‘Erratic budget execution hinders development’

‘Erratic budget execution hinders development’
Written by Mwiinga Mukuwa
Monday, January 05, 2009 5:06:50 AM

FINANCE deputy minister Chileshe Kapwepwehas said Zambia’s quest for deeper development is being hampered by the erratic budget execution resulting from poor absorption capacity, lack of proper procurement and supplies planning.

Officiating at the Zambia Institute of Purchasing and Supply (ZIPS) fundraising dinner on Friday, Kapwepwe (left) said the increased absorption capacity of line ministries in relation to capital expenditure was of utmost priority during the medium term.

“In this regard, government will engage in capacity building measures to enhance programme implementation in all the ministries, provinces and spending agencies,” Kapwepwe said.

Kapwepwe further said the government was working towards rationalising tendering processes.

“Through the reform of the public procurement Act, streamlining and enhancing the structure and functions of the Zambia National Tender Board (ZNTB),” she said.

Kapwepwe said ZNTB would evolve into a supervisory entity while the formal tendering process would be devolved to implementing agencies.

“We all have to be committed in terms of good governance in the performance of the procurement and supplies function. Unless this is done, our organisation will find it difficult to deliver growth and expansion needed for Zambia to attain the Vision 2030,” she said.

She said the government would continue to put the private sector at the centre of development to promote expansion in the production of goods and services for sustainable growth and development.

“We hear of various allegations of corruption in government procurement processes and the reality is that there is equally some prevalence of the vice in the private sector as transactions take place between government agencies and the private sector,” she said.

Kapwepwe said there was need for collective efforts from all stakeholders involved in the procurement process to curb corruption.

“It is disturbing to note the poor quality of works executed by the private sector on capital projects funded by government which are examples of failure to abide by sound corporate governance,” Kapwepwe said.

“It’s also disheartening to see the number of road works, construction of clinics and hospitals in many parts of the country that have remained unfinished because of poor workmanship by the private sector.”

Kapwepwe stressed that most of those failures could be traced to questionable procurement procedures.

“It’s imperative that your institution [ZIPS] exerts maximum efforts to curb these practices which are detrimental to the development of our country,” she said.

And Kapwepwe said prudent management and cost-effective expenditure of government resources should be cardinal in view of the current global financial meltdown.