Situmbeko Musokotwane, the Minister of Finance and National Planning, says he strongly refutes claims that he and Charles Milupi, the Minister of Infrastructure, Housing, and Urban Development, have been covertly testifying before the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on corruption accusations.
Munir Zulu, a member of parliament from Lumezi, claimed yesterday that Dr. Musokotwane and Mr. Milupi had been covertly testifying before the ACC on the USD250,000 each of them had received from a certain company.
However Dr. Musokotwane has reassured the populace that he has not been the recipient of any such payment, either directly in cash or through bank accounts connected to him, or in any other illegal way.
He continued to deny the claims that he had been called.
“I also assure the nation that I have not been summoned, not been interviewed as a suspect, and not been questioned by the ACC or any law enforcement agency in any corruption case,” Dr Musokotwane said.
The Minister said he will seek appropriate statutory remedies for the injury caused to his character by Mr Zulu.
“As Minister of Finance and National Planning, I am a public official running a public office. In the course of my duties, my office remains accessible to various stakeholders both within the public sector and outside.
It is important to note that law enforcement agencies, in the course of their duties, are free to invite any public official or otherwise to assist with information in an ongoing or planned investigation. They should not be deterred from doing that if it helps in establishing facts in a matter that they are pursuing,” he said.
Dr. Musokotwane also gave the public and stakeholders assurances that the government would continue to uphold the rule of law, transparency, and accountability as it carried out the economic transformation program and worked to improve the lives of Zambians.
He claimed that the government has taken note of some plans intended to distract it from maintaining the gains made in reviving the economy, improving the lives of our people, enhancing the nation’s standing in the international community, and enhancing cooperation with all parties, both domestic and foreign.
