Banda’s spokesperson Dickson Jere said Transport and Communications
Minister Dora Siliya had resigned after a tribunal found that she had
breached the constitution over a $2m contract she awarded to a foreign
firm.
Siliya is the first minister to resign from Banda’s six-month-old
government, which has faced several accusations of corruption from the
opposition and privately owned media.
Banda has vowed to continue a crackdown against graft begun by his
predecessor Levy Mwanawasa, who won plaudits from western donors and
international agencies for his tough stance.
Siliya was investigated over a contract she awarded to a Cayman Islands
firm to evaluate assets of the state telecoms firm, Zamtel Ltd., which
is due for partial privatisation.
A tribunal headed by Supreme Court Judge Dennis Chirwa said in a report to Banda that she had breached the constitution.
It was not immediately clear whether Siliya would face prosecution.
News24/Reuters
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