Rupiah’s inability to manage the country worries Nawakwi

Rupiah’s inability to manage the country worries Nawakwi
By Chibaula Silwamba
Tue 01 Dec. 2009, 04:02 CAT

PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda and his government’s inability to manage the country is worrisome, FDD leader Edith Nawakwi said yesterday.

And a government source yesterday revealed that State House is fully behind LITASCO and that one of the immediate assignments for the newly-appointed energy permanent secretary Teddy Kasonso is to ensure that LITASCO is awarded the tender to supply commingled petroleum.

Commenting on revelations that the US $1.4 billion two-year contract to supply and deliver 1,440,000 metric tonnes of commingled petroleum feedstock will not be transparent because the government, through energy minister Kenneth Konga, had already selected LITASCO as a preferred bidder and that the ongoing bidding process being done by the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) will just be a rubber stamp procedure, Nawakwi questioned the secrecy surrounding the purchase of crude oil.

“This inability of the government under Rupiah Banda to manage our country to the satisfaction of the Zambian people is worrisome. We, and many people, have said that the fuel shortage is artificial and I still emphasise that it is an artificial shortage. There is absolutely no way that the government could use the shutdown at Indeni as a reason for this shortage. Now as you can see, it is showing itself in the manner in which the government wants to procure feedstocks and products for this country. Ideally there should be transparency,” said Nawakwi, a one-time Minister of Energy.

“If the government wants to be respected and wants to eliminate suspicion, my suggestion is that they should do what other people have done in the past; invite the support of the World Bank to assist them with tender documentation and floating of these tenders. In many cases in a country like Zambia, if you procure your feedstock or products in a transparent manner, the World Bank can even refund you for the money which you are using because your argument will be that you are taking money from social services to finance an expensive product at the time when the world is facing a crisis.”

She said in 1996-97, the Zambian government would tender for oil procurement and thereafter take the invoices to the World Bank and the World Bank would give cash for what was spent.

“It’s called retroactive financing. You pay and you are reimbursed. But the World Bank can only do that if your tender procedures are above board, not under these arrangements where all of the sudden there is this one delivering maize, the next day you don’t know which face is dealing in oil,” said Nawakwi.

And senior government official yesterday revealed that State House’s hands were too deeply involved in the LITASCO transaction and ZPPA’s hands were tied because they are just receiving instructions.

“As you know, this company was introduced to President Rupiah Banda at State House around June and he committed himself to ensure that LITASCO is awarded the tender,” the source said.

“They all know that what they are doing is wrong and a lot of people have smelt corruption. That is why they want to justify this rotten deal that they want to by-pass the current supply IPG and go directly to LITASCO because IPG buys from LITASCO. That is a big lie. LITASCO’s own production is the type of crude called ural, which is only marketed in Europe. They do not produce any of the crude that Zambia needs. Their refineries also do not produce the type of Naptha and condensates that Zambia need. If you recall, LITASCO had to buy Naptha from Iran when they last supplied in 2007. The ship was stuck at Dar es salam for a long time and this cost Zambia millions of dollars in demurrage costs.

“LITASCO has to buy out all the products that Zambia needs from the gulf region where they do not produce anything so their claim that if they supply direct to Zambia they can be cheaper is absurd. LITASCO also bid for the supply of fuel under the last tender but lost the bid to IPG on account of pricing, among other reasons. The main reason why LITASCO is favoured this time is because of the interest that President Banda has in the matter. Let the President deny this point.”