Attorney General in ConCourt over Ministers paying back money
Zambia’s Attorney General has gone back to the Constitutional Court, asking the Court to revisit it’s ruling that former Ministers must pay back the money during the time they were found to have occupied their offices illegally, as per Court Judgment.
Even though the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) had on 9th August 2016 said the decision of the highest court ought to be respected and asked the ministers to pay back, the organisation made the following observation as reported by Qfm:
“(YALI Governance Advisor, Isaac).. Mwanza says it must be clear that an order for ministers to pay back salaries and allowances paid to them, and received in good faith would be punitive and unjust to the ministers, who continued to run their offices under advice, in the honest belief that the Constitution allowed them to continue in office.
He says the court’s decision also raises a number of pertinent questions which it ought to have applied its mind to, and should have dealt with such as the decisions made by the ministers during the period of their illegal stay in office.
Mr Mwanza says it is the view of his organization that as the court grows and begins to set a clear course in its work, it must revise its rules to create room allowing for the review of its own decisions, where it is clear that such review is in the interest of justice…”
So if you ask me what is happening today, I will tell you YALI talked about this the very day the judgment was passed. I have carefully read the 14 – paragraph arguments by the Attorney General Likando Kalaluka and I must say, his submissions would have been my submission on this matter. What remains now is for the Court to make its ruling on this matter.