Transparency International Zambia has advised government to avoid wasteful expenditure of public resources, especially that which is done legally because it attracts no sanctions.
TIZ Executive Director Wesley Chibamba said Legal wastage of public resources includes undertaking unnecessary trips as well as carrying unnecessarily huge delegations on such and other trips, people with no bearing whatsoever on the purpose of the trip.
Mr. Chibamba said the story carried in the News Diggers Tabloid about the “Committee to receive four fire trucks for the Republic of Zambia” makes very sad reading for any concerned Zambian.
He said if this story is anything to go by, then we wish to condemn in the strongest sense this kind of irresponsibility by government towards public resource management.
“Honestly, how does the whole lot of a first lady set out to go and receive a donation in the United States? Where is the Zambian envoy to the United States? Even in the worst scenario where this becomes permissible, a 25 man delegation? For what? And receiving a donation for 15 days? How does that work? And all this happening when there are ‘austerity measures’ in place? Clearly it seems our ‘austerity measures’ do not apply to a select few Zambians According to the Auditor General’s reports, wasteful expenditure increased by 219%, between 2016 and 2017, from K 3, 587,000 in 2016 to K 7, 865,000 in 2017”, he said
Mr. Chibamba said ordinarily, this should have been a red flag and a point of concern for the government where efforts should be focused to reduce wasteful expenditure.
“But as if to spite the tax payers, that is when authorities are authorizing such trips as Mrs. Esther Lungu carrying 25 people to go and receive a donation for 15 days. As an organization, we have been categorical on these trips and not so long ago we had requested that the Auditor General undertake a special audit of the Presidential related travels and the associated imprest and other resources allocated”, he added.
Mr. Chibamba said public resources should not go to waste for political patronage or to please political cadres who have no business associated to these trips.
He said a receiving ceremony could have been held in Zambia with the American Ambassador in Attendance or the Zambian Ambassador to the United States could have received the said donation.
“The delegation being carried is blotted. 25 people to receive four fire trucks over a period of 15 days, as if Zambia has not had enough fire truck scandals. Even if the subject trip maybe legal, it still is a wastage of public resources. Zambia is a poor country with a lot of competing interests”, Mr. Chibamba added.
He said these funds could have been channelled towards more urgent national needs.
Mr. Chibamba has since appealed to President Edgar Lungu to provide leadership and ensure that the effected austerity measures are actually implemented and respected by all.
He said President Lungu should be the first to condemn such wanton mismanagement of public resources saying fiscal discipline and prudent financial stewardship should start with the president and this includes those that act in his capacity including the first lady.
“As a woman that the entire nation looks up to, she, like her husband, ought to demonstrate the same level of fiscal discipline expected of him”, He said.
Whilst the first lady leads the committee to receive firetrucks,the president sets out on a 10 day inexplicable sojourn…
Greed, often makes people insensitive to the suffering of others.
Pride makes people think they are better than others and so deserve to be treated better.
Thats whats very clear about Mr. Lungu’s PF. They dont care about the suffering of their fellow citizens who are barely able to eat, have no accesd to decent healthcare or clean water. Their primary interest is to satiate their insatiable appettites using the country’s scanty resources, while the rest of us go hungry.
They feel that they are citizen number one and so they deserve to enjoy even though the rest of us suffer.
Lungu and PF have no incentive to implement austerity measures, because this is directly in conflict with what they stand for. They are in office to misappropriate public funds, to put it plainly steal, while the rest of the masses are wallowing in abject poverty. Just look at the project proposals: Building a new state house, Zambia Airways, Malls here and there etc. None of these projects goes to address the economic problem that people are facing.
Just a few years ago some of the bloggers here were mocking Greece. Greece had implanted austerity measures and it has now succeeded because they have committed leadership who are there to serve the people.
What a waste of money austerity measures my foot, even this dirty woman thinks she is important now. Ubupuba ba PF wachilamo nembwa shilemona kwati sha liba important
Valid point, very valid point. That money could be used on many areas. The same drainage and rubbish collection we are crying about in order to prevent Cholera, even buying blankets for patients in a few hospitals not to mention buying some sanitary chemicals for our filthy prisons. We truly lack priorities and we fail to understand that in life you need to do what is right whilst you have the chance because the future is merciless on us for the mistakes we make today.
TI your advice falls on deaf ears.
The problem is the News Diggers story may not be true. The ZambianWatchDog once published a photocopy of a list of judges, with their signatures, whom it alleged shared corruption money of over US $190,000 cash each. Now if you know how the financial system works you can not believe this ever happened. But some people believed it and started tapping around. Two of them are in jail, one is pending to be sentenced. Be careful with what you read in tabloids.
News diggers is on records for FALSE AND ALARMING news. This story is obviously twisted just to twinkling in ears of Ts .Even the same TIZ Director by the name , personally knew what will his vomits looks like and even the comments of tribal stooges .
The some bloggers here are graduating in CONDEMNING everything that PF is doing.They do it day and night with hatred,bitterness and jealousy .
Nope Amos Chanda has confirmed it. So news diggers was right and you where wrong which raises serious questions about your motives for trying to descredit news diggers and maligning them with unsubstatiated allegations.
Mr P is an *****. We are crying because your government has imposed austerity measures and yet opulently enjoying themselves without shame. Mwanya!!!!
You are a disaster!!
****** = idi.ot. Replace accordingly.
Actually the so called private secretary to the FL confirmed the story on Saturday.
So Amos was only reconfirming it.
This is one area where as Zambians we are a big let down. We want to agure/dispute even where we don’t have the facts!
Yap yap. If the story is true, it is most unfortunate; TIZ keep it up. If not, extremely sad; TIZ waitaya.