By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) owed mine houses a whopping $ 1 billion in Value Added Tax(VAT) arrears, it has paid the mines! ZESCO owed Copperbelt Energy Corporation PLC a reported amount of $200m, it has paid! Similar energy companies owed similar amounts have been paid.
However, Local Contractors and suppliers are owed billions. The government has instead subjected the outstanding arrears to audits, audits and ridicule. The suppliers and contractors have suffered humiliation as they have been accused of supplying “air” and are accused of belonging or affiliated to the former ruling party, the Patriotic Front.
To this effect, the Ministry of Finance and National Planning hired Grant Thornton, Ernest &Young Advisory Services, PwC, Client Focus Solutions Chartered Accountants, CYMA Chartered Public Accountants and Management Consultants, and Mark Daniels Chartered Accountants, to audit this debt.
The Minister said the firms were hired to ascertain the process related to the accumulation and audit of the public domestic arrears that its various institutions owe suppliers of goods and services.
The debt owed by ZRA or ZESCO was never subjected to similar scrutiny! Companies like Savenda Group of companies, Charisma Hotels and others have been subjected to oppressive criminal investigations that don’t separate Directors from their companies.
Suppliers and contractors have been forced into financial difficulties and others into outright bankruptcy. Companies have life and are separate legal personalities, independent from their owners!
While we pay certain foreign firms for money owed and neglect and starve our people of their money, my advice is to recall the great Taoist philosophy classic by Lao Tzu;
When the Palace is magnificent,
The fields are filled with weeds,
And the granaries are empty.
Some have lavish garments,
Carry sharp swords,
And feast on food and drink.
They possess more than they can spend.
This is called the vanity of robbers.
It is certainly not the Way.
The sage puts himself last and becomes the first,
Neglects himself and is preserved.
Is it not because he is unselfish that he fulfils himself?
Emmanuel you forgot to mention a very important legal fraud that’s become trendy nowadays whereby those seen as aligned to Community House have been offered consent judgements and rewarded huge compensations. The Treasury is bleeding. The Great Leader has just killed an elephant and the carcass is still very big, after all 2026 is many years away. They’re taking their shares as no one seems to notice especially that Zambians are too forgetful. Christmas has come too early. It pays to belong to the ruling elite. But life is a vanity. The bells that have tolled on PF shall one day do it on the UPND. When will that happen? It might be sooner or later but it’ll definitely happen
Ayatolla(1) Next time do not detain people on political whims. Do not fire people just because you think you can.Put a premium on human rights.People are not dogs.
The upnd will go down as the most incompetent and amateurish government in the world. We have never seen such confusion in the history of politics.
Today at the pf London HQs, we welcomed funding from well wishers equivalent to £24,000. We thank them so much
Did you steal it for yourself, because that’s the PF mantra, corrupt corruption
Chikubabe season
The UK based troll is back again for another 3-4 years…its only a matter of time until its bored out of its hollow shell.
We have seen those that are petitioning the state, mostly from the ruling party, where some have exhobitantly been rewarded for unlawful detention with not less than ½ a million Kwacha!
All this is Zambian tax payers money benefiting a few chosen ones.
Who else apart from party cadres and sympathisers has ever receive those large sums?
To date none of the peasant farmers has received FISP fertiliser. It goes true “The FARM fields are filled with weeds”, while “some CONNECTED PEOPLE have lavish garments”.
…exorbitantly been rewarded…
Blame the corrupt drunk lungu and the PF gangsters for wilfully arresting and detaing opposition for simply being a challenge to their corrupt rul……
Emmanuel, Emmanuel, what a name! But on a wrong person. VAT rebate is a very straightforward issue. ZESCO pays CEC for a transpartent deal. Everyone in Zambia knows that many suppliers supplied nothing and many contractors never did the work. You were away in Ithopia so you would not know what was happening in Zambia. Have you not wondered why your PF friends who were on the ground have not said anything?
You forget that some of the local PF-aligned contractors were been paid without ever doing any work. GRZ must make sure that those been paid actually did the works. Kudos to the new dawn.
This so called Emmanuel Mwamba thinks he knows all, its hard to sit on the bench for 5 years ranting nonsense at all times. You seem to have invalid data within your loins
PF should not be allowed to comment on any economic matter. They saddled Zambia with US $31 billion in debt, which has emasculated the country. All of them should be arrested for looting the Zambian government. What you hear out of the mouth of this fool are the howlings of his crooked clique, whic has been forced to fend for itself in stead of depending on dubious contracts to pillage the Zambian government. The reason why the foreigners have been paid, as much I hate that fact, is that their papers are in order. They have proof of what they claim. The reason why the Emmanuel Mwamba kind are not being paid is because they have no proof of what they claim. Now, as they always have, they want to loot the government through bogus service claims. Bravo to the new dawn government for fighting…
Mr Mwamba.Read the folowing exerpts from the 2023 budget:30. Madam Speaker, the stock of audited central Government domestic arrears or pending bills, excluding fuel and electricity, decreased by 8.4 percent to K44.0 billion as at end-June 2022 from K48.1 billion as at end-December 2021. The reduction is due to Government paying suppliers of goods and services and curbing the accumulation of new arrears. By doing so, we have begun addressing the injustice of Government impoverishing itspeople by delaying to pay for goods and services provided.
192. Madam Speaker, to accelerate the dismantling of arrears owed to various suppliers of works, goods and services, I propose to increase the allocation to K6.8 billion from K3.1 billion this year. The increase is in line with Government’s…
…….. The increase is in line with Government’s strategy to dismantle arrears and unlock liquidity in the economy.
32. Madam Speaker, to halt the accumulation of domestic arrears and reduce the stock, Government will continue to implement the Dismantling of Domestic Arrears Strategy. The Strategy will among others, link procurement commitments to the approved budget and provide funds to dismantle arrears.
Arrears owed to suppliers will be dismantled,but those who supplied air will definitely not be paid
So. you and your Lao Tzu poems have come a little too late
98% of all supply contracts at the mines and other contracts for roads were given to PF party financial backers and supporters………..
Davis mwila made sure a certain percentage of each contract is returned to PF…………
even now most of all lungu appointed civil servants are obliged to give 7 % of their pay to PF…….
Dont mind this utterly vile sly hypocrite Mwamba so he wants the govt not to pay the miners for VAT owned? He talks of suppliers and contractors he forgets that when he was out there in RSA and Ethophia enjoying taxpayers money it was PF minister’s proxy companies like Fossil Chikwanda and BUFFOON CK who were paid first by the mines. Busy quoting Lao Tzu when you dont adhere to any principles…you run KCM to ground why did not pay the contractors instead of paying KZ and Amos…where was Milungo Lungu taking all that money? These are the questions we should be asking this slippery snake Mwamba.
Regarding corruption, uyu ndani become visionless and directionless immediately he told ACC and DEC that here are PF leaders, find cases against them. This strategy will breed untold misery in Zambia. Civilized countries do not go for here is man go back through his days and detect corrupt cases against him, Bututu.
It’s about time the names of the contractors and suppliers are published. Who are they, what did they supply and how much is owed to each. Because we hear of musicians who become road contractors with no experience in the sector. Zambians were exposed to expired medication by the same suppliers.
Your lack of dignity and honesty as a former ambassador is very very disgusting to say the least.
Empty tins make noise and it lacks sense. This man should seek employment not gratuities from his friend who is no longer the president
We don’t need to please Kaizar Zulu he can stay in UK asylum prison where he’s remanded.