The Auditor General’s Office has disclosed that it has began investigations into alleged misappropriation of public resources by a construction firm, Tomorrow Investment Limited and its continued receipt of contracts from Government.
This follows President Levy Mwanawasa’s directive to the Auditor General’s Office to probe the construction company saying it had carried out shoddy works on roads in Eastern and Northern Provinces but wondered why it had continued receiving contracts from Government.
Auditor General Anna Chifungula disclosed that investigations to recover alleged misapplication of billions of moneys and culprits brought to book would be completed by Friday this week.
Ms. Chifungula told Journalists that investigations had already began with her first visit being conducted at the Road Development Agency (RDA), Zambia National Tender Board, Ministry of Works and Supply and other line departments today to establish what had transpired and those involved in awarding contracts to Tomorrow Investment.
Ms. Chifungula was answering questions from Journalists attending a two-day Public Expenditure and Accountability Media Sensitisation workshop in Lusaka today.
The Auditor General explained that a report from her office also reveals huge disparities about Tomorrow Investment misappropriating public resources especially on road rehabilitations.
Over the weekend, President Levy Mwanawasa during a public rally held at Chiutika basic school grounds in Mambwe district in Eastern province banned any further Government dealings with Tomorrow Investment Limited and a probe into the matter.
Dr. Mwanawasa’s decision follows the company’s alleged failure to complete several projects after getting Government contracts among them the rehabilitation of Chisegu/Mfuwe road amounting to K4 billion.
Meanwhile, Auditor General has challenged the media to take an active role in highlighting public expenditure and accountability to raise public awareness.
Ms. Chifungula urged Journalists to interpret financial and audit reports objectively and professionally saying doing so would deter and attract checks and balances from members of the public.
Ms. Chifungula said this in Lusaka today when she opened a two-day Public Expenditure and Accountability Media Sensitisation workshop organised by her Office.
The workshop is aimed at analysing audit and financial reports and report public expenditure.
The workshop has attracted several local Journalists from different media houses.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has disclosed that it will this year start auditing Councils in the country.
OAG Deputy Director in-charge of Performance Audits Aggrey Mukalasha says the decision to do so was arrived at last year during a Public Accounts Committee of Parliamentarians who made the recommendation to Parliament.
Mr. Mukalasha said this in Lusaka today at the official opening of a two-day Public Expenditure and Accountability Media sensitisation workshop organised by her Office.
Mr. Mukalasha attributed the delay in taking over the exercise by the OAG to unnecessary delays by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing to appoint auditors.
He explained that the 1992 Public Audit Act gave the Minister of Local Government and Housing powers to appoint auditors to audit local authorities but Parliament realised that moneys expended by local authorities and unretired imprest did not reflect at the time the OAG compiled annual financial and audit report to the Executive.
Mr. Mukalasha further says this made it difficult for his office to account for the funds and yet Government releases grants of subsidies to local authorities.
The workshop is aimed at analysing audit and financial reports and reporting public expenditure.
The workshop has attracted several Journalists from different media houses.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mukalasha has maintained that the OAG is one of the most independent institutions in Africa.
He explained that Auditor General, (AG) Anna Chifungula enjoys constitutional powers to audit Government line departments and as well as other private public institutions in an effort to enhance economic efficiency and effectiveness.
The Deputy Director also noted that the AG has powers vested in her to appoint an Auditor to audit the Accounting Unit of the OAG to clear public concerns and maintain transparency.
Mr. Mukalasha further assured that often times the OAG has invited Organisation of Foreign Auditor Generals in Africa (OFAGIA) to carry out auditing at the Zambian OAG.
So what was the AG waiting for all this time? I thought she knows her duties and the Prez should be tellign when and how to investigate?
Levy told us a few years ago that he is the goverment. He hinted at that even ku rally ilya ine. That means only he can move things. Had the AG moved without his blessings nda’aliba tanfya. Thats government in africa for you
Execellent Levy. Keep it up. Your new deal government is really DEALING with them.
“Auditor General has challenged the media to take an active role in highlighting public expenditure and accountability to raise public awareness”. Can’t wait. But just a word to the Journalists: Journalists are not elected by the people. They are not even appointed or confirmed by elected officials (sure!! only ZNBC, Times of Zambia and Daily Mail). It therefore gives you the right to an influential role in how t
It therefore gives you the right to an influential role in how the country is governed. Help us shape our country please. I give credit to the Post and even LT.
