Zambia’s opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) is hoping for a better, effective and objective Transparency International Zambia under the new leadership of Lee Habasonda as its president.
Habasonda, the former executive director of Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD), was recently elected as president of TIZ at an annual general meeting taking over from the compromised Rueben Lifuka. Both Habasonda and Lifuka were before the 2011 September elections compromised by the Patriotic Front.
As civil society leaders, Habasonda and Lifuka, alongside several others led a vicious campaign to oust the MMD based on a PF promise to fight corruption. It later emerged that the two leaders were after some appointments.
Lifuka was rewarded with a position on the Technical Committee drafting the constitution which at the end of its sitting would see its members gobbling billions of kwachas from allowances.
Sata did not reward Habasonda on information that he was slippery and could not be trusted with a top government position. But seeing the compromised manner in which Lifuka has become, TIZ members voted him out at the general in preference to Habasonda hoping to rediscover the lost vibrancy the body has been know for.
In an interview with Qfm, UPND deputy spokesperson Edwin Lifwekelo urged Habasonda to remain focused and professional in running the institution.
Lifwekelo says there is need to give the new TIZ leadership time to do a commendable job saying the institution has been too instrumental on issues of corruption.
He urges Habasonda to deal with corruption issues without fear or favor or even interference from the government because the people of Zambia will be there to judge.