CORRUPTION (DAILY MAIL)
ACC stalks permanent secretariesBy KASUBA MULENGA
THE Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) says it may institute investigations into financial irregularities among controlling officers following revelations of misappropriation of public funds by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is currently sitting.
ACC Director-General, Nixon Banda, said at a press briefing in Lusaka yesterday that his department would investigate permanent secretaries if it became apparent that they were involved in corrupt practices.
"Clearly, these are matters which have taken place and in some cases we have recommended that they be dealt with administratively. But where corruption is involved, we will definitely move in," Mr Banda said.
He said investigations into alleged corruption at the Ministry of Lands had reached an advanced stage and the culprits might be arrested in the next few weeks.
Mr Banda said some of the officers involved had already been punished, suspended or dismissed while others would soon be appearing in court.
Mr Banda said a combined team of officers from ACC, the Drug Enforcement Commission and police were working hard to ensure that investigations were concluded in good time.
"Investigations have now reached an advanced stage to an extent that cases have been isolated, possible offences identified and decisions are soon to be made in the next week or two on effecting arrests on the suspects," he said.
Mr Banda also warned companies against engaging in corrupt practices because they risked being blacklisted.
On the glaring financial irregularities at the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services raised in the 2007 Auditor-General's report regarding imprest, Mr Banda said since the allowance was retirable, ACC recommended that such matters be dealt with administratively so that the funds could be recovered.
And Mr Banda was worried about the escalating number of corruption cases in various Government departments.
He said out of the 466 reports, which ACC received between January and March 2007, about 347 were complaints against public officials while 99 were recorded from the private sector.
Mr Banda feared that the sensitisation workshops ACC conducted might be misunderstood, especially among public officers.
He said ACC would start re-strategising to ensure that the number of corruption cases in Government departments was reduced.
According to statistics, Lusaka recorded the highest number of corruption complaints totalling 168 while the lowest in the country was Mongu with 12.
Out of the 466 reports, 195 were categorised as corruption complaints while 251 were non-corruption related complaints and were treated as information received.
"From the 195 corruption complaints, only 141 cases were authorised for investigations while 54 were deemed not to be pursuable," he said.
Mr Banda said the total number of cases closed in the first quarter, including those brought forward from the previous year, was 119.
He said ACC closed investigations on some cases because of lack of evidence and non-availability of witnesses.
Mr Banda also announced that ACC recorded seven arrests for various offences of corruption in the first quarter of 2007.
He said during the first quarter, the commission registered seven new prosecution cases, which resulted in four convictions while two were acquittals.
The other case is still pending.
Meanwhile, Civil Servants and Allied Workers' Union of Zambia (CSAWUZ) general-secretary, Darison Chaala, has advised his members countrywide against involving themselves in misappropriation of public funds.
Mr Chaala said in a statement in Lusaka that CSAWUZ was concerned about the revelations of the Auditor-General's report and the submissions to PAC that substantial amounts of funds were being misappropriated in Government.
"As a union, we are disturbed by the many issues of abuse of public funds, unretired imprest and other financial irregularities reported in the Auditor-General's report during the on-going sittings of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament," Mr Chaala said.
He called on members to take the responsibility of fighting the growing scourge in public offices and ensure that funds allocated to their departments in this year's budget were properly spent.
http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/press/news/viewnews.cgi?category=2&id=1128063107
Clerk nabbed over K1bn.
By REBECCA CHILESHE
AN ACCOUNTS clerk at Police Service Headquarters in Lusaka has been arrested for allegedly stealing over K1 billion. This allegedly happened between January 2005 and August 2006. Ministry of Home Affairs Permanent Secretary, Peter Mumba, revealed this yesterday when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sitting at Parliament.
Mr Mumba said the officer allegedly failed to account for K215,695, 400 million between June 2005 and August 2006. He also said the accounts clerk further failed to deposit an amount totalling K976, 661,400 into Control 99 between January 2005 and August 2006.
"The officer who failed to account for the K225, 695,400 has been arrested. He is the same officer who failed to credit an amount totalling K976, 661,400 into Control 99 as the credit slips relating to this amount had a fake stamp purporting that it was from the Bank of Zambia," Mr Mumba said.
He said, he felt, that there were weaknesses in the office of the Accountant General as it took about five months to confirm deposits, adding that in this case, the cashier had enough time to work out a plan for himself.
He appealed to the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, especially the office of the Accountant-General, to address the issue of confirmations so that they were received on the same day.
Auditor-General, Anna Chifungula, said her office received a letter from a police officer who asked her to take action against the accounts clerk in question, as it was her office that had raised an audit query regarding the missing funds.
Commissioner of Police, Francis Kabonde, said he would investigate the matter because it was embarrassing for an officer to write to the Auditor-General's office advising her to probe the matter.
