Simbao upset with slow pase of prosecutions

Simbao upset with slow pase of prosecutions
By Agness Changala
Sat 19 June 2010, 04:10 CAT

HEALTH minister Kapembwa Simbao yesterday told the cooperating partners that he is equally upset with the pace at which the courts are moving in prosecuting those involved in fraudulent activities.

During a meeting with the Cabinet committee of ministers on HIV/AIDS and cooperating partners to clarify recent media reports around funding to Zambia, Simbao said as minister, it was painful to see the progress being made on the matter.

He wished there was a way he could tell the courts to make a decision as soon as possible.

Simbao said he was aware of the little patience among the people and the cooperating partners regarding the pace at which the cases were moving.

“I believe it wouldn’t have taken us a week. But it’s unfortunate that we have to follow the law, and we didn’t have to protect them and that’s why we had to take them there,” he said in apparent reference to cases involving Ministry of Health staff alleged to have abused funds.

He said people that supported Zambia should trust the government again on the utilization of donor funds as it was doing everything possible to restore donor confidence.

Earlier, Simbao said the Global Fund had not suspended funding to the ministry.

He said there was a delay in disbursement because they needed to clarify certain things as a result of fraudulent activities that took place.

He said since the last scam that was unearthed, there were no new cases recorded.

Simbao said the health ministry agreed to have United Nations Development Prgramme (UNDP) assume the role of principal recipient on an interim basis.

“This is intended to allow for the continuation of service provision to the target population,” he said.

Simbao said due to delays in the Global Fund’s disbursement of funds to the ministry, an extension had been made for another one year for them to utilize the US$619 million allocated earlier.

He said only about US$339 million had been utilized out of the US$619 million and US$280 million would be accessed through UNDP.

And Joint Financing Arrangement (JFA) representative Ambassador Tony Cotter said they shared the same concern at the suspension of Global Fund financing.

However, Ambassador Cotter welcomed the remedial actions taken to date by the government and pledged to support continued implementation of priority actions necessary for the resumption of funding to maintain public financial management systems in accordance with Zambia’s own financial guidelines.

Ambassador Cotter urged the government to reinforce its commitment to tackling HIV/AIDS by increasing its own budget allocation.

Ambassador Cotter said his organization would work with the government to promote and strengthen mutual accountability and enhanced donor harmonization to strengthen the delivery of results.