It's difficult to convince people there's economic growth, admits Maga
It's difficult to convince people there's economic growth, admits MagaBy Lambwe Kachali
Wednesday December 19, 2007 [03:00]
IT is difficult to convince people that there is economic growth in the country because it has not trickled down to the ordinary Zambian, finance minister Ng’andu Magande has said. And outgoing Norwegian Ambassador to Zambia Terje Vigtel said there was need to put honest and right people in the ministries to ensure proper distribution of national resources.
During a farewell family party for Ambassador Vigtel organised by former Task Force chairperson Mark Chona on Sunday, Magande said he sometimes felt ashamed to face Zambians because of poverty.
Magande attributed this development to failure by some ministers to implement and monitor their budget allocations. He said when he was first appointed finance minister, the Danish government wanted to give US $10 million to the Ministry of Agriculture for the treatment of livestock diseases in Western Province but they were hesitant to release the money because they were not sure if there were officials in the province who could utilise the money for its intended purpose.
Magande said although he was excited at the intention for financial help from the Danish government, he was afraid to sign for the money because he had not consulted the then agriculture minister Mundia Sikatana. He said after he discussed with Sikatana – who was also excited - the Danish government released the US $10 million to the Ministry of Agriculture for the treatment of livestock diseases in Western Province.
However, Magande said there was no one to carryout the treatment project but he recommended to Sikatana that retired veterinary officers should be used as opposed to the serving civil servants.
Magande said officials from the Ministry of Agriculture still went back to him and reported that they were unable to find retired veterinary officials. He said he promised to help in this area since he knew a Zambian veterinary doctor who had worked in Botswana for close to ten years and was now back at home.
“But surprisingly, this doctor came to my office two months later and said the people at the Ministry of Agriculture had refused to work with retired veterinary doctors, that they would like to use the serving civil servants,” Magande said. “And this gentleman said since ‘my country has refused to utilise my expertise, I am leaving for the UK to join my wife who is a resident there.’
That is how this gentleman left for the UK and since then, no one knows how that US $10 million dollars was utilised. But what is true is that the livestock diseases in Western Province have almost doubled now and I am ashamed to face that Danish ambassador who assisted us with the US $10 million.”
Magande said it would be difficult for the ordinary Zambian to feel the impact of the economic growth if the monies in various ministries were not used properly. He said although the country had reached a single digit inflation rate, people on the ground were still poor.
Magande said money in Zambia was not a problem but how it was being utilised. He said there was a problem on the distribution of money in various ministries to income-generating projects. He said the function of his ministry was to ensure that all the monies allocated to ministries in the national budget were released.
Magande said that it was incumbent upon respective ministers to monitor and ensure that money was properly distributed to designated projects.
He also said the Ministry of Education had a project to construct 25 High Schools across the country this year.
“Today (Sunday) is the 16th December, which means that we are remaining with 14 days before the end of the financial year…you go and ask the Minister of Education how many high schools his ministry has built as per allocation,” Magande said.
“For instance, for each pupil to have a single desk, it will have cost the ministry K90 billion but in this year’s budget the ministry was allocated about K900 billion and this money has already been released by my ministry. Also in the Ministry of Agriculture, for every agricultural officer to have a bicycle, they would need 2,000 bicycles which can cost the ministry about K8 billion. But the ministry was allocated about K1 trillion in this year’s budget.”
Magande said even if the government increased the tax base in the mining sector as proposed by some stakeholders, it would still be difficult to improve people’s lives unless the financial monitoring system was improved.
And Ambassador Vigtel said currently the government ministries were not functioning well. He said there was too much money laundering within the system.
“We have been giving this country a lot of money, but what happens to that money we don’t know. This is a matter of the media to expose what is happening in these ministries.
It is also a matter of the politicians to protest if the national resources do not reach the ordinary people in their respective constituencies. So you have a huge problem in this country,” Ambassador Vigtel said.
He said Zambia had the potential to grow economically and that there was need to strengthen the anti-corruption crusade.
“A lot of money is going out of the country illegally. Money that is allocated to alleviate poverty does not reach the intended people and poverty levels are increasing at a high rate. For you to fight all this poverty, you really need right administrators in these high officers to administer your resources.
