Govt stops paying lodge bills for chief Muyombe

Govt stops paying lodge bills for chief Muyombe
By Sandra Mulowa and Agness Changala
Monday April 21, 2008 [04:00]

THE House of Chiefs has stopped paying chief Muyombe's bills at Lusaka's Rainbow Lodge following his refusal to return to his chiefdom after being discharged from hospital. Chief Muyombe of Isoka was discharged from the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) and is set to be flown to South Africa for specialist treatment.

However, it is alleged that the chief has refused to return to his chiefdom due to the poor road network, which his relatives say would affect his health.

According to a letter to the lodge manager signed by a Mr Pwete dated March 25,2008, the House of Chiefs closed the traditional leader’s bill.

“You have been accommodating chief Muyombe for nearly two months now from the time he was discharged from UTH. Arrangements were made to take him back to the palace but relatives complained of the bad road to the palace and feared this could deteriorate his condition.

However, arrangements were made on two occasions that if the relatives want to keep the chief in Lusaka, they can do so but at their own expense as the bill has already gone beyond K23 million as at March 10, 2008,” Pwete stated.

“I have been instructed to inform the chief that government will not continue paying for his bills at the lodge and his last stay at government expense will be March 27, 2008 after which he or his relatives will meet his expenses at your lodge. Kindly submit the rest of the bills.”

But chief Muyombe said he was still in pain and that he had not refused to go back to his chiefdom. He said both his legs and spine had a problem.

One of his wives, Rosemary Mwango, said they were waiting for transport to go back to Isoka.

Mwango said her husband also suffered a minor stroke, bout of malaria and that he was also on physiotherapy.

“Why send a patient to the chiefdom when he is supposed to go to South Africa? We came all the way from Muyombe but there has been no treatment apart from BP. While here he also had a bout of malaria,” added other relatives who chose to remain anonymous.

“Muyombe is over a 1,000 kilometres, with such a bad road, you expect the chief to arrive alive and with the shortage of medical officers at the clinic, how can he survive? The money they are to spend taking him there and bringing him back could have been used for his stay here,” said chief Muyombe’s relatives.

Clerk of the House of Chiefs Coilard Chibbonta last week said some chiefs overstayed at lodges and that it was a burden to pay the bills accrued.

Chibbonta said chief Muyombe’s stay at the lodge had accrued over K46 million in bills.

“He was supposed to go back to the chiefdom and then to be taken to South Africa but he insists on staying so that he goes to South Africa. We could have taken him either by road or chopper to his chiefdom but he has refused,” he said.

Chibbonta also said the Ministry of Local Government and Housing would rent three fully furnished houses in Lusaka’s Ibex Hill area for chiefs on official duties and those transferred from provinces for medical attention.