THE African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (APNAC) has described as magnanimous Minister of Home Affairs Edgar Lungu’s decision to cancel the US$210 million contract awarded to ZTE Corporation for the supply of the public security safety network.
And Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) has demanded that officials who negotiated for the contract be suspended immediately.
APNAC says the tender process was allegedly characterised by corruption.
On Wednesday, Mr Lungu terminated the contract awarded to ZTE Corporation to pave way for investigations following allegations of failure to comply with procurement regulations, requirements and processes.
APNAC chairperson Cornelius Mweetwa said in Lusaka yesterday that the minister should have taken action long before Wednesday.
“I want to commend the minister of Home Affairs for his magnanimity to cancel the contract, which was surrounded by corruption,” he said.
Mr Mweetwa, who is UPND deputy spokesperson, said the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) should have been proactive in detecting the corrupt activities that surrounded the awarding of the contract and provide the minister with necessary information.
He said the ACC should not wait for the minister to commence investigations because it is their responsibility and mandate to investigate such matters.
“If the ACC will always wait to be reminded to do its work, then we will start questioning their relevance,” he said.
TIZ executive director Goodwell Lungu said in his letter to Mr Lungu dated September 5 that suspending the officials will pave way for smooth investigations by the ACC.
“The TIZ demands that all the officials who took part in the signing and negotiating of this deal, regardless of their status and position, be suspended with immediate effect,” he said.
“By copy of the letter, we wish to inform you that the TIZ has handed over a 57-page dossier of evidence to the ACC on this matter for action,” he said.
Mr Lungu said the government officials should desist from engaging in wasteful secret procurement deals.
For once, the government has taken us by surprise on this one.
With $210million(US) I can build an ultra modern radio and television broadcasting facility to replace that ancient one along Alick Nkhata road. It’s such an irony that you have presidents, ministers and other high profile personalities appearing in those studios and not being ashamed of the poor state of those buildings and the backwardness of our technology, what a disgrace!
They may have canceled the contract but the officers involved have already had their “cuts” and are smiling while tax payers money will be used to pay the contractors for breach of contract.
You can build a 200 MW power station with that money!
@kavundula
Even higher capacity if that power plant was solar powered!!
He authorised it and cancelled it himself. How can a minister not be aware of such a contract in the first place?
First there is continuous power cuts, how where these cameras going to be effective. Please get the priority infrastructure first before you start dreaming of non essentials. For once BA lungu mwacitako ifya mano
This is the kind of Governance we’ve always expected from P.F, especially after those “election promises” Well done!! Actions rather than words will lead to the development Zambia has been needing since Independence. Next step if anyones proven guilty, only a VERY LONG prison sentence will serve as a deterrent for this selfish Economic Sabotage.
Thanks Bo Mweetwa & the Upnd team for being alert!
its all nonsense,pathetic with the blotted cabinet nothing makes sense in pf government at all,you have no medicine for people you still go on to host world class conferences at the expense of the poor citizen,pensioners are not paid fort a longtime their dues i mean what rubbish is this?
Thanx go to listening govt & Hon E.Lungu.U truly listenig govt.Rember Mai Bkosi over Zamtel saga.It ws RB orchestratng & defendng corupt Dolar!Here we re Minster has termnated contract.Not defendng coruption why?Dolar shud be arested now!
Rubbish write up. Your chi Lungu signed the contract while under the influence of mosi, and only realised months later when Mweetwa brought up the queries.
@Dada. Your statements do not have any leg to stand on. Dora had been relieved of her duties when she was being investigated during the MMD investigations. She was cleared and was given a new appointment. When PF came to power they were after her again and the tribunal cleared her and that is how the then Justice minister Seb Zulu was dropped as he didn’t deliver a conviction that Sata wanted. From there the PF hasn’t moved on and now at all costs they want her barred from standing in Petauke Central by-election. By the same token, if PF is a listening govt, will PF drop all the officials involved in this saga? Only then will PF expect to be applauded.
$210m contract is a lot of money to have gone unnoticed until Mweetwa blew the whistle. There was selective amnesia somewhere!
There’s no need to shower praises on Lungu as if he were doing us a favour. He is party to the fiasco.
Why can’t Dada write in English? Do not complicate the flow of a beautiful language like English. Keep your points simple and concise. I think you have a lot to offer but for your entangled writing and ambiguous meanings.
Take aspirin before reading his post.
Swallowing your pride by listening to others about doing what is good is maturity. if you went along with this cctv deal, come 2017 you would have been haunted. You should do the same with retirement age & package.
You catch a thief stealing, he returns your katundu and you go ahead praising him (the thief). Only in Zambia….
I thought there is a charge of ‘attempted theft’ Did RB remove it from statutes?? Him too became lousy on his watch
Edgar Lungu for PF President, he too is allergic to corruption 🙂
Congratulating someone for incompetence and negligence…if such a ridiculiously high figure can go unnoticed what of the $100m, $150m, $50m spent here and there in past that have disappeared. We should be thanking ZWD and patting yourselves on the back Cornelius Mweetwa not the drunkard Lungu who fell asleep on his watch.
This is how the opposition should work – not just making noise on the street with no action! On this one ba UPND – I give you 9 out of 10.
No 10/10 !! So without w/d and UPND ngabaliyakana all this money?? And the chap cancels what HE approved __ Bwalwa??
that’s a gd check and balance , govt always perform when the pressure is there . Happy development for both govt , opposition and other NGO, en pressure groups.