As a senior executive in state companies, I was a witness to different types of unethical
business practices perpetuated by bureaucrats, politicians, suppliers and contractors.
While in public the government appeared to be committed to fighting corruption, in reality,
these same politicians were at the fore front of cultivating a culture of corruption for
personal gain. My experiences began in 1989 when I was the Chief Accountant of the
export bank of Zambia. While reviewing the bank’s loan portfolio, I uncovered a scam
involving the Chief executive officer involving $25million worth of non performing loans
that had been advanced to companies that were either owned or controlled by him and
his close associates. I reported the findings to the chairperson of the board who promised
to take up the matter with the appointing authority, but nothing came out of it. When the
CEO found out that I had reported him, he was furious and asked me to resign or be fired.
I chose to resign. Three years later, the bank had been plundered of all its capital and was
subsequently liquidated. More than $50 million of public and donor funds had been looted
and no one was punished for it.
Three years later, I was director of finance at a telecommunications company. I was also
chairperson of the company’s tender committee. I rejected a number of contracts due to
financial improprieties. One of them involved the award of a contract worth 889million
Japanese Yen. On closer scrutiny of the contract, I discovered that it had been over stated
by 200million Yen. I reported the anomaly to the Managing Director who told me to leave it
as it was because “the funds were coming from donors” and so there was no financial loss
to the company. I had no choice but to report to the chairperson of the financial committee
of the board. Fortunately, he agreed with me and the contract was sent back to the
contractor for modification. It came out $200 Yen cheaper. My boss was mad with me and
vowed to fix me. I was subsequently removed from the tender committee and given less
powers in my duties. I knew it was time to go. I resigned.
I moved on, in the same capacity, this time around with a pension state company.
Being cash rich with member contributions, we were a target of greedy politicians.
One minister in particular, took it upon himself to direct us which financial institutions
to invest in. Two of the financial institutions he nominated had ties with the ruling party
for which he was the national treasurer. He was also personally connected with one
of them. I told my boss that there was a conflict of interest and that the financial
institutions in question were a subject of money laundering investigations. My boss
told me that his hands were tied as he was a political appointee and could not refuse
instructions from the minister. It was left up to me to deal with the matter. I set up an
appointment to see our minister. The meeting was a one side affair with me at the
receiving end of threats and dehumanizing language. Sensing trouble, I decided to
take a few days off work to think about my future. When I came back from leave, I found
out that my office had been searched in a botched up investigation instigated by the
minister. The aim was to find evidence that I had received bribes from contractors and
that I had not retired travel advances. Further, I was accused of stealing computers
from the company. The incident was very challenging to me as the whole company
knew what was going on. My boss told me that it was not his idea, but that he was
acting on instructions. He however assured me that the investigations had exonerated
me. He also told me that I was making life difficult for him. I told him he did not have
to worry as I had done my job. I resigned. I was grateful that the company decided to
pay me a severance package. After I left, the company moved millions of dollars into
the banks designated by the minister. Two of these banks were later placed into
bankruptcy and members contributions lost forever. Five years later, the minister was
charged together with some of his colleagues by a new administration for theft of
public funds. He is still appearing in court.
After a brief stint in the private sector, I was appointed to oversea the re-organization
of a financial institution that was on the verge of bankruptcy. With the support of my
line minister and a co-operative board, I felt that my tenure as managing director
was going to be a long one. Three months later, I signed a multi million dollar contract
for rehabilitation of our head office. The contract was approved by the board six months
before I joined the company. The board secretary failed to mention to me that the
company was under instructions to award the contract to a company specified by the
president of the country. News of the contract spread very quickly as the company
anointed by the president cried foul to him. I was immediately summoned to the
president’s office, where I was told to revoke the contract and award it to the company
of his choice. I told him that there was no basis to revoke the contract as it had been
lawfully approved by the board. In any event, it was up to the board, and not me, to
decide on the status of the contract. He was angry with me, and told me that I was the
first person who had ever refused to carry out presidential instructions, and for that,
I was going to pay heavily, first by being fired from my job, then humiliated in the press
and finally make it difficult for me to get any meaningful job in the country, as long as he
remained president. I could however keep my job if I agreed to revoke the contract. I told
him I was ready to be dismissed if it meant me doing the rightful thing. Furious and upset,
he threw me out of his office and told me not to ever go back to my office because he had
fired me. Later in the evening, I sat to listen to the main television bulletin at which the
chairman of the national tender board annulled the contract, suggesting that there were
improprieties in the way the contract had been awarded. Fingers were already pointing
at me that I could have been involved in a shady deal. I phoned the tender board
chairman to ask for the details of anomalies. He told me he was acting under instructions
from high places.