Currently there is too much corruption, meaning you don’t have the right people in place. Also the law enforcement should be strengthened because as it is now, it is very easy to get involved in illegal practices and the police do not prosecute most of these people. You should also strengthen the law if corruption can be tackled effectively,” said Ambassador Vigtel.
Labels: ECONOMY, MAGANDE, NEOLIBERALISM, TERJE VIGTEL
posted by MrK @ 3:34 AM
1 Comments:
IT is difficult to convince people that there is economic growth in the country because it has not trickled down to the ordinary Zambian, finance minister Ng’andu Magande has said.
And this is not just the effect of corruption at the governmental level, but of corruption in the negotiation (and renegotiation?) of the mining contracts.
In fact, $4 billion per year is leaving the country in copper and cobalt sales, and the state is not seeing much of anything from it. Not in corporate taxes that are not collected, not in tax on turnover or royalties, which were set, corruptly, at the lowest rate in the world.
Magande attributed this development to failure by some ministers to implement and monitor their budget allocations.
But this should not be merely up to the minister in charge. Zambia, in addition to a Task Force in corruption, should have a financial police that is beyond corruption.
I suggest they should fall under parliament, and have strong and nearly unlimited powers to go after anyone who embezzles public funds, right up to the ministerial level. Even the President should not be beyond scrutiny.
Magande said officials from the Ministry of Agriculture still went back to him and reported that they were unable to find retired veterinary officials.
But how is that acceptable. And where is the President in this? He is the appointing authority of all ministers, and even has the constitutional power to dissolve their very ministry. If the minister in question is feeding the finance minister a line of nonsense, the President should step in and stop that nonsense right there.
people at the Ministry of Agriculture had refused to work with retired veterinary doctors,
How is that even possible? Who is actually running the government?
That is how this gentleman left for the UK and since then, no one knows how that US $10 million dollars was utilised.
Why was it ever paid out? The minsistry in question refused to do it's job in a professional manner. Everyone could have predicted they were doing this just to get their hands on the money.
Why would they ever pay anyone who wasn't directly doing the job? And why was there no follow up, just to monitor the progress of the project, let alone keep track of the project's expenses?
Why no follow-up?
And that could be said for all the roads projects that were recently in the news. Real developers are constantly in touch with the contractors, and are keeping track on their progress on a daily basis.
Magande said it would be difficult for the ordinary Zambian to feel the impact of the economic growth if the monies in various ministries were not used properly. He said although the country had reached a single digit inflation rate, people on the ground were still poor.
It goes beyond the monies in the ministries. It goes to the entire neoliberal mindset of farming out government responsibilities to foreign investors, foreign companies - in Zambia and the US.
Magande said even if the government increased the tax base in the mining sector as proposed by some stakeholders, it would still be difficult to improve people’s lives unless the financial monitoring system was improved.
Oh bull. The mining contracts are part and parcel of this kind of corruption. His feeble attempt to justify having the mines in foreign hands is beyond contempt. The contracts are corrupt, and undoubtedly bribes were paid, as they are for eveverything else that has been touched upon.
And then there is Terje Vigtel.
“We have been giving this country a lot of money, but what happens to that money we don’t know. This is a matter of the media to expose what is happening in these ministries. It is also a matter of the politicians to protest if the national resources do not reach the ordinary people
It is the media's job. It is the politician's job. How about the donors responsibility to check up on what is happening to the money they hand over to the ministries??
It is not very hard to have one individual check up on the progress of the project.
And if the money is not spent for the intended purpose, there should be no more money forthcoming until people are held accountable and the minister in question can personally vouch that nothing of the like will happen again.
Incompetence is one thing. However, this is more than that - it is a way of doing business.
Does anyone think that even an ordinary commercial bank or angel investor will lend money to a businessman without doing thorough research on their background and history? Or that they pay out everything in one go, without checking up on the progress of the project?
No one can get out of this one by pointing fingers elsewhere. Everyone who is involved has the responsibility to know what is going on and stay informed.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home