But Mu Zambia mwaliba ubupuba! Why do proffesionals have to wait for a presidential diective to their jobs? I will never undestand this. The president shold also be ashamed of having officers who do not understand their duties. On the other hand, Levi shouldalso learn to do his job quietly, he could have issued this directive not on a public political rally. Will these people ever learn? God!
Why do independent government bodies like the Auditor General’s office have to wait for the President to tell them what to do,like in the case at hand when the he or she was supposed to have sent in her officers to look at is going on with the rot? it is either those appointed to run such bodies are not qualified or a simply not fit for their jobs.
people u a missing the point,the auditor general has been exposing these financial irregulaties from as far back as 2005.read the report,and the issue of tommorow investment has been a concern from time immemorial.lets put facts straight her duty is to carry out checks and balances by reason of carrying audit reports,these reports are presented to govt to act on….it is levys govt that has been sleepping on these reports.i am interested to know what purnishment will be meted on the culprits.
i hope my procurement colleaques are clean in this scam.enough of piece meal fight of corruption,can the president call for the prosecution of all erring chaps mentioned in the auditors report.zips should work side by side with the auditor generals office inorder to single out procurement misfits responsible for embezzling tax payers funds.ZNTB should prepare itself with good answers………2008 is for impatial fight of corruption.
In total agreement wit # 7, the OAG carries out audit investigations and produces reports of financial irregularitites for other Govt wings to act on. I am therefore given to wonder what Law the OAG will use to investigate malpractices in tender procedures becoz i thought the ACC was better placed to carry out the investiagtions by venture of the ACC Act and functions therein.No doubt, the pipo who awarded contracts got bribes or hav ben receiving bribes for them to ignore the procedures.eg ZNTB
Levy appoints pipo to head various Govt wings becoz he can not always be everywhere and becoz the constitutions requires him to appoint and fire. I want to urge Levy to fire all the pipo who took part in awarding contracts to this company dispite its bad track record which they had to look at when they were given the contracts.Levy may not need a rally to tell us that such a company did this or that, the question is, where were his Directors who could have ensured transiprancy.
This is an issue for the ACC to handle and professional bodies such as National construction council and Engeneers Institute of Zambia. I believe that in construction payments are released in stages after a certificate is given for satisfactory completion of a stage of construction by Government Inspectors who are engeneers.How were these works approved by inspectors and who was issuing the certificates for payments ?.Independent inspectors must qualify that the works were technically substandar
This points to what Magande said, there is a lot of incompetence in the Govt and their Management from minister to Directorate.
It is evident Tomorrow is a shoddy company owned by someone close to the corridor of power and a good number of Ministers and friends are involved.
What we need is the ACC to move in and investigate criminality and also the Auditor G to do audit of the agencies involved.
On top of the List shud be ZNTB, RDA, Ministry of Works and Tomorrow Investment(ACC/DEC)
That will be the only way a watertight case can be made against tomorrow investments
Can someone tell us the Shareholders and Directors of Tomorrow Investment.
Chuchu! Can you give your civil servants enough teeth to bite, don’t hold them like bull dog on a string and selectively ‘swaa popi’ on sacrifical lambs. Come on the amount of tax we pay does not warrant such mediocracy.
We collectively lack seriousness as a nation. The fact that theses character’s have been collecting billions and not delivering, means that we have no checks and balances. The bloody PS should be fired! What are his key performance measurement metrics? It’s because of such monkey tricks, that you’ll find a junior cashier in the ministry embezzling millions without restraint.Our controlling officers are a bunch of clowns and are the major beneficiaries of this nonsense.
Surely, do we have to wait for Levy to ensure that these contractors perform their tasks according to the contracts? Also, let’s not just blacklist the companies, but also the directors because for all we know, these characters are directors in numerous other entities that continue to rape our treasury. Mwebantu please, we pay way too much tax, for thse chimpazees to get away with this kind of behaviour.
Frankly..Kachiluba messed up our Country. Now I even read Katumbi is busy trying to mine semi-illegaly in Zed using that Chief Puta.
