SOME bogus suppliers have been frequenting the Ministry of Home Affairs in a failed bid to influence the minister and his deputies to give them contracts at the expense of illegible entrepreneurs.
Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu revealed yesterday that some unscrupulous people purporting to be suppliers have gone to the extent of suggesting registering a joint company with him so that they could supply goods and services to his ministry.
He said in a statement issued by ministry of Home Affairs head of public relations Moses Suwali that the PF Government “would not walk in the MMD’s shoes” of influencing favours for contracts because the trend was an abuse of office.
Mr Lungu said because of fraud and ‘inside dealings’ associated with MMD’s beliefs of giving favours to people, the ministry would revise the list of suppliers.
The minister said he was appalled by the influx of suppliers frequenting his office asking for favours.
He said they wanted him to influence contracts for them to supply the ministry or influence payment of outstanding bills.
He has since advised members of the public that it was not the duty of his deputies or permanent secretary to give contracts or modalities for payment of outstanding bills.
The minister said all contracts for the supply of goods and services to the ministry were regulated by the Procurement Act No 12 of 2008. [pullquote]“I am asking all those suppliers who think that it is the duty of the minister to influence contracts or payments to leave me alone because I don’t want to be dragged into the path which MMD left in which suppliers to Government were MMD cadres.” Mr Lungu said.[/pullquote]
“I am asking all those suppliers who think that it is the duty of the minister to influence contracts or payments to leave me alone because I don’t want to be dragged into the path which MMD left in which suppliers to Government were MMD cadres.” Mr Lungu said.
He said such practices were MMD’s ways of doing things adding that he would not succumb to such wrong doings as they were costly and amounted to abuse of office.
Mr Lungu said that the Government was using a policy of ‘first come first-first serve’ basis when clearing outstanding bills to suppliers based on dates of supply regardless of one’s political affiliation.
A revised list of credible suppliers, he said, would enable Government contract credible business houses as opposed to “briefcase or shadow companies.”
He said the procurement unit would soon hold a meeting to evaluate credible business houses that would deal with the ministry after which notice to inform the public inviting prospective suppliers would be posted.
Meanwhile, the ministry has engaged the Ministry of Finance to find a lasting solution to the K75 billion owed to food suppliers.
He said his ministry had requested that an amount of between K5 billion to K10 billion be released every month to go towards dismantling the outstanding huge debt owed to food suppliers.
He said that currently, a team from the office of the Auditor General was working at the ministry’s headquarters to confirm the authenticity of some outstanding invoices.
He appealed to food suppliers to exercise patience as Government was fully aware of their plight and was trying everything possible to resolve the issue.
[Times of Zambia]
This is pure and simple cheap politicking by a Minister with an insatiable appetite for self praise and promotion which only gullible people can feed on.
We have been in this game long enough to spot traits of deception and decoying this minister is trying to play.
Mr Minister, let me unpack this for you. The Law is clear. If anybody approached you and offered to register a company with your name on it so that he can be a supplier, that is a simple one way play and it is called CORRUPTION.
Rather than rush to the media and sing your own praises, report the crook to the ACC and let him be arraigned in court for corruption and show up in court to give evidence.
Stop fooling us please. We know how this game is played and you know why you can’t report to the ACC.
For once I agree with you buddy
That is what I should have said too. This guy Lungu has a simple mind. Why should there names not be mentioned too?
Stop fooling, Zambians Mr Minister.
LUNGU. Not Chanda, Mwamba, Kabwe, Musonda , Mumba or all those tribal cousins of yours. Stay clean like all Easterners
Foolish minister report them to them police, ACC or publish their names. Who are u fooling any credible person can never be approached in that manner.
MMD ChiefBOOTlicker….I do not see cheap politics here because the Minister is being honest.Change your ways and become PF bootlicker so that you can atleast lick the boots of those inpower
I concur that this is cheap politiking. since he is a minister claiming to uphold high morals I believe going to ACC is the right way to do things. what has this media report benefited us in any way?
WONDERFUL PF AT WORK
THIS IS PF. NO NONSENSE. SO IT’S TRUE. A COLLEAGUE HAD TRAVELLED TO ZAMBIA AND WHEN HE CAME BACK HE WAS HIGHLY TALKING ABOUT THE ENDING CORRUPTION IN GOVT OFFICES. I HOPE THIS DREAMING IS COMING TRUE. LET’S MAKE CORRUPTION A THING OF THE PAST.
