Former Auditor General Anna Chifungula has warned that Zambia will soon become a Highly Indebted Poor Country again if appropriate measures are not enforced to prioritise public expenditure.
In an interview, Dr Chifungula who retired last December said Zambia’s debt levels are increasing at an alarming rate increasing chances of sliding back into the HIPC category.
She said with reduced revenue collection, it is imperative that controlling officers strengthen their over sight roles in order to protect the limited available resources.
Dr Chifungula cautioned controlling officers to resist the temptations of abusing public resources especially in this political campaign season.
He said controlling officers are sometimes under pressure to dip their hands into public coffers by politicians during election campaigns.
Dr Chifungula said Zambia’s limited resources must be apportioned for programmes that will improve the wellbeing of the people.
Timely advise.This is a professional overview with no political biasness or connotations.
Finest professional advise without familiar political toxicity. It’s no secret that late President Sata had no system in place to drive projects conception, planning, analysis, costing and monitory of executions. He had over exposed the treasury.
This woman is right – spot on!! However, was very disappointed with her in that during her reign, SHE SHOULD HAVE PURSUED ERRING OFFICERS – not just mentioning their ERRORS, latterly, she wasn’t as abrasive as before – I know, people will say, she had to protect her job – TRUE, but she also had the UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY as DG, when the country was looking for change, to make sure CROOKS NEVER GOT AWAY WITH CRIMES – we need BRAVE ZAMBIAN’s NOW, MORE THAN EVER BEFORE!!
Vote wisely 11/8/2016!! Vote ZAMBIA FORWARD!! VOTE UPND!! Abantu baya!!!
#chagwamustfall!! PamaFikuyabebele!!
I thank you!!
PF has managed to push Zambia into a debt trap within four years, and they are still determined to borrow more, what a sad story of poor leadership.
Its Sata who left this mess though blind UPND is trying to accuse Edgar of ‘abandoning Sata’s vision’ Which vision ? Nafuti nafuti !
@ Anthony sonta uko mwatwala Euro Bond mwakongwele
While Sata was useless as a Grade 3, Chakolwa is completely incompetent despite being a lawyer, albeit a thieving one. Chakolwa has completely ground Zambia into the ground. Not even Sata took the Kwacha to K15 power USD, as happened o 28 September 2015. Not even Sata tripled inflation from 7% to 22% under one year. Chakolwa has completely failed to run the country and it is a mystery why he wants to continue in State House.
The advise is falling on deaf ears. Who in the PF govt is concerned about the level of debt. ECL and his PF ministers will borrow and borrow until the cows come home. Lungu has no capacity to understand these governance issues and neither is he surrounded by economic and financial managers. People have n’t seen anything. Let them wait until 11th August 2016 should ECL and PF rig and bounce back into power. People will see the real character of Lungu the Tinpot dictator. Time will tell!
Zambians, heed the voice of this timely advice
The President, the other day, was saying the economy was rebounding. One wonders which country he talking about! The reality is that PF has run this country into the ground!
With all due respect madam, how many audits on Zesco, Zamtel, ZRA, RTSA, ERB did your Auditor General team not carry out professionally and you know about it but you decided to play to the gallery to safe guard your job then. What you are saying is true but you are not the right person to say it because the mismanagement of financial resources in parastatals and quartz government institutions which you knew and gave a blind eye to make you disqualified to give financial guidance. You knew the corrupt auditors at AG the least you could have done is report them to ACC. You could still have used your time of giving parliamentary reports to clearly mention these senior officers in involved so that politicians put pressure on government to act.
And what makes u right person to attach Madam Annah in that manner.? If u know of any corrupt Auditor ,,why not report them to ACC , ? If at all u are a Patriotic Zambian.
Any campaign worth it’s worth is always about the economy, ALWAYS. Especially the so called ‘common man’, his standard of living is directly linked the economic growth and distribution. One cannot over emphasize enough that the Eurobonds and and the multiple credit facilities entered into (mainly from China) only benefits the lenders. Our massive infrastructure projects were premised on borrowings which are proving too costly to manage. It is for this reason that having alternative economic managers handling our national resources and decision-making processes, is all but inevitable. Otherwise, what is a priority for ba Edgar is to win the election in whatever means…….and for the economic challenges?…..well ba IMF bakesa fisolva, or worse still…fikayi solva, after all it is…
after it is global. Meanwhile the PF musical concerts continue…..shame mwe.
