to evaluate Zamtel assets in preparation for the semi-privatization of the state-owned telecom company. On this charge, the tribunal found Siliya guilty of not following tender procedures, committing GRZ funds above that which she is entitled and without Cabinet approval, incorrectly signing a government contract (in lieu of the Finance Minister),ignoring the Attorney General's legal advice, and amending a contract after it had been cleared by the Solicitor General (adding a payment clause of USD 2 million). ¶3. (SBU) The tribunal, launched by former Communications and Transport Minister William Harrington and ten civil society organizations, consisted of a series of witnesses who were examined by the complainants' counsel and cross-examined by Siliya's defense counsel. Although resembling criminal proceedings, the tribunal was the result of a civil society petition (rather than a police investigation) and had, as its sole mandate, to examine (rather than prosecute) the allegations levied against Siliya. Consequently, the civil society paladins had little on which to build their case -- no evidence acquired by subpoena or forensic examination. As the witnesses could offer no proof that Siliya had received financial benefit from her misconduct, the tribunal could not establish that she had breached the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct Act. Nevertheless, the tribunal showed that by ignoring the Attorney General's advice and interfering in the tender procedures, Siliya violated the Zambian Constitution as well as the Cabinet Handbook. The judges presented their findings to President Banda without offering recommendations on a course of action. ¶4. (C) Within 24 hours of submitting her resignation, Siliya announced her intention to seek a judicial review of the tribunal findings. Despite having served as a witness and having had the opportunity to cross-examine each witness, LUSAKA 00000295 002.2 OF 003 Siliya claimed that she "never had an opportunity to rebut the claim that she breached the Constitution." Perhaps relying on the favorable coverage of her trial by the State-run newspapers, she insinuated that the tribunal had vindicated her by establishing that she did not breach the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct. Siliya's statement that "this finding clearly demonstrates that in the execution of my duties as Minister and Member of Parliament, I did not gain a pecuniary advantage" seems to suggest that either she did not read the 109-page tribunal report, or expects few others to have done so. Quite the opposite, the judges found Siliya's conduct to be "suspicious," and suggested that it was "too much of a coincidence" that Siliya introduced RP Capital to the Ministry. (Comment: Indeed, the tribunal report shows that Siliya had pursued the RP Capital contract with a zeal atypical of a GRZ official. End Comment.) Siliya's resignation preserves her political prospects for another cabinet posting, something that would have been legally prohibited in the event of her firing. ¶5. (C) President Banda, who announced at the outset of the tribunal that Siliya would outsmart her opponents, has been tainted by his unwavering support and apparent involvement. During the tribunal, one witness testified that the President's son, Henry Banda, was associated with and operating on behalf of RP Capital. Rather than issue a statement of warning to other would-be wayward cabinet members as his predecessor frequently did, Banda neglected to assign any blame whatsoever to Siliya, referring to her as a "helpless, accused person." Instead, he directed his criticism at the Office of the Attorney General, because the legal opinion of the Attorney General (AG),Mumba Malila, appeared on one occasion to have been at variance with the advice of his deputy, Solicitor General Dominic Sichinga. Banda announced his intention to reorganize the office, something that UK colleagues suggest the President had been hoping to do for some time in order to rid Cabinet of the sometimes overly stalwart AG. (Note: The AG has another year to serve on his three-year contract and terminating his contract early would require Banda's direct involvement.) Sichinga told emboff that he and his colleagues fear that they will be treated as political scapegoats for Siliya's wrongs. He noted that he will be meeting with Banda in the days ahead to discuss the tribunal and the President's plans to reorganize the office. Task Force on Corruption Lead Prosecutor Mutembo Nchito told emboff that State House's "anger" with the Solicitor General stems from Kunda's annoyance that Sichinga, whom Kunda appointed as Solicitor General, is not more beholden to him. ¶6. (C) Within one week of being presented with the tribunal's findings, Banda fired ZPPA Director General David Kapitolo, who testified against Siliya at the tribunal. In his letter of dismissal, the President failed to provide a reason for dismissing Kapitolo one year before the conclusion of his contract, although the public consensus is that Banda is lashing out at Kapitolo for both testifying in the case, as well as resisting Siliya's efforts to interfere with the procurement process. Civil society and opposition leaders have called for the reinstatement of Kapitolo, as well as the resignation of Vice President and Justice Minister George Kunda, who consistently stood behind Siliya. Banda replaced Kapitolo with former Ministry of Education procurement chief Samuel Chibuye, who is rumored to have illegally tendered supplies to Banda's family members. Banda also disbanded the entire ZPPA Board, replacing the "independent" regulatory body's board members with elements from his political circle, including ministers of finance, works and supply, energy, agriculture, and local government and housing as well as his cabinet secretary. ¶7. (C) Civil society representatives told emboff that ACC's investigation of Siliya has been cut short by government interference. Emboff has received similiar reports of GRZ intrusion, including information that Vice President Kunda recently threatened to "turn the State machinery against" the acting ACC chief for refusing to interrupt its corruption probe of the Food Reserve Agency. According to a UK representative who works closely on ACC capacity building, former President Mwanawasa had at times inquired into ACC investigations, but had always done so in writing and with some level of transparency. He observed that State House now intervenes more frequently and "without a paper trail." In not so many words, ACC investigators confirmed this to emboff and also noted that their institution's operational funding is down by 80 percent, prohibiting most of their work. Task Force prosecutor Nchito told emboff that Banda had identified as the next ACC Director General a former Task Force on Corruption prosecutor who distinguished himself at the Task Force by his courtroom incompetency and his allegiance to LUSAKA 00000295 003.2 OF 003 State House. ¶8. (C) In a separate, but also disturbing development, the GRZ suggested that it intends to disband the Task Force on Corruption, which Banda's predecessor established to prosecute high-level corruption in the Chiluba Administration, including former President Chiluba himself. Nchito opined to emboff that the single greatest challenge to the Task Force is no longer the inefficiency of the judiciary, but the government itself. He said Banda had aligned himself with Chiluba in order to discredit the Task Force in advance of the upcoming, July 20 ruling on the Chiluba case. According to Nchito, Banda fears that a ruling against Chiluba would set a precedent for his own indictment and prosecution when he one day departs office. Referring to the multiple (criminal) investigations into Zambian Airways' recent insolvency, Nchito (Zambian Airways' former chief executive) acknowledged that this was part of Banda's and Chiluba's strategy to damage his reputation and derail the anti-corruption cases. He said he hoped the investigations would lead to a court case to expose its lack of merit. He expressed some concern, however, that the GRZ would order his arrest pending its investigation of Zambian Airways in order to interfere with the progress of the Task Force cases that he is prosecuting. 9, (C) Comment: Although President Banda deftly painted himself into a corner by offering Siliya his vocal and unwavering support, he shows little discomfort at being there. Instead of containing the scandal or distancing themselves from it, he and his Vice President amplified it by implicating themselves further. Within hours of dismissing Kapitolo, Banda appointed a new ZPPA Director, described by civil society organizations as more "user friendly" to State House. The appointment of a new ZPPA head and board, and the government's careless handling of the Siliya affair, suggests a domestic agenda directed by Banda's personal interests and efforts to consolidate his control over his party, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD). Whatever public confidence former President Mwanawasa had managed to accrue through his anti-corruption campaign is quickly ebbing away. Banda's competing desires for legitimacy and respect (from Zambian voters, his party, and the international community alike) on the one hand, and the illegitimate and ill-begotten spoils of office on the other, require much more political adroitness and sophistication than he or his subordinates have so far demonstrated. BOOTH