If Lungu’s assertions were true, then it is also true that all the other ministers are experiencing the same or similar approaches. BUT why are the other ministers quiet? It is confirmation that corruption will never end and Edgar therefore has just confirmed that there is corruption at the highest level in the PF regime. A fish rots from the heard
#5 Donchi
You seem to be still high on the Donchi Kubeba cool drink. Most of your friends, it has worn off. You must have taken a double or triple dose and you need to enter the REHAB for help.
All am saying is if the Minister is truthful about what he is claiming, do the following
1) Report the perpetrators who made the offer to him to the ACC so that they can be charged. It is an offence to offer anybody a bribe. Why is the minister not doing that?
2) Let him make the names of the people that approached him public so that we can know the names of people who attempt to corrupt our Ministers
Those are are my requests. If you find anything wrong with what am asking or if you find it vindictive, tell me why?
LOL – What is an illegible entrepreneur?
…If you can’t read what they’ve written, it’s probably best not to do business with these people either.
Oh by the way MMD Chief Bootlicker is my brand name and I have worked extremely hard over the last 3 years to build this incredible band, which is well known in all political circles, and am in no way ready to sacrifice such a widely known and slowly becoming a household name for some silly name with PF attached to it.
Thank very much for the suggestion though
Minster is on point in stating this as its a warning to all those would be crooked business men that PF won’t tolerate the crap that MMD did so Mr MMD Chief Bootlicker I see nothing wrong in that and understand the politics you wanna play here. You don’t have to report perpertrators all the time so a warning can at times be just as effective cause next time these crooked chaps will be reported to AAC.
How do you know they are corrupt even before they supply anything ? Cheap politics indeed
Why didn’t you arrest them since you’ve proof that they are corrupt or you could’ve called acc. The fact that you didn’t then you’re corrupt too
Through my contact I supplied Beans and Rice worth 58 million to the police in Kitwe. They promised that it was urgent and payment would be done upon receipt of the commodities. But upon supplying the Kamfinsa police said payment will be done from Lusaka HQ through Quarter Masters. Quarter Master referred us to Kabwe. K abwe office refused and sent us back to Lusaka. Quarter Maters kept referring payment to a later date. After two years MMD was gone and they decided to make part payment of 20m then after six months they paid 9m, the remainder we are still waiting! This is how government through the police can frastrate local enterprenuers. What profit can remain after three years delay in payment? Meanwhile other suppliers are promptly paid. Bananas.
Well done sir. We know they feeling the heat as their busnesses are now falling apart since they cant corrupt government now. Let us all compete equally.
Wants 2 blind fold others or they say koxxx ala puta before eating
Why should govt be in the business of buying food for itself? Just give the Police and all those institutions money and they buy their own food wherever & whenever they want. This just a corruption route.
Edgar, d ont fool zambians I mean if those guys had really approached you with intentions of partnering with you to supply the ministry, you as minister could have easily reported to the Police and ACC other than rushing to the press and jump to connect the whole vice to MMD. I think the best you can do is investigate your predecessor sakeni I am very sure he is the one who started it all. Or may be they didn t give you a good cut, I mean know these things. What you think guys? The man has also been known to chew client s money in the past and set club mulamu in kabwata ablaze his concubine.
For the first time I hve agreed with an MMD thug! Iwe ka Minister,report to ACC wee,ah ah,you think you can fool us!
Only the dull will believe this minister. Has he reported these alleged criminal activities to ACC? He is lucky he has a dull boss who has no capacity to see thru such simple issues.
Corruption is endemic pa zed. I just imagine what a poor hard working police officer infected with HIV and on ART would do if a crook offered him a bribe at the time the officer has no money to buy food and drugs that will sustain his life. This is a life saving temptation bane. The situation that most people find themselves in make corruption a tricky vice to deal with. People decide to cut off the government and provide themselves with what the government would have provided but they know for sure it won’t happen. Think of other situations that make people dishonest to the government. How many people would make a choice of refusing a bribe and go home to face a dying loved one because he /she can not afford drugs? There is a lot of work to be done…after all te ndalama shabanoko.
U re ryt bro.Corruption eradication and hungry stomachs can not co exist.
So what do people need to do and learn to get the right product?