“The Depth of My Footprints” by Ng’andu Peter Magande

Dr. Katele Kalumba, Ng’andu Peter Magande, Ng’andu Peter Magande, Edith Nawakwi, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, Alexander Bwalya Chikwanda and Rabson Chongo

“Perhaps as a way of fixing me, Government ministries and departments, that were customers of ZANACO, were directed to divert their deposits to private commercial banks. As part of liberalisation, government ministers refused to bank their ministry’s public funds with the people’s bank. Some ministries withdrew money held in ZANACO accounts and opened new accounts with private banks. They preferred to deal with private banks where they personally negotiated and got higher interest rates, some of which was deposited into their personal accounts. One minister even drove to the Bank of Zambia with trunks to collect money for his ministry. Most of these stories were common knowledge in the banking industry.
A directive was issued by the ministry of finance that money received by ZRA at border points must be deposited in a particular commercial bank, even where that bank had no branch. Since the designated bank had no branch at the busy Chirundu border post, ZRA deposited its revenues in the branch of ZANACO at Chirundu. The people’s bank then provided transport and security at its own cost to deliver the money to Lusaka, where it was deposited in the favoured bank.

KK with Ng’andu Peter Magande

In order to compete in the new environment, my staff and I had to sniff around in government departments to know, which ones had received funds from the Ministry of Finance. We thought we were lucky at one point, when we heard that a named ministry had received a cheque for a very large amount of money, meant for payment of arrears to its employees. I asked one of our senior officers in the operations department to follow up the matter and get the deposit into ZANACO.

KK Sata and Mark Storella

The officer, who saw the minister, was told that she was too junior to discuss the matter with the minister, who had the cheque. I decided to speak directly to the minister, as he was the one to make a decision on where to deposit the cheque. In our telephone conversation, the minister confirmed that he had the cheque and would deposit it in the bank that gave him the highest interest rate. He stated that our bank’s highest rate was not good enough and therefore he could not deposit the cheque with us.
I requested the treasury to intervene, arguing that ZANACO paid a dividend to the government on profits, while the private banks did not. I was told that liberalisation also applied to the banking sector and that it was our responsibility to fight for business even that from the government. As I had a limit on interest rates set by the board, I therefore, gave up, as the rate I offered was the highest according to my mandate. Our tracer system located the minister’s cheque in a private and foreign bank in a time-deposit interest earning account.
Having been a custodian of public funds at the Ministry of Finance during the eighties, I found this arrangement repulsive and a flagrant abuse of public property. After a lot of debate in the public media, the case ended up with the anti-corruption organs, who established some wrong-doing after investigations. However, no action was taken against the concerned minister, as “the penalty of K50.00 for such an offence is too small to waste government money on prosecuting the case,” said the Attorney General.
Regrettably, by this decision of the Attorney General, not to prosecute a clear case of abuse of office, the floodgates of abuse of public office and property were wide open. Soon, we were seeing government four-wheel drive vehicles in wedding convoys of children of ministers and other senior government officials on Lusaka’s main roads. It was embarrassing to see a senior government official leaving a pub and getting into a government vehicle with beer bottles in both hands.
This behaviour, which was part of ‘the new culture’ of the MMD was to have an enduring long-term negative impact on government operations. Privatisation and liberalisation, was turned into personalization, even of government property.
One evening in early May 1993, I attended a reception for the delegates to an international conference organized by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing at the Pamodzi Hotel. Deputy Minister Valentine Kayope was the host and was at the entrance receiving the guests.
As I was approaching the host, Minister Michael Sata was also arriving. As Minister Kayope and I were in a conversation, Sata asked Kayope if he knew me. Minister Kayope replied that he knew me very well as I’d found him at the Ministry of Rural Development, when I joined the Ministry. He added that I’d performed very well at my former ministry.

Ng’andu Peter Magande’s The Depth of My Footprints reviewer Robert Liebenthal

Michael Sata then informed Valentine Kayope that I was the managing director of the government bank, who was refusing to give money to the people who funded the MMD campaign. He stated that I’d even turned down requests from government ministers, as if the money belonged to me. He then boisterously shouted, “Iwe mwaice, uleemona”, meaning ‘young man, you will see’, drawing the attention of the other guests, who were waiting to shake hands with Minister Kayope. When one of them asked me about the conversation that delayed the entrance protocols, I lied, as I could not tell a foreigner that I was being threatened by a government minister.
I did not enjoy my favourite apple juice drink at the reception and left early for home, wondering as to what fate was at my doorstep. At that time, I had failed to get an audience with President Chiluba, my appointing authority or with any senior MMD government official since 1992. In view of Michael Sata’s status in the MMD government and his relationship with President Chiluba, I concluded that my days at ZANACO were numbered”, from “The Depth of My Footprints”.

Sata, Chiluba and Mwanawasa

Mayamba Walubita Hear hear,this Sata has never been a hero he became president using tribalism and lies he even join mmd very late from unip.He was also against freedom fighters during independence struggles that’s why president Chiluba never wanted him to rule he new him batter but Zambians fall in his trap here we are now my beloved country.  

James Chileshe “This behaviour,which was part of ‘the new culture’ of the MMD was to have an enduring long-term negative impact on government operations. Privatisation and liberalisation,was turned into personalization, even of government property.”Enjoying the excerpts. Been wondering how we got were we are.Its been some kind of a journey. Chai! 

Ng’andu Peter Magande’s Depth of my Footpaths author

You can now buy copies of my book, ‘The Depth of My Footprints’ by calling salespersons on the following numbers and towns:
1. Ndola – 0977 181946

2. Livingstone – 0976 208056

3. Choma – 0979 492932

4. Monze – 0976 053226

5. Mazabuka – 0974 861332

NG’ANDU PETER MAGANDE (MR)
Author of ‘

You can now buy copies of my book, ‘The Depth of My Footprints’ by calling salespersons on the following numbers and towns:
1. Ndola – 0977 1819462. Livingstone – 0976 208056

3. Choma – 0979 492932

4. Monze – 0976 053226

5. Mazabuka – 0974 861332

NG’ANDU PETER MAGANDE (MR)
Author of ‘The Depth of My Footprints’

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