New president unveils cabinet team, policies

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa on Monday announced a new cabinet and policy reforms that some analysts said would allay concerns of him being a "puppet" president. Mwanawasa dismantled a pet project of his predecessor, Frederick Chiluba, trimmed the size of the cabinet, and put to an end direct State House donations to needy causes under the "presidential discretionary fund", which was widely seen as a political slush fund. Mwanawasa named himself defence minister when he announced his team, which includes six of Chiluba's former cabinet members, including vice-president Enoch Kavindele and former information minister Vernon Mwaanga, who assumed the same positions. Others from the former administration are Foreign Affairs Minister Katele Kalumba, Local Government Minister Michael Mabenge, Trade Minister Bates Namuyamba, Tourism Minister Levison Mumba and Science and Technology Minister Abel Chambeshi. Emmanuel Kasonde, who served as Chiluba's first finance minister but resigned in the mid-1990s to form an opposition party bounced back in the same capacity. Mwanawasa's cabinet team - which political analysts said would be indicative of the new president's policies and leadership style - received mixed reactions. Fred Mutesa, a lecturer at the University of Zambia's department of development studies, said the reappointment of discredited former ministers such as Vernon Mwaanga and Katele Kalumba suggested that the official excesses of the past would continue. "One would have loved to see the last of people like Mwaanga and Kalumba. Mwanawasa and his team have a heavy task ahead to fight," Mutesa told IRIN. Mwaanga was linked to drug trafficking offences in the late 1980s and was forced to resign from the cabinet in 1994 following donor protests at his appointment. However, Chiluba reappointed him to the cabinet last year. Kalumba was linked to the diversion of two billion Kwacha (about US $500,000) in public funds last year, but was subsequently cleared by a government tribunal. Mwanawasa conceded that Mwaanga had been involved in drug trafficking, but said he was confident that he had reformed. "If I am wrong, I would be very happy to receive representations to show that he is still dealing in drugs and I would not hesitate to take action. For the moment, the man should not be given a bad name to hang himself. I am sure he has reformed," Mwanawasa said. Some analysts said the composition of the cabinet suggested that Mwanawasa wanted to move away from the political culture of the Chiluba years. Gilbert Mudenda, head of the Institute of Policy studies (IPS), said few of the people on Mwanawasa's cabinet were close to Chiluba. "You can see that he has not brought in people such as Chitalu Sampa and Newstead Zimba, which is a sign that he wants to distance himself from the Chiluba regime," said Mudenda. Zimba and Sampa, who worked with the former president in the trade union movement until he assumed office in 1991, served as cabinet members in various ministry's during Chiluba's two terms. Some observers said Mwanawasa's decision to restructure the government by dismantling the ministry of community development and merging other ministries, and his dismantling of a controversial housing scheme initiated by Chiluba, also suggested that he was anxious to assert himself as his own man. Mwanawasa announced the dismantling of the Presidential Housing Initiative (PHI), a scheme that was ostensibly set up to boost a sluggish house ownership programme, but which was widely seen as meant to enrich the former president and his associates. The Anti-Corruption Commission disclosed last year that it was investigating Chiluba's press aide Richard Sakala for various offences he allegedly committed as PHI boss. Among other things, he is alleged to have arbitrarily awarded lucrative PHI contracts to companies in which he or his relatives had interests, and to have employed relatives under preferential conditions of service. Mwanawasa said he would put an end to a culture under which his predecessor directly funded choice causes. The donations, from the presidential discretionary fund, were widely believed to have been aimed at buying loyalty. "As much as possible, our people are discouraged to seek direct State House funding for projects or causes. Any appeal for State House intervention ... will only be processed if they do have a recommendation from a relevant line ministry who must show that there is something special about the appeal, which requires our intervention," he said. Mwanawasa also said he had wanted to invite the opposition to join a coalition government, but their refusal to recognise his presidency had changed that. "It was my intention to have invited the leaders of some of the opposition parties to provide us with some men and women elected to parliament who could have joined hands with us in this national task of development and the new administration. Unfortunately, I have been reliably informed that they are in the process of petitioning the results of the elections in the courts of law. Consequently, it is not possible for me to invite anyone from them this time," he noted. Several opposition parties have rejected the outcome of the elections, which they claim were rigged, and plan to file an electoral petition to overturn the results later this week. They also plan to stage mass demonstrations across the country to turn public opinion against the new government. Political analysts suspect that the government will have a tough time passing legislation through the National Assembly as the opposition holds around half of the seats in the House. Nevers Mumba, president of the opposition National Citizens Coalition, said Mwanawasa had made a grave mistake by excluding the opposition from his government. "This goes to show that Mr Mwanawasa has total disregard for the opposition. Unfortunately, he does not have a majority in parliament like his predecessor, Chiluba, did," Mumba said.