UNITED States of America Ambassador to Zambia Mr. DANIEL FOOTE has applauded Government for the measures put in place in the control of the utilisation of government vehicles.
Mr. FOOTE said this when he paid a courtesy call on Minister of Works and Supply Mr. FELIX MUTATI at the Ministry Headquarters.
He said control of government fleet is commendable and added that under the public affairs department at his embassy, the US Government can help the Ministry strengthen its fleet management programme by having some of the staff exposed to the American system and learn how it is done there.
Mr FOOTE made this offer after Mr. MUTATI informed him that fleet management is one of the major programmes that his Ministry is working on and so far there has been positive compliance at the record of 85 percent as compared to 10 percent when the exercise commenced early this year.
Mr. MUTATI added that Government has been able to save more than K300m since the road blocks started and that the Ministry is now working towards incorporating technology which will further help curb misuse.
He said the main objective of the enhanced controls on the utilisation of government transport is to instil discipline and help government save the finances for other developmental programmes.
Mr. MUTATI further informed Mr. FOOTE that his Ministry is also focused and determined to revamp the Government Printers Department so that it prints not only the 2021 ballot papers but be able to do other works that it used to do in the past.
The other pertinent programme of interest Mr. MUTATI shared with Mr. FOOTE is the redevelopment of waste or idle assets earmarked for the creation of more office space for civil servants.
Mr. MUTATI said government was engaging with the private sector on a private public partnership (PPP) model that will eventually benefit both sides.
He noted that Government would appreciate the presence of the American business community in the redevelopment programme through the PPP programme.
On what the American Embassy in Zambia can do to help the Ministry, Mr. MUTATI pointed out three areas of concern which are, staff training exchange programmes, private sector investment under PPP and strengthening of the government fleet management.
And Mr. FOOTE said his Government is ready to assist the Ministry with the training exchange programmes as well as fleet management.
He also noted that his embassy would consult with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) which is a self–sustaining US Government agency that helps American businesses invest in emerging markets to venture into the Zambian market.
The two leaders further shared views on how the tourism sector can benefit from some American philanthropists such as the head of Amazon and many others.
Mr. FOOTE was accompanied by Chief of Section for Political and Economic Affairs Ms. DOREEN BAILEY while Mr. MUTATI was with Permanent Secretary Ms. AGNESS MUSUNGA and Director Human Resources Mr. WEZI LUKHELE.
The same GRZ vehicles used to illegally ferry mukula logs?
It really hurts you when this grz does something positive, doesn’t it??
1.1 Haters will never be happy with progress. They are only happy when government boobs. And yet they claim to speak for the suffering majority. Anyway we know what they mean by this if we can use the praises heaped on that former Kitwe mayor who got tired of living after defiling a female relative.
Is this the same Mutati who is fighting for that shell called MMD?
The measure is ephemeral… pass legislation on it and let institutions control the movement of government vehicles not an individual.
What Mutati has done is good. When that cat leaves that office, the rats will be back in the kitchen.
We all know the story of Mwanawasa’s fight against corruption. He fought it as an individual and did not throw the entire full wright on institutions to fight it. When he died… the rats came back only this time bigger and seven folds…
its like some people develop brain damage when ever government does something good. They can rest.
its like some people develop brain damage when ever government does something good. They can not rest.
HH will NEVER be president but since we a free country he can keep on dreaming maybe he can one day become Paramount Chief of the Namwala peoples.
Sharon ukafwa nechikonko.Iwe lyonse kulatukafye HH? Nensoni tawakwata. HH will sleep soundly and enjoy his billions. while you just think and eat HH ! Go to church ingulu shafulishya
Katana..
.talk about HH eating his billions…stolen privatisation proceeds. Where is Shansongaa??
Comment:The move is commendable, also top officials shud stop moving anyhow.
Well come to Zambia.
We know that the fight against corruption will never be won for as long as Lungu is president.
However, this initiative by Mutati is really about changing people’s mindsets. It is about changing the system slowly.
It is a move in the right direction.
The work culture and attitudes in Zambia are not yet finely tuned. There is still a lot of work to be done, and such small steps by Mutati and Lusambo will make a difference.
But the fight against Lungu and his corruption must continue comrades.
HH is UNELECTABLE and he is a leader of a TRIBAL H-ORGANISATION.
If only every minister in the PF cabinet worked like these MMD Ministers …all that is missing is RB in State House they economy would be on track.
Trying to make a distinction because he is in Government! HH will NEVER be president. He is CHILDISH. Hatribes HaNegatives H-Association of Zambia Mapatizya Formula.
RB was the worst president we’ve had followed by lungu
Can now see why Mutati was removed as Finance minster, was trying to make best of a terrible situation PF (especially Alex Chikwanda) had created, had the opposite mindset to them all… Was it a fear of Felix doing the right thing for Za….. any way, Well Done Mr Mutati, if only rest of out government took your direction 🙂
Why do you want to be praised by some Yankee slave owner to consider yourselves progressive? Who is the American ambassador to make judgment on how we run our sibo sevis? Atase!
Maggot infested brain? Get a life chimbwi iwe.For your information slavery ended a long time ago. You must be on weed.Stop before insanity settles in
Slavery ended long time ago. You parrot this like your brainless head instructs. You’re so thick you dont even know the dates so you can only say long time ago. For your own information it never ended because brains like yours are still enslaved and can’t think without the master in Washington. Start using the Grey matter between your ears before you respond to things that prove too complicated for your maggot Infested substitute for a brain
The fact of the matter is that you ignore Trump at your own peril. Government needs to approach the Americans and simply apologise for reminding them that we are “a sovereign nation”. These guys are powerful and they don’t need that arrogance. They control the Boards of the World Bank and IMF. Whether we like it or not, the PF Government has messed up. And this is the time when we badly need IMF rescue package. Trump simply awaits an apology and all will be well.
Imf belongs to the world not to Trump. Stop having this losers attitude
I commend Mutati for this effort. But road blocks are not the best to curb abuse. There’re cheaper and effective ways of doing this. I can manage my fleet from my smart phone, including disabling a car that is out of defined range, from anywhere. This is not rocket science, it works. So let’s get serious and stop the leakage of tax payers’ money using smart technology.
We don’t need a visit to the US to see how they do it. The technology I am taking about is designed and made in Africa. And only cost K80 per vehicle per month. Cheaper than insurance. And you manage fuel use, causes of accidents, monitor engine performance and driver behaviour on the road and warn them by beeps and alarms. If you want, you can integrate spy cameras to record everything. Cool stuff!