Maravi

It’s not just the Ministry of Health

It’s not just the Ministry of Health
Written by Editor

What is happening at the Ministry of Health is very annoying. In a country that is so poor with the majority of our people living in poverty, it is unacceptable that public servants should do what they have done at Ministry of Health. Every Zambian has good reason for being annoyed. After all, health care is a fundamental requirement for all of us.

At one time or the other, we all need the help of medical facilities. For those who are healthy, the hospital may look like an optional extra but wait until you are unwell then you know how much we need hospitals. Indeed, there are those who think that they are well off and can afford to receive medical care from well established private hospitals and therefore do not need to concern themselves with what is happening in the public health sector system.

This is naïve because there is no telling when one would need to be rushed to the hospital. You could be unfortunate enough to find yourself in an accident and unable to help yourself or even demand the services of a private doctor. You will find yourself in a public hospital.

This is the reality of life. These things have happened. Against this background, what is happening in the Ministry of Health concerns all of us. We need a functioning medical system. If all that was wrong with our public services today was that the health sector system was not working, it would be a disaster. But maybe not a very bad disaster.

We say this because at least we will be confident that other sectors of the public service are working and what we need is to concentrate on fixing the health care system. Then all will be well.

But this is not the case. Almost nothing works in the public service. And we ask ourselves, why? Why are things so bad in the country?

Why are we having so many problems? Is it because we are poor? Is it because we do not have resources? Why are we almost carelessly producing an army of uneducated youths because they do not have access to education? Why are our roads and other public infrastructure so bad even when we have been paying huge taxes for road maintenance through the fuel levy? Why are things so bad?

What we are trying to say is that if we thought the problems in the Ministry of Health were isolated, we would draw some comfort from the realisation that at least the problem was localised. But that is not the case.

In the last 48 hours, two government ministers have conceded that the problem, far from being isolated or small, is systemic. In other words, the whole government system is infected with this culture of theft and embezzlement of public resources.

Foreign affairs minister Kabinga Pande rather boldly demanded that the probes must cover the whole government, every ministry and every minister. Agriculture minister Dr Brian Chituwo, for his part, lamented that what was happening at the Ministry of Health is symptomatic of systemic failure.

What are we to understand from what these two Cabinet ministers have stated? The unfortunate truth is that the culture of impunity, corruption and poor stewardship of public resources that has characterised the higher echelons of public service have not left lower ranks unaffected. There is a culture of plunder and pillaging in our public service. This needs to be dealt with.

What has been uncovered in the Ministry of Health is also happening in most, if not all, government ministries. Something needs to be done.

It is shameful that 45 years after Independence, we seem to have a problem with being accountable. Our leaders do not respect their electorate. And if the donors did not put their foot down, demanding that there be accountability, we are almost certain that Rupiah Banda would not have shown any interest in this matter. What kind of leadership is this?

It is unfortunate that at the highest level of leadership, there is a failure to deal with the problems that are flowing out of these revelations. It seems that for Rupiah, if he can show that this corruption or embezzlement happened when Levy Mwanawasa was president, then he is off the hook, he bears no responsibility. This is the line that he has been pushing.

This is very childish. The issue is, there is serious theft of public resources going on in our country today and this needs to be stopped. It does not matter who is doing it or who did it. What is important is that first, it must be stopped and then all those involved held to account.

This is what we fought for and we will continue to fight for. We are on record as having commended Levy Mwanawasa for his efforts in fighting corruption. Those of our people who are honest and sincere will also recall that we fought Levy when we thought his fight against corruption was selective. That did not take away anything from the achievements that he made. But it was something that needed to be exposed.

Our position remains unaltered. All those who have abused their positions, whoever they might be, must be brought to book. This is what Rupiah will have to learn and learn very quickly. We keep saying Zambia has changed. It is not the Zambia of the 1970s and 1980s. Our people now demand more from their leaders.

If all that Rupiah and his friends are going to do is talk about Ministry of Health as if it is the only place where theft is occurring, then they have got it wrong. We need to make sure that the kind of systematic theft of public resources that Ministry of Health represents is not allowed to go unchecked.

The resources that this country has need to reach the public services that they are released for. It is not acceptable that public servants should continue to take government money as if the nation has no needs. This has to stop.

For this to stop, there has to be a genuine and rigorous commitment to transparency and accountability. The government has to change its approach and accept that it is there to serve public needs and is therefore expected to be open to scrutiny. It is this public scrutiny that is going to ensure that the kind of systematic theft that we see is stopped.

In the last few months, this newspaper has exposed various scandals in which Rupiah’s government has engaged itself. The response of the government has not been one which deals with the problems that the exposes highlight, but one which threatens the whistleblowers. This has to stop.

With the kind of problems that we are facing, whistle-blowing becomes a necessity. Unless the rot that is going on in government is exposed, this country will continue to lose money the way that it has in the Ministry of Health. Whistleblowers need to be protected.

Labels: MINISTRY OF HEALTH, WHISTLE BLOWERS

posted by MrK @ 10:55 PM