If this is not checked out, Zambia will soon be an extension of that Unstable congo..and War zone will get closer to our door steps. Katumbi need to be checked out as soon as possible
Ba HK(18), unfortunately FTJ was a necessary experience for us Zambians to go through.We all now have hindsight and hopefully will not allow a pauper of doubtful origin to rule us again.We should consider ourselves lucky we only had him for ten years!!I just hope the confidence we seem to have in Mama Chifungula at the AG’s office is not betrayed.I hope journalists do their bit by exposing the numerous shady companies so that people pressure can result in investigations!!
It is now generally agreed that one of the biggest achievements of the Government last year was navigating the difficult process that culminated into the passing of the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) Act, and the subsequent convening of the conference itself.
Even those who earlier campaigned against this particular route to Constitution making, and believed it was doomed to failure, have conceded that the process has gained irreversible momentum.President Mwanawasa and others in his Government have explained repeatedly that this particular process was not about winning or losing an argument, or indeed scoring points against political foes.
Instead it must be viewed as a process that the majority of Zambians have yearned for, right from the First to the Third republics, to fashion for themselves, a Constitution that would bring improved governance.This is a yearning that has also been previously frustrated by the coming into play of too much politics, which rendered the resultant documents being identified with narrow political interests.
Even at the initial stage there has been a great departure from the old practice of producing a Government white paper, responding to all the recommendations of a Constitutional Review Commission. This time the Mung’omba Constitutional Review Report and Draft Constitution document have been forwarded, intact, to the NCC so that the people themselves debate their contents and adopt either the whole document or parts of it, as they see fit.
It is partly this inclusive nature of the process chosen by the Government that has made some individuals from those groups that have boycotted the process, to come forward. The other reason for people choosing to defy their organisations to attend the NCC has to do with the importance to the country of the outcome of this process.
We would therefore like to support the stance taken by Pentecostal Assemblies of God (Northmead) Pastor Bishop Joshua Banda and Bishop Harrison Sakala to register to attend the NCC.These are leaders who have served the Church and the nation at a very high level, and are well versed with the social, economic and governance challenges faced by ordinary Zambians. Their input will be very valuable.
And as chairman of the NCC, Chifumu Banda says, the doors of the NCC are still open and those who wish to be part of the process can join in, provided they meet the criteria required.There is a time to put the country first, and bishops Banda and Sakala have done just that.
Kansanshi Mining parts company with local contractors
KANSANSHI Mining Plc in Solwezi has done away with Zambian contractors providing cleaning and catering services, and will instead engage foreign companies.
According to a joint letter by Kansanshi contracts officer, Franques Lee and commercial manager, Bill Allen, the local companies stopped providing services to Kansanshi on December 31, 2007.
The service contracts included provision of catering services at Kansanshi Mine, cleaning of the village and golf estate, Simba school, plant and town offices.
“Kansanshi hereby confirms that the above contracts will be in force until 31 December 2007. Kansanshi will be awarding this contract to another company whose tender has been selected after a full valuation,” reads the letter co-signed by Mr Lee and Mr Allen.
The letter of November 20, 2007, obtained in Solwezi at the weekend, says Kansanshi would not be liable for any payments in lieu of notice for employees terminated after 31 December 2007.
The cleaning services had been given to Mr Clean, a South African company, while a Ghanaian company, Allterian Services Group (ATS) had taken over catering services at the mine.
The two companies have since opened offices at Kansanshi mine plant.
Who owns Tomorrow Investments? Who are the Directors? When i tell you Zambia needs qualified people to manage those govt depts, you think its a joke. This can only be done if we raise the minimun qualifications of who should aspire as MPs because its from these same people Cabinet Ministers are appointed. Too much corruption in LPM GRZ. ACC should move in quickly before evidence is being destroyed.
It all seems LPM is the main operator. When he presses a button the system is set in motion. All the various investigations and prosecutions against his minions’ fraudulent activities are only initiated when he says so. Double standards are not good and pliz do not take us Zambians for granted. Whoever is behind Tomorrow Investment i believe has some strong backing from some government big wigs.Where is the monitoring system here?
As responsible citizens we should appreciate the collective effort made by government.
The question of wether the action taken on tomorrow first came from the president or AG is not a ground for condeming the revellation of the scandal.
I suggest to peoble who condem this to read more on how the AG’s office operate,cause as they will see this is what is known as a ‘special audit’.