President Levy Mwanawasa

The axed head of Zambia's graft-busting team that prosecuted former leader Frederick Chiluba said Sunday that President Rupiah Banda had lied about the costs of the case. Banda said on state radio that the anti-corruption task force had spent 13 million dollars on prosecuting Chiluba on charges of embezzling 500,000 dollars, a case that ended in August with an acquittal. Max Nkole, who headed the task force, told AFP that his office spent about half that amount, including the legal fees to prosecute Chiluba in a separate case in London where a judge found he had swindled nearly 50 million dollars in state funds. ... Read Full Story

That depends on your comparator. According to the recently released 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index , Zambia is not very prosperous globally (89/104), but slightly better regionally (7th in Africa). The good: Social Capital - Ranked 21st : Just 12% of all Zambians feel they can trust their fellow citizen, placing Zambia amongst the bottom 15 on this variable. Only 18% of Zambians indicated they had donated to charity in 2008; however, as many as 26% had volunteered and a high 60% of Zambians claimed to have helped a stranger in the same timeframe.* In addition, just 70% feel they can rely on their family ... Read Full Story

Zambia will disband the anti-graft team that prosecuted ex-president Fredrick Chiluba, drawing accusations Friday that the government was seeking to bury the case two months after his acquittal. Vice President George Kunda told parliament late Thursday that the special task force created to investigate corruption allegations against Chiluba would now become part of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The previous government of the late president Levy Mwanawasa had created the task force in 2002, saying the commission did not have the capacity to investigate complex cases. But Kunda said all cases handled by the task force will be handed over to the ACC. "Under this ... Read Full Story

President Rupiah Banda has asked Zambians to jealously guard the peace and stability that the country has enjoyed in the last 45 years claiming it is a result of the spirit of oneness promoted by the country's founding fathers. In his national address on state television late Friday, Banda said that Zambia, which celebrates the 45th anniversary of its independence on Saturday, should strive at maintaining the peace enjoyed so far. "These celebrations should remind us all that to achieve our freedom, our founding fathers and mothers worked together in unity not only to free the country but also to secure the peace and ... Read Full Story

A Zambian government minister accused donors of backing a call to motorists to sound their horns in a weekly protest against the recent acquittal of ex-president Frederick Chiluba on graft charges. "We have noted that all this is happening with the blessing of some donors," Home Affairs Minister Lameck Mangani told journalists. "Some Zambians who served in the foreign service and other high positions have been having dark corner meetings with some donors agitating that the government of President Banda is corrupt," Mangani said. On Wednesday, Zambian civil groups called on citizens to wear black clothes and sound their horns every Friday in protest ... Read Full Story