Maravi

Teta, clean up your own mess

Teta, clean up your own mess
Written by Editor

The Swahili people in East Africa have a saying. They say: “Do not put blame on the darkness if you bump into a pole.” This means that if one knowingly goes into a dangerous situation, he should not be surprised if he gets hurt. Today, local government and housing minister Benny Tetamashimba is accusing us of insinuating that he is behind the acquisition of the 100 hearses at the cost of US $29,000 each for local authorities.

He says if we cared to consult, we would have found out that he and Rupiah Banda were not involved in the purchase of hearses and that this programme was initiated by Sylvia Masebo during Levy Mwanawasa’s time.

In a bid to mislead the public, Tetamashimba, without shame, is accusing us of publishing the story about hearses without checking facts; that if we did, we would have established who was behind the purchase or order for the hearses.

When the hearses arrived at Chirundu border post for clearance on Saturday May 16, concerned Zambians who mistook the hearses for mobile hospitals alerted us that the controversial mobile hospitals had arrived in the country and were being cleared at Chirundu. We immediately dispatched a journalist and photographer to verify this information in Chirundu. On arrival at Chirundu, it was discovered that in fact the vehicles were hearses purchased by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing for all the local authorities in the country.

On May 18, before the story was published, we contacted Tetamashimba for clarification on the matter. Tetamashimba said although he was not aware of the procurement, the budget to purchase hearses was prepared before he succeeded Sylvia Masebo. He said his director of local government had informed him that the government had paid K14 billion for the hearses last year and the vehicles had already arrived in the country.

“For example, in the rural districts there has been a problem of burial where the poor are being exploited by people when they are burying their dead. So we are going to give the vehicles to the councils.”

This is what Tetamashimba told us on May 18. But when we printed this material the following day, Tetamashimba spoke to us and changed his statement this time. He said his ministry paid for the hearses last December and we should not draw Masebo in this issue.

He said: “I am the Minister of Local Government. They [hearses] were bought last year. So for now everything that happens falls on my back. I paid for those things in December. The money was paid when I was local government minister. Don’t blame Honourable Sylvia Masebo, it’s me. I have got those vehicles and I am going to give every district.”

To our surprise, Tetamashimba yesterday called for a press briefing at which he accused us of reporting that he and Rupiah were behind the purchase of 100 hearses and could have received kickbacks. Is Tetamashimba being fair with us? If tomorrow we described him as a shameless pathological liar, the people in government will be the first ones to rise and demand that we be regulated by law because our language is bad.

But how can we describe a person like Tetamashimba who is trying to discredit us by intentionally telling lies about us? How can Tetamashimba, in his sane status, claim that we never consulted before we published the story about hearses when we spoke to him before and after the story was published and he claimed responsibility?

Tetamashimba should just accept responsibility for his own challenging circumstances instead of blaming other people. He should not drag us in his mess, which he has created. We do not manufacture events; we report on them as they occur. We had no idea about the 100 hearses until we received those phone calls from concerned Zambians in Chirundu. We followed up the matter because it is our duty to do so without fear or favour. We have said so many times before that our duty is to expose the wrongs wherever they occur irrespective of who is involved because we believe that wrongdoing should not be rewarded but punished. And all the wrongdoers, regardless of their status or inclination, must be punished. This is the principle on which we have stood from inception.

However, the question that begs an honest answer is, ‘Why did Tetamashimba claim responsibility over the decision to purchase hearses and why has he now disclaimed this responsibility?’

This should have been the subject of Tetamashimba’s press briefing yesterday, not to attack innocent journalists doing an innocent job. Masebo ceased to be minister in that ministry in October last year. But Tetamashimba told us that he paid for the hearses in December last year and that we should not bring in Masebo’s name in this matter because he is the one responsible. So what has changed today? Why is Tetamashimba distancing himself from the acquisition of these hearses, which he proudly embraced a few days ago?

It is not difficult for us to understand why Tetamashimba is changing positions on this matter. We recall that well-informed sources questioned why the Ministry of Local Government and Housing paid K14 billion for the hearses and not half the amount, especially considering that they were tax-free. No one answered this question. And in the absence of a credible explanation, people should not be blamed for concluding that someone received kickbacks in this transaction.

Tetamashimba yesterday told the press that Masebo confirmed to him that the budget for hearses when she was in charge of the ministry was K8 billion. He said since he does not know why his ministry later paid K14 billion for the same hearses, he has instituted investigations and he will have nothing to hide on the matter.

Our people have raised legitimate concerns over the purchase of these hearses. What Tetamashimba should therefore be doing is provide answers to all these concerns. If he has no answers or explanations, he should either shut up or ask Masebo to explain since he is now distancing himself from this transaction, which he earlier proudly declared as his own.

We will not allow Tetamashimba to smear filth on us. And we advise him to take this as an early warning.

Labels: BENNY TETAMASHIMBA, MINISTRY OF HEALTH

posted by MrK @ 4:07 PM