Maravi

Donors query RDA’s projects expedenditure

Donors query RDA’s projects expedenditure
Written by Mwala Kalaluka
Monday, June 08, 2009 6:46:29 PM

DONORS have queried the Road Development Agency (RDA) to substantiate why it over-procured road projects by more than K1 trillion in the 2008 annual work plan.
And Ministry of Works and Supply permanent secretary Lieutenant Colonel Bizwayo Nkunika said the over-procurement query is in a way a misunderstanding of the process of procurement.

Meanwhile, RDA acting chief executive officer Erasmus Chilundika said the above situation is not an over-procurement but an advanced procurement undertaken from 2008.

Well-placed sources told The Post that following the queried 2008 annual work plan over-procurement by the RDA, donors such as the World Bank have gone ahead to withhold funding on the Lusaka-Chirundu road rehabilitation undertaking.

“The NRFA have asked them to substantiate why they have over-procured,” the sources said. “The budget for 2008 was about K1.3 trillion but they have overshot by more than K1 trillion.”

The sources, who expressed concern at the current government’s muteness on the irregularity, said some donors in the road sector also asked the RDA to justify why it had overcommitted the government during the 2008 procurement process.

They said the query was raised during a meeting between donors and road sector stakeholders held at Lusaka’s Pamodzi Hotel sometime last month, where even some donors walked out.

“The World Bank has even withheld Lusaka-Chirundu until they [RDA] justify why they over-procured in 2008,” the sources said. “Right now, RDA is almost coming to a standstill because there is now almost no money now, because all the money is going to service the projects that were over-procured last year.”

The sources said RDA had over the last month been working around the issue of trying to justify the over-procurement.

And Lt Col Nkunika said an analysis of the over-procurement concern had been done and handed over to the donors to explain the over-procurement.

However, Lt Col Nkunika said the RDA should be commended for procuring works in advance.

“You recall that last year we were condemned that we had no capacity to procure and as a result K180 billion went back to the treasury, unused at the end of the year,” Lt. Col Nkunika said. “So we became proactive and procured works in advance.”

He explained that a project would in this case become active once a contract had been signed and that no money would be paid until after a contract had been signed.

“When you are procuring, say, Kasempa to Chavuma, you procure for the whole road and so the cost reflects the entire works of the road,” he said. “Work will only depend on the particular money released.”

Lt Col Nkunika said the roads that were procured were all in the annual work plan and that if there was any project that was done outside the work plan, then it was a must-do.

He gave an example of the Zimba-Livingstone road and some breakaways along the Great East Road, which he described as emergency works.

“The over-procurement was in a way, a misunderstanding of the procurement process,” Lt Col Nkunika said. “There are roads that came on board after the budgetary process.”

He said there were roads that were supposed to be constructed in the planned multi-facility economic zones, tourist areas like Kasaba Bay and in some farming blocks.

“If these roads are done, we will need an extra K170 billion, but if we are going to do the normal routine roads then we are within the budget by about K3 billion,” explained Lt Col Nkunika. “There is no over-procurement because the contracts have not been signed. It is just a question of understanding how projects work.” Meanwhile, Chilundika said the NRFA had not queried the RDA on the over-procurement issue.

“The donors believe that there was over-procurement of works that will be outside the budget by K1.5 trillion,” he said. “Works are undertaken according to the cash flow.”

Chilundika said the projects perceived to have been over-procured were actually budgeted for in 2008 and would be commissioned this year, up to 2010 some cases.

Labels: BIZWAYO NKUNIKA, DONORS, ERASMUS CHILUNDIKA, RDA

posted by MrK @ 5:50 PM