I stayed away from the office before I received a call from my line minister who told me
to go back to work because the president had decided there was no basis to fire me.
I went back and continued with my job. A few months later, the president called me to
suggest that we pay funds to one of the rural districts in his home province. I told him
the sum of money being suggested needed board approval. I heard him swearing
obscenities before he hung up on me. Soon after that, I was once again in the
president’s office. This time my crime was for refusing to sell one of our institutional
houses to a lady who was rumoured to have been one of his many girlfriends. In a
rare show of sanity, he appeared to be calm as he listened to why we could not sell the
house to this particular individual. He said nothing and dismissed me from his presence.
One of his ministers later told me that the president had confessed that he had never
met somebody like me. My next meeting with the president was ugly. This time it was
over instructions to divert company assets to a housing project that he personally
controlled with his special assistant for the press and public relations. I sought the
advice of the Attorney General. In his letter, which was copied to the president, he
said that while the intension was good, it was against company law. He advised
against the move. The same day the president summoned me to his office and
accused me of sabotaging his programs and for going behind his back in writing to
the country’s top lawyer. He asked me to withdraw my letter and tell the Attorney
General that the board had already approved the transfer of assets. I told him it was
not only inappropriate to compromise the office of the government’s chief legal advisor,
but that such a move would be a lie that could back fire in the president’s face. I had
ignited fury. Insults and language being hurled at me were beneath the presidency.
I could not believe what was coming out of his mouth. “This time you will not get away
with it.” He said as he picked a file containing official documents and threw it in my face.
I picked the file and handed it back to him. With one look, he told me to leave else face
his wrath. I left the office shaken and down cast.
The matter did not end with that incident. What followed was a series of phone calls to my
office and home. Sometimes I would be awakened at night to be shouted at or threatened
with dismissal or other unspecified consequences. One day I received a call from the
intelligence who told me that if the president asks me to go to his office at night, I should
refuse as my life was in danger. The same night the president called about 11 p.m. and told
me he was waiting for me at his office. I told him I could not go because it was too late.
After further warnings, I knew that it was time to leave my country, my job, family and
friends. We were warmly received in Canada.
While this was going on with me, other heads of state companies were also being forced
divert funds to the ruling party, the president or some of his ministers. Major contracts
involving both aid and budget allocations were being controlled by the president and his
chosen clique of corrupt ministers and government officials. Some ministers resigned
from government accusing the president of gross violation of human rights and corruption.
Upon his removal from office, he was charged together with his special assistant for press
and public relations, along with a number of ministers and government officials, for theft
and corruption. The former president is accused of having stolen $ 40 million which he
has hidden in foreign banks.
Clement is a graduate of Herriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, where he studied for a
Masters in Business Administration. In addition, he has a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Economics and is a professional accountant. He has an extensive background in
business advisory services, auditing, evaluations, financial analysis and investigations,
public and non public accounting and has held senior management and consulting roles.
He has worked and consulted in four different countries. He has done extensive
consulting work with NGOs in the areas of auditing, financial management, project
appraisal, micro credit finance, capacity building and training. He served on local and
international boards as a director and trustee. He is currently a Program director of the
Trace Aid Program.