Mazabuka District Commissioner, Tyson Hamaamba, has called on the Ministry of Health to urgently send independent auditors to Chikankata Mission Hospital to investigate reports of abuse of the K1.5 billion released to the institution for the construction of a school of bio medical sciences.
Mr Hamaamba said in Mazabuka that he has constituted a team of government officers to look into the reports of alleged financial mismanagement and theft of building materials at the health institution before evidence is destroyed by the suspected culprits.
The suspected financial scam at Chikankata comes barely five days after another scandal was uncovered at Mazabuka District Health office in which government was swindled out of K300 million through unauthorized salary advances paid to some named senior managers, programme officers and other staff.
Mr Hamaamba, who confirmed the financial scam in Mazabuka yesterday, said some named senior managers at Chikankata Mission Hospital had allegedly shared part of the money and building materials from the K 1.5 billion.
He said some of the suspected culprits had allegedly been caught red handed ferrying building materials for their private errands.
Mr Hamaamba warned that he would not tolerate theft of public funds by public officers charged with the responsibility to administer government programmes.
He said government had sponsored the construction of a School of bio medical science because of the importance it attaches to human resource development as a solution to the shortage of personnel facing the health sector.
Mr Hamaamba said staff at Chikankata Mission Hospital petitioned him to lobby government to send auditors to investigate the alleged financial mismanagement.
Health workers in Mazabuka have also called for independent auditors to be sent to Mazabuka District Health Office to look into the books of accounts in the wake of reports of financial irregularities discovered.
According to some staff, senior managers allegedly paid themselves subsistence allowance during the cholera outbreak when they did not spend nights while funds released by the Centre for Infectious Disease and Research in Zambia had also been abused.
ZANIS
its about to go down in Sugar land huh? Whistle blowers did their thang
Sibamvela banthu aba. Thats why RB wants mobile hospitals so that they are always on the move and you cant steal from them!!
mazabuka is surely problematic.remember even fertilizer scams were reported in this town.
mr dc do not warn,take action.don’t wait fo auditors,if there pipo who were caught red handed,then take them to police and they’ll mention their accomplices.
Mazabuka never ceases to amaze many. Talk about defilment, it tops the list. Where are Internal Auditors when all this is happening. Are they part of the problem.
Ba Moze, Mobile hospitals are dangerous. Staff on these hospitals, like truck drivers, will end up marrying at every station and thereby increase the spread HIV/AIDS besides raising chances of them putting in fraudulent allowance claims, like they are already doing. Instead of Auditors going in, move in the police to clean up the mess.
Mulenga > kwathukummawa says: Instead of Auditors going in, move in the police to clean up the mess. No No not yet mbwana.. The police can move in only after being informed of the wrong doerer. As u held that Mr Hamaambwa said senior managers without pointing out who they are, A policeman’s job would not be required at this stage.
The Anti Fraud Unit of Police has powers and the capacity to investigate cases of fraud or theft.
More reason for mobile clinics
Lets go back to KK’s tenure > This mobile hospital issue could simply be flying doctor service. They need helicopoters to reach remote areas deeper in rural areas. And serve time of travelling by road. Long live KK