Rupiah contradicts himself on source of road funds

Rupiah contradicts himself on source of road funds
By Moses Kuwema
Mon 06 June 2011, 04:01 CAT

PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda is contradicting himself on the source of money which is
being used for the rehabilitation of roads in Lusaka and the Copperbelt, says
Given Lubinda.

In an interview, Lubinda (right) said he was baffled to hear contradictions from President Banda saying that what he told the nation on the Copperbelt about the source of the money was different from what he said on Wednesday at State House. Lubinda said President Banda, therefore, owes the nation a categorical explanation on the source of money being used for road rehabilitation in Lusaka.

“Yes the roads have to be done but there has to be transparency with the way these issues are handled and this has to be in such a way that Zambians can follow. President Banda, when he launched the road projects on the Copperbelt, told the nation that the money was sourced from well wishers, but that this is different from what he told the press at State House on Wednesday when he said the money was raised from the capital markets, which is baffling,” said Lubinda, who is PF Kabwata member of parliament.

He said mobilising money from capital markets meant borrowing from the financial sector and that this was likely to reduce the availability of money for the private sector.

Lubinda also accused President Banda of not having respect and regard for the rule of law and Parliament.

“For him to say he has engaged new debts it means he has thrown away the 2011 budget because it had provisions for foreign and domestic borrowing so he is going against his own budget. The allocation for road infrastructure in the 2011 budget is K1.6 trillion for 28 roads in Zambia, now where has the K1.3 trillion been raised?” Lubinda asked.

“We might be getting this money thinking it is clean, when we are actually selling our country; so Zambians deserve to know where this money is coming from and this should be done categorically so.”

On May 19 this year, President Banda commissioned the K1 trillion urban road
rehabilitation programme (URRP) which is targeting 500 kilometres of tarmac and
gravel roads.

Following the announcement, finance minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane said the K1 trillion allocated for road rehabilitation would be paid by mining companies, adding that this was the money the mines owed in government taxes.

But President Banda last Wednesday said the capital market had financed the road projects.