The committee, chaired by Luena independent member of Parliament (MP), Charles Milupi, heard that an amount of K2.1 billion at the immigration department headquarters was under-banked and could not be detected and that it was possible that this could have taken place between January and December 2005.
"This was the period we experienced some problems with the former cashier who was later recommended for transfer due to some irregularities,” Mr Kabonde said.
He said the issue would be followed up to ensure that the funds are paid back and appropriate action taken against officers found wanting.
And Mr Mumba said most of the audit queries at the Lusaka International Airport were as a result of some "unfaithful officers " who had been involved in illegal transactions.
He said a female immigration officer formerly based at the airport fled to the United States of America after it was discovered that she had not receipted VISA fees amounting to US$9,626 and 435 British Pounds, respectively.
He said six other officers were transferred to various stations and that the situation at the airport had gone back to normal.
Another cashier at the immigration department in Kapiri Mposhi misappropriated K83, 920,000 and allegedly fled the country after the scam was unearthed.
At the passports office headquarters, a cashier and her immediate supervisor have allegedly misappropriated K885,507,800.
"The matter of the cashier and her supervisor are before the disciplinary committee, and this committee will be informed of any action that will be taken at the end of the disciplinary hearing," he said.
Siavonga MP, Douglas Syakalima, said although the submission by Mr Mumba had not been defensive, the events were depressing because over K20 billion of public funds was in people's hands.
Mr Milupi said there seemed to be a crisis in the ministry where revenue collection was involved.
http://www.times.co.zm/news/viewnews.cgi?category=4&id=1176546902
State aims at stimulating economic activities
By Times Reporter
VICE-President Rupiah Banda has said the Government in this year’s national Budget has provided incentives aimed at stimulating economic activities in critical sectors of Zambia’s economy.
And Zambia Federation of Employers (ZFE) president, Danny Musenge, has commended the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for the tremendous support to the tripartite social partners in fostering social dialogue.
At the official opening of the 41st annual general meeting of ZFE in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Banda said the Government had pronounced its intentions to improve the business and investment climate in Zambia to motivate private sector development.
He said in line with the proposed expenditure priorities outlined in the fifth National Development Plan (FNDP), it was envisaged that expenditure would be biased towards reinvestment in agriculture, fisheries and livestock.
The Government had committed itself to actively participating in activities of the regional bodies like Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to create an enabling environment for increased investment in the industry.
“The existence of the export processing zones (EPZ) is another measure that provides a jump-start on the road to economic recovery. These structures will help broaden the export base and improve Zambia’s competitiveness in the region,” Mr Banda said.
The ZFE leadership should ensure that it performed its intended role through promoting policies that encouraged creation of productive, decent and sustainable employment.
“You will agree with me in observing that poverty levels pose major developmental challenges to the people both in rural and urban areas. The best way of responding to this challenge is the creation of sustainable employment.
“The New Deal Government will continue to provide a conducive environment for employment creation through various policies and ensure poverty reduction programmes are fully implemented,” he said.
ZFE was an important partner of the Government and the labour movement in the consultative process on issues affecting the workplace. The federation continues to collaborate with institutions to exchange views and contribute to the maintenance of peace and harmony in Zambia.
And Mr Musenge has commended ILO for ensuring that fundamental principles and rights of the employers were fully respected.
He said the federation had continued to purse the realisation of its mission through promoting and projecting employers’ interest in industrial and commercial services.
“The federation is happy to note that in 2006, the Government continued to support the agriculture sector through the Fertiliser Support Programme. The country managed to record a bumper harvest of 1.4 million tonnes of maize. The Government’s efforts in this regard are highly commendable,” Mr Musenge said.
Meanwhile, Mr Musenge has said the increasing prices of fuel have kept prices of commodities sky-rocketing and slowed down the business activities in areas of economic activities such as agriculture and the manufacturing industry.
http://www.times.co.zm/news/viewnews.cgi?category=4&id=1176547034
First Quantum Minerals makes provisional tax payment
By Times Reporter
THE First Quantum Minerals Limited group of companies have made provisional tax payments to the Government amounting to US $100.18 million for 2006 from its operations in Zambia.
First Quantum Minerals Limited group of companies director, Kwalela Lamaswala, said in a statement in Lusaka yesterday that Kansanshi Mining Plc provisional tax payments for the year ended December 31, 2006 was $29.75 million, bringing the total for the year 2006 to $72.33 million.
First Quantum Mining and Operations Limited (Bwana Mkubwa Mine) provisional tax payments for the quarter ended December 31, 2006 was $11.91 million, bringing the total for the year 2006 to $27.85 Million.
The copper production for the group was 179,067 tonnes comprising 127,178 tonnes from Kansanshi and 51,891 tonnes from Bwana Mkubwa Mine.
Labels: ACC, EPZ, FIRST QUANTUM MINING, MINING, PAC, TAXATION
posted by MrK @ 5:22 AM
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