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Rupiah wouldn't have acted if donors didn't withhold funds - Milupi

Rupiah wouldn't have acted if donors didn't withhold funds - Milupi
Written by George Chellah
Wednesday, June 03, 2009 12:01:22 AM

PARLIAMENTRARY public accounts committee (PAC) chairperson Charles Milupi has said President Rupiah Banda's government would not have taken a decisive action on the K27 billion scam if the donors did not withhold funding to the Ministry of Health.

And Milupi said the government was not handling issues in the manner that shows that they are fighting corruption urging them to clean up the system and restore confidence to donors.

In an interview, Milupi, who is also Luena (independent) member of parliament praised Sweden and the Netherlands for taking action over the scam at the Ministry of Health.

"The President has issued a directive to officers of Auditor General to carry out a forensic audit and the Secretary to the Cabinet to begin to take action," Milupi said.

"I am thanking the donors particularly Sweden and Holland. Am most certain that the government would not have acted with the speed and decisiveness they are doing now if donors didn't threatened to withhold funding."

He urged the government to clean up the system and restore confidence to donors.

"The first set of witnesses we sent out in 2006 was the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health and his team, those are the people we sent out. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 there were issues at the Ministry of Health. If they had been serious they should have taken action long before. What is happening now is just a tip of the iceberg," Milupi said.

Milupi said reports of abuse have come out in other government ministries and agencies before but no action has been taken.

"These are abuse of public funds, misappropriation of funds, delayed banking and non-retirement of imprest, missing payment vouchers as well as none completion of capital projects," Milupi explained.

"Even where money has been paid such as the Mbesuma bridge, Mongu-Kalabo road, Kasama-Luwingu road and many other projects. Therefore, robbing the Zambian people. These they have not taken action despite them being highlighted," he said.

He bemoaned the cutting of the budget to the Auditor General's office.

"When we were debating the budget of the Auditor General, they cut their budget by K6 billion. It was wrong to cut the budget for the Auditor General's office. We had cut programmes for the Auditor General's office by 30 per cent if you remove salaries and administration. The government insisted and that was what was passed. They should restore the budget to what was applied for because even the forensic audit they are asking for that is extra work," he said.

He said there are a number of issues on which there is a whiff of scandal about them.

"The issues such as the SELEX deal, RP Capital Partners at Zamtel, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) maize, the use of single sourcing procurement procedure on the hearses and on mobile hospitals. For example, on mobile hospitals am not aware that the national tender board sat to approve that. Even the hearses, that money would have required tender board approval," Milupi said.

Milupi said the government was not handling issues in the manner that shows that they are fighting corruption.

"We have seen a number of ministers that is the minister of foreign affairs (Kabinga Pande), minister of information (Lt. Gen Ronnie Shikapwasha), minister of agriculture (Dr Brian Chituwo), minister of tourism (Catherine Namugala) and others have all of a sudden begun condemning corruption," Milupi said.

"Where were they all these years? Why where they quiet? How about their ministries? A number of these ministries have been mentioned in the Auditor General. What are these ministers doing in their own ministries?"

He wondered why the Secretary to the Cabinet Dr Joshua Kanganja had to wait for President Banda's instructions to take action on the suspected civil servants.

"The instructions from the President...any institution which has a chief executive officer, they key to accountability of any chief executive officer is to ensure that the institution is manned in an efficient, effective, transparent and accountable manner," Milupi said.

"The chief executive officer of the civil service is the Secretary to the Cabinet. Did he have to wait until the President gave him instructions? If we don't accept responsibility for what has gone wrong we will not set things right."

He said when things go wrong leaders must take responsibility and not pretend like they were not there.

"In other countries if there is a scandal, a minister who was at the ministry at that time resigns. Why is it not possible in Zambia? Zambians are fed up with this sort of thing," Milupi said.

"The donors have shown that they have the ability to withhold their funding and this has forced government to take action. I wish taxpayers had the ability to withhold their taxes so that government would take action."

Labels: CHARLES MILUPI

posted by MrK @ 11:04 PM