Corruption impedes investment in infrastructure, observes Prof Ndulo
Written by Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Wednesday, November 05, 2008 5:52:27 PM
UNIVERSITY of Zambia (UNZA) head of economics Professor Manengo Ndulo has observed that corruption continues to be the biggest impediment to investment in infrastructure in the country. And World Bank Senior economic advisor Robert Zagha said developing countries like Zambia will not be able to reach levels of sustainable growth rate for as long as their growths were fuelled by booms in commodity prices.
Addressing an Economics Association of Zambia (EAZ) organised public discussion titled, “The Growth Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development”, Prof Ndulo explained that most of the taxpayers’ money, budgeted for infrastructure development, is
corruptly absorbed through the stages of construction chain.
Professor Ndulo said most people in the country had continued to complain about unequal distribution of income, which was fuelling high poverty levels, because investments in infrastructure were poorly implemented.
He, however, acknowledged that the country has in recent years improved efforts to invest in infrastructure development.
“The levels of investments in infrastructure have not been very successful for many reasons and one of the key reasons are things like corruption,” Prof Ndulo said. “Money which is meant to go into construction of the road or bridge, you find only maybe about 10 per cent goes into the actual construction of the bridge….the rest is shared not by others, even consultants and the people involved pickup the money…so, when we are talking about infrastructure, we are still very far. There is a big effort but we are facing a lot of problems.”
Prof Ndulo also explained that Zambia was still far away from achieving sustainable economic levels as the current economic growth rates which have averaged about five per cent in recent years were still too low.
And Zagha, who is also World Bank’s director for Growth and Development, said although economic diversification was not an easy undertaking, it provided the best remedy for a country to achieve sustainable economic growth rate.
“Diversification of an economy which has commodity exports is not a trivial proposition,” said Zagha. “…it is not an easy task to diversify but unless you are ready to diversify, your growth, in the long run would not be sustainable for political and economic reasons.”
Labels: BOONDOGGLES, EAZ, INFRASTRUCTURE, MANENGO NDULO, ROBERT ZAGHA, World Bank
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Contractor abandons a K319 million project in Gwembe
October 15, 2008
A named contractor constructing the K319 million community ice plant in Gwembe district has allegedly abandoned works, bringing the project to a standstill. This is despite the fact that the government had fully paid the contractor for the project.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS shortly after a tour of the site today, Gwembe District Commissioner, Dorothy Hamvula, expressed concerns over the delays in the completion of the project which was supposed to have been commissioned in June this year.
“This project was supposed to have been commissioned in June this year, but according to information I have received, the contractor has not been on site since March this year, this is despite the fact that he has been paid in full for the whole project,” she lamented.
Ms. Hamvula wondered why the named contractor was paid in full before the completion of the project.
She explained that at first, the contractor had cited delays by ZESCO to erect power lines at the site as the reason for the delayed completion.
“At first the contractor said he could not complete the project because ZESCO had not yet powered the site, but now ZESCO has done its part, but the contractor has not been on site for more than six months now,” she explained.
A check by ZANIS at the project site revealed that very little progress has been made, with the wiring and plumbing not yet completed, while the plastering of the buildings housing the ice machine and the offices were partially done.
This is despite all the necessary materials to complete the project being readily available on site.
The contractor only did a bit of chiseling of the walls for the wiring. The ice machine has not yet been connected to the power supply.
The named contractor, who was awarded the contract by the Justice for Solidarity Poverty Reduction Funds (JSPRF) early last year, has been away from the project site for more than six months, and was allegedly seen in Lusaka and Sesheke, where he was awarded another project.
Once completed, the Chipepo Ice plant project would benefit both local and general fish traders by providing refrigeration and cold room services to traders who store or transport fish to other parts of the country.
ENDS/MZ/KSH/ZANIS
Labels: BOONDOGGLES, CONTRACTORS, DEVELOPMENT
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JCTR questions BADEA loan
By Kabanda Chulu
Friday October 17, 2008 [04:00]
JCTR has questioned finance minister Ng’andu Magande’s signing of the US$8 million loan with the Arab Development Bank when another loan was last year acquired from OPEC Fund for a similar project.
And Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) coordinator for Debt, Aid and Trade programme Tina Nanyangwe has said the continued external borrowing is posing threats to Zambia’s debt sustainability.
Commenting on government’s US$ 8 million loan with the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Nanyangwe however said conditions attached to the loan agreement were favourable with a 10-year moratorium and 30-year repayment period at concessional rates.
“However, we are aware that the US$ 8 million BADEA loan comes barely a year after government signed a credit facility with OPEC for a similar project. In November last year (2007), government signed a loan with the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund amounting to US$ 6 million.
The loan was also for the rehabilitation of 40 Copperbelt feeder roads to ease movement of produce and inputs in impoverished agricultural areas,” Nanyangwe said. “But works on the Copperbelt feeder roads have not begun and it is not clear, at least, according to the Road Development Agency (RDA) whether it is feasible for all the 40 proposed feeder roads to be rehabilitated.”
Nanyangwe said it was sad to note that even after several assurances by Magande that the government would expedite efforts to put in place a debt policy framework, no marked progress had been made.
Magande was not readily available for comment as he was out of the country for official duty.
And Nanyangwe said the continued external borrowing would make Zambia accumulate unsustainable debt stocks.
She said this situation would also create room for public resource mismanagement.
“For instance, in 2007 the government set aside K129.3 billion for debt repayment but actually paid out a total of K244.8 billion with a supplementary budget of K115.5 billion over and above what was initially planned.”
Labels: BADEA, BOONDOGGLES, CORRUPTION, JCTR, MAGANDE, RDA, TINA NANYANGWE
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Incomplete projects scam unearthed
By Times Reporter
GOVERNMENT has unearthed a scam in the North-Western Province where some incomplete projects, have been recorded as completed. Provincial Permanent Secretary, Richard Salivaji, revealed the rip-off in Solwezi to visiting ministry of Health planning officials and Zambia Federation Health Institutions medical specialists.
Mr Salivaji said his office had reports of some projects, which had been recorded as having been finished when in fact not, and the Government was closing in on culpable contractors.
He appealed to planners to involve the Government and donors in their planning as some clinics, which might have been entered in the inventory of the ministry of Health, were non-existent.
Mr Salivaji cited Kabompo where certificates of approval showed that solar power had been installed and boreholes sunk when that was not the case.
He said he was in the process of compiling a full report on projects, especially those that were carried out under Zambia Social Investment Fund (ZAMSIF).
“As we are planning, can we plan together with partners like Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ). North-Western Province has taken on a new dimension, we need to raise the ceiling, for example, we cannot plan Solwezi the way we did four years ago,” he said.
Mr Salivaji said with daily arrivals of new people in Solwezi because of the mining activities, infrastructure at Solwezi General Hospital was being over-stretched.
He said when the Government appealed to Kansanshi Mine for help as a social responsibility by having own health facility, the mine requested for a ward at the general hospital to be turned into a fee-paying.
“We said to them ‘sorry’, and instead we opted to give them land on which to build their own hospital. I have been in Solwezi for one and half years now, and this has not happened,” Mr Salivaji said.
He urged planners to do something about the facilities at the hospital, which had proved to be inadequate, and sometimes patients had to be referred to Chingola on the Copperbelt.
The planning team include advisor to the permanent secretary, Vincent Musowe, planner, Steve Mtonga, assistant director planning, Henry Kansembe, Patricia Kamanga, of World Health Organisation and Rosemary Kabwe, from CHAZ.
Dr Charles Masase, a Ndola-based consultant physician, said members of the Zambia Federation of Health Institutions were in the province to conduct operations on patients on the short-list.
Dr Masase, who is among a team of specialists that arrived in Solwezi on Monday, said the setback in their operations included the state of the theatre at Solwezi General Hospital.
And saying the federation believed that health was for all, coordinator, Oscar Mubanga, said the federation, formed in 1993, was a consortium of health institutions, which meet to discuss issues affecting them.
Labels: BOONDOGGLES, CORRUPTION
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