Maravi

Levy is like a commander without troops - Nawakwi

Levy is like a commander without troops - Nawakwi
By Brighton Phiri
Thursday April 26, 2007 [04:00]

PRESIDENT Mwanawasa is like a commander without troops in his fight against corruption, opposition Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) president Edith Nawakwi has said. Commenting on reports of the missing public funds and Permanent Secretaries’ (PSs) failure to account for the missing funds, Nawakwi said President Mwanawasa’s failure to dismiss the affected PSs confirmed that corruption had become endemic beyond his capacity.

“It is clear that Mr. Mwanawasa has no soldiers to help him fight this corruption. He must now look back and see who is with him in the fight,” Nawakwi said. “Some of us have watched the development with a heavy heart especially on the theft of public funds, which has reached alarming levels in the history of the public service. Indeed, Mr Mwanawasa is like a commander without troops in the fight against corruption. Without soldiers, Mr. Mwanawasa is bound to fail.”

She said it was a pity that President Mwanawasa’s administration, which claimed to be “a government of laws and not men”, had continued to record increased corrupt cases and theft of public resources.

Nawakwi said increased cases of theft of public funds was due to nepotism that came along with President Mwanawasa’s new deal administration.

“Employment in the public service since 2001 has been on the basis of family connection and links. Due to nepotism, the people in the public service have no respect for public assets...after all, my uncle is the President, minister, PS or District Commissioner...with this attitude, theft of public funds is taking place with impunity,” Nawakwi said.

“All this is happening when we have opposition members of parliament who are singing praise and claiming all is well in the country and that we do not need to change government. It is shameful for our opposition members of parliament to praise a government, which has failed to address the problems faced by many people.”

Nawakwi expressed her disappointment with the National Assembly’s attempt to impose secrecy around Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sittings. She said there was no justification for the PAC to sit in camera over issues that related to theft of public funds. Nawakwi called for an independent Auditor General’s Office with constitutional emoluments. “We need an Auditor General’s Office with powers to prosecute,” she said.

She said lack of sanctions against thieving civil servants had contributed towards rampant theft of public funds. Nawakwi wondered why only junior civil servants were arrested and dismissed for stealing public funds. “Why is it that the big fish are not being arrested?” she asked.

On demolition of illegal structures across the country, Nawakwi asked government to come up with a programme that would give direction in addressing the problem of squatter settlement. “As FDD, what we could do is to get to Kalikiliki compound, where government took bulldozers, build 200 housing units and ask those in squatter settlement to move into them,” she said. “This government, which is in good books with the Chinese government, should ask their counterparts on how they handle squatter settlement.”

She asked government to assist the local councils to develop the open spaces instead of engaging in a confrontational campaign against squatter settlement.

Labels: CORRUPTION, EDITH NAWAKWI, GOVERNANCE, MARKETEERS

posted by MrK @ 3:51 AM