Thursday, March 28, 2024

We can prove Textbook Corruption-Zambia Publishers

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ZAMBIAN publishers have challenged the Ministry of Education and Anti-Corruption Commission to call for an urgent meeting to enable them prove the corruption allegations made against the ministry.

“It is not true that Zambian-owned companies have no capacity to produce books for the ministry to have given contracts to foreign-owned companies; they frustrated Zambians for the purpose of disadvantaging them,” they said.

The Zambian publishers have argued that local registration did not automatically mean local ownership because the foreign companies could now be registered in Zambia for the benefit of the centralized tender which was a ploy meant to disadvantage the local writers who were fighting the new system of engaging textbooks companies.

The publishers were responding to the Ministry of Education who threatened to take legal action against local publishers who are alleging corruption.

“We want equity and fairness We have written many letters to the Government to complain but nothing has happened,” they said.

The Ministry of Education has defended its decision to award foreign owned firms saying the companies awarded were registered in Zambia.

Education spokesperson Hillary Chipango said the three companies registered with the Patents and Companies Agency (PACRA) and the Citizen Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) were members of the Book Publishers of Zambia (BPAZ) and therefore were Zambian registered Companies.

Below is the full statement from the Ministry

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE, VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND EARLY EDUCATION, RESPONSES TO THE ARTICLE ON TEXT BOOKS (DAILY NATION NEWSPAPER OF 30TH AND 31ST MARCH, 2015).

The tender was floated on 26th February, 2014 and the bidding was conducted through the Open National Bidding (ONB) a procedure specified in the Public Procurement Act of 2008 and the Public Procurement Regulations of 2011, and was directed to all Zambian registered Publishers and Citizen Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) preferential treatment was applicable.

The assertions by Mrs. Alice Mkandawire that there is a US$4million scandal at the Ministry of Education concerning the procurement of text books as it signed contracts with foreign companies even before the ruling on the application for stay of execution of the High Court Judgement pending appeal by Zambian publishers was made is not correct.

THE POSITION OF THE MINISTRY IS

All the three Publishers awarded the contracts are registered in Zambia at Patents and Companies Agency (PACRA) therefore, they are Zambian registered Companies. Find attached herewith the photo copies of registration Certificates.

All the three Publishers awarded the contracts are registered with the Book Publishers of Zambia (BPAZ). Find attached herewith the photo copies of registration Certificates.

All the three Publishers awarded the contracts are registered with the Citizen Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC). Find attached herewith the photo copies of registration Certificates.

The Publishing Companies that Mrs. Alice Mkandawire and Mr. Kapeso Ntambakwa represent did not participate in the tender and therefore have no legal claim as they were not part to the process.

The three companies (Mwajionera Publishers Limited and 2 others) that sued the Ministry did not participate in the tender and the High Court judgements of 19th day of January 2015 and 27th April 2015 ruled in favour of the Ministry.

The Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) in its Letter dated 25th September 2014 with reference No. ZPPA/9/4/1 advised the Ministry to proceed with the procurement process as their review had found that the process was within the provisions of the Public Procurement Act No.12 of 2008 (PPA) and Public Procurement Regulations of 2011.

The one year delay in the procurement of text books was caused by Mwajionera Publishers Limited and 2 others who sued the Ministry with no cause and legal basis.

Therefore, there is no scandal or corrupt tendencies in the manner the tender for text books was handled and the two articles in the Daily Nation News Paper should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve as there is no truth in the articles. The articles are malicious, misleading and are bent at tarnishing the image of the Government.

The people responsible for the articles have ulterior motives and selfish interests to serve and want to gain public sympathy using lies after losing the appeals made to ZPPA and the unfruitful Court proceedings.

The Ministry has written to the Attorney General to study the articles and consider suing the Daily Nation News Paper, Mrs. Alice Mkandawire and Mr. Kapeso Ntambakwa.

Hillary Chipango
MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON

7 COMMENTS

    • Some of us parents buy books for our children. Most of the books printed locally are simply of poor quality, e.g. books printed by times printpac

    • I have to stand by the local suppliers and Zambian owned companies in this matter. Foreign companies use us and abuse us with impunity. It is everywhere and issue that “Zambian owned companies have no capacity is a generalisation that friends of the foreign companies use to sideline Zambians.
      Go to the mines and see how South Africans, Indians and Chinese are falling over each other depending on who owns the operation. All in the name of “capacity” instead of the obvious “$$$” signs that they see and are here to extract.
      Our MP’s do not have time for Zambians but all the time for foreigners.
      Check the Countries of origin for the winners of the tender and then check where the Education Minister and/or Snr officers in the Ministery have been to recently…the clue is in there

  1. Do not accept low quality books. We can’t compromise education for our children. We are now equally competing globally. Poorly educated children will never operate beyond your borders. Advocate for quality.

  2. This is the problem in Zambia.everything is corruption and scandals. If it is true that there is a scandal in this issue, Zambian Publishers should stand their ground and expose the culprits. On the other hand, books published in Zambia are usually of inferior quality. The paper is of inferior quality. They need to improve and not do things on the cheap.

  3. Zambian publishers are able to produce high quality books. Like in other sectors. What is budgeted is not what is paid so publishers are forced to produce the equivalent of what has been paid. Let’s put Zambians ahead of every one else and equally save our forex from externalisation!

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