PF Government is now failing to pay civil servants on time. its like now they can just pay workers any time when they scratch around for money, which has made it very difficult for workers to plan and budget on the already small cash. if these selfish morons can fail to please the worker few days before the election, i fear for the civil servants should these idi0ts bounce back. these morons have no morals and that’s why their ministers have decided to remain in office and drawing (stealing) salaries, even those not adopted by their party. for those of us who vote on tribe lets think hard about this. if you don’t like HH because of his tribe maybe try Nawakwi, but certainly NOT edgar lungu. he is leading us to a big ditch.
Calling on all UPND Bloggers..lets reply to any pro PF post on LT by asking this very important question..”SONTA UKO WATWALA $8 BILLION EUROBOND MWAKONGWELE”
I thank You
HH Forward
It’s easy they will show you all the infrastructure developments you are seeing and where do you think the money came from…You think someone donated money for infrastructure you failing to appreciate…
Yes, or to sonta where inflation is today.
Sonta pali bunga, saladi, grocery, $, school fees, bread, fuel, power cut, ………
Wabomba pesa iwe mambala wabufi? You get this nation in a debt trap and then say sonta…..malabishi.
H H conman
You stole from many families.
Not ripe for President.
Let true leaders rule us.
PF have spent 5 years investigating your false accusations and come up with nothing. Get a life and wisen up to the massive fraud that Chakolwa is committing against Zambians – civil servants salaries not paid, 10 hour powercuts, a rapidly depreciating Kwacha and unaffordable schools. You need to be saved from your stoopidity.
Imwe ba PF mulekwate nsoni……
Sonta pali bunga, saladi, grocery, $, school fees, bread, fuel, power cut, theft from marketeers/bus drivers ………
Wabomba pesa iwe mambala wabufi? You get this nation in a debt trap and then say sonta…..malabishi.
Ms Chifungula take it easy the fact that you retired and did not want to leave is something that has cought up with you…You did your part together with your team at AG’s office but you wanted always every one to be praising you only as an individual which shouldn’t have been the case…Your role now is behind the scenes advising the Government of the day on issues of modern technics of audit issues that’s the level madam you have attained not issuing press releases…
With all due respect PF under the late Sata and now Lungu have over the last 5 years over borrowed and expensively. The national debt has ballooned to $6 billion under PF’s watch. Total expenditures under Lungu has sharply increased becoz Lungu increased the size of govt and has made it bloated. Total govt expenditures now exceeds monthly revenue collections leaving a huge deficit which has been financed thru expensive borrowing. PF govt has been spending money they do not have. Financial mismanagement under Lungu has been rampant. The PF govt under Lungu has run the Teasury broke and IMF and Rating Agencies have acknowledged this fact. Lungu is a bad economic and financial manager of the Zambian economy.
The greatest day Zambia will ever have is when this PF government will be kicked out of power. Take it from me, every day they are in government is one more day the country sinks deeper and deeper in guagmire.
Lungu continues to spend money the nation does not have and keeps driving it into deeper debt just like what Mugabe did to Zimbabwe.
I declare there is an economic liberation war of Zambia I invite you to enlist in the Economic Liberation Army with you NRC as gun and Voters Card as ammunition.
The enemies are PF plunderers and beneficiaries of the Lungu-Rupiah corrupt PF system. Take no prisoners, slay them massively.
This
Unfortunately, the Auditor General’s office has no power to pursue anyone as their mandate only ends at recommending for further action. Anna Chitungula unearthed many scandals and it was up to the investigative organs like the ACC to take it up from there. Further, the Head of State is privy to these reports. What did he do about the rot going on in the government departments? Please do not blame the lady for inaction, she did her part.
@K Bwalya, spot on! You hit the nail right on its rough head. Same goes for blogger 10.
Let’s wait for a new party to come in power then and only then will the PF government be judged convincingly! At first we thought MMD was killing us with hunger then few years down the line we started missing their LESS imposed hunger. 2016 vote wisely guys. No need to be insolent in our blogs bcoz non of these candidate is ready 2 die for anyone of us! There is no loyalty in politics, there is only SEBANA WIKUTE!!