Africa-Press – Zambia. Transparency International Zambia (TI-Z) has apologised to Premier Consult Ltd owner and renowned economist Prof. Oliver Saasa for insinuating that he should have declared interest when doing consultancy work for First Quantum Minerals (FQM).
TIZ raised concerns of possible conflict of interest in the awarding of FQM Limited’s US $1.3 billion expansion investment evaluation consultancy to Prof Saasa through his consultancy firm, Premier Consult.
TIZ Chapter President Sampa Kalungu said that his organization’s concern stems from the fact that Prof. Saasa is the chairperson of the Economic Advisory Council, having been appointed by President Hakainde Hichilema, and in that position, he provides advice to the President on economic matters.
Mr Kalunga said that the recommendations from the evaluation of FQM are crucial in informing the government on its next actions with regard to the country’s mining sector and overall economic development.
Prof. Saasa reacted angrily to the statement issued by TI-Z over allegations of conflict of interest. In a fresh media statement issued on Friday, Kalungu said the organisation has further retracted the earlier statement in which it condemned Prof. Saasa. Mr. Kalungu disclosed that TI-Z held a meeting with Prof. Saasa over his concern regarding the earlier statement.
“Transparency International Zambia (TI-Z) wishes to set the record straight concerning the statement that we issued on 30th May 2022, in which we raised several concerns about Prof. Oliver Saasa and Premier Consult Ltd. Following the meeting that we held with Prof. Saasa and Premier Consult Ltd yesterday and the clarity we gained, it has since come to our attention that the said advisory council does not in fact exist. Prof. Saasa also clarified that he currently does not provide advisory services to government, contrary to the impression we got,” Mr. Kalungu said.
“In light of the foregoing, we hereby retract our earlier statement and extend our apology to Prof. Saasa and Premier Consult Ltd,” he added.
Earlier this week, Prof Saasa told The Mast that he did not see anything conflicting about his role of chairing an advisory board and being proprietor Premier Consult, a firm that is doing consultancy work for First Quantum Minerals (FQM).
Meanwhile, First Quantum Minerals (FQM) equally issued a statement in which it said that it was surprised and dismayed by a statement issued by Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) attempting to discredit the renowned economist Prof. Oliver Saasa.
FQM further added that the Premier Consult team was given full independence to conduct their research impartially and with integrity to ensure a credible professional view of the investment, and to ensure transparency, First Quantum’s engagement of the consultancy was clearly stated in the report.
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