Former Defense Minister in the Patriotic Front government, Mr. Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba, also known as GBM, has called on President Hakainde Hichilema to desist from using private auditors to audit the Ministry of Defense saying he is risking national security.
Mr. Mwamba says the Ministry of Defense handles high-level security business transactions whose access requires different levels of security clearance and oaths of office. The former lawmaker says civil servants understand these requirements better and, in the history of this country, have largely demonstrated that they can be trusted with sensitive information.
“As a former Defense Minister, I can tell you that the Ministry of Defense and other security wings of the state handle very sensitive state business that is entirely in national interest but cannot be understood and appreciated by someone outside the civil service”, Mr. Mwamba says.
President Hichilema, Mr. Mwamba says, must stop thinking like an opposition leader, and must stop thinking and acting like a businessman, and instead begin to think and act like a Head of State and a custodian of state interests. By inviting private auditors in the Ministry of Defense, Mr. Mwamba says, the President is demonstrating the fact that he has not successfully transitioned from an opposition politician and a businessman to a statesman.
The aspiring candidate for the position of president in the PF party says the office of the Auditor-General is sufficiently qualified to audit the Ministry of Defense in addition to the fact that as public employees, they understand and appreciate their obligation to national and security interests. Mr. Mwamba says the academic and professional qualifications of officers in the office of the Auditor-General are the same as those of their counterparts in the private sector thereby making redundant the idea of bringing outsiders to a job that insiders are perfectly qualified to handle.
The PF Chairman for mobilization says the only deficit Mr. Hichilema must address himself to is the apparent lack of political will to act on the recommendations of the Auditor-General’s reports, a narrative that is well known in this country.
“The problem is not the ability of the auditor-general to do his job. Instead, the problem is doing something about what the auditor general has found out and recommended”, Mr. Mwamba said.
As a man who was voted on the promise to fight corruption, Mr. Mwamba said the President must act in a way that he does not leave any room to doubt his commitment to his promises, a reference to the fact that Grant Thornton, a firm President Hichilema was associated with, is one of the firms given contracts to audit the Ministry of Defense.
“The nation will begin to doubt whether the President has indeed divested his interests in the company and whether he is not using and abusing his position as President to give his colleagues business”, Mr. Mwamba wondered.
In addition, the opposition politician is asking Mr. Hichilema to disclose how much money government is spending on these audits questioning the rationale since he claimed that he inherited empty coffers. Mr. Mwamba says private auditors do not come cheap as he wonders why a President who claims that he is prudent with public funds would take such an expensive and luxurious route barely a year after he won his first term in office.
“Is he in a hurry to make money because he knows he is not winning a second term”, Mr. Mwamba wonders.
Okay!
Even babies know this. Your army can’t be audited by foreigners unless you are a colony!
What are you hiding. Let them audit. We see how monies were moving.
You mean you can’t see with your own eyes? You need a foreigner’s eyes to see for you? How naive!
We should hide our security secrets otherwise you will be dealing with insurgency out of the blue. HH is already compromised and it’s just a matter of time before he starts upsetting his masters. Look at South Africa…we are next on the list.
@Yaks, sure just because you support the UPND, this one is a wrong move to bring in a private company to do the Audit. Politics aside this is National Security being compromised. Let’s get serous.
This move needs to be blocked by parliament. Even the US military has never passed an audit so not sure what you are trying to achieve. Please do not compromise Zambia’s security because the people you are dealing with know you inside out but you don’t know them. We told you the IMF loans are conditional and now look at what is been demanded. These people got Chiluba to dismantle all our companies and now you want to dismantle the only thing holding us together? Awe, we must refuse this one.
It’s a financial audit and not and audit of personnel, operations and plans. It’s purely to ascertain hw and why money was spent in a certain way.
Unless you’re really dumb this audit leads to all activities of the army
It is because of failure of government auditors that we had a ZAMTROP account which was being used for money laundering by Chiluba and his tandem of thieves. In this day and age there is no such things as State Secrets in a third world country. The only people who are kept in the dark are the citizens. The super powers know everything including the DNA sequence of HH. What secrets are you hiding when you do not make your own weapons but import even tropicals for your soldiers? The US ambassdor even knew what one Zambian Vice President died of (Wikileaks).
Zamtrop was not the army.
Good move accountabilty coming to Zambia 58 years too late
GBM is one of the top 10 big criminals in Zambia. We all remember this man became himself a supplier of commodities to the defence when at the same serving as Minister of Defence inches corrupt PF goevernment. He amassed a lot of worth and evenbecame more fat. Such persons would never like to be audited. There is nothing wrong fro a private section to audit even the Army. Because the money belongs to us the tax payers. Shame yourself Mr. Mwamba. You had at one announced that you were going to settle in South Africa. But decided to return quickly after finding out that the ANC were also quickly plundering the economy like you are doing in Zambia.
Self hate is what the oppressors do to you first before they can finish you off. GBM is a petty thief in comparison to the people you are defending. I am not a fun of GBM but in this instance, I totally agree with him and if I was to choose between the two thieves, I would pick GBM anytime because a petty thief will at least leave you with something.
Hh is a mere martako
All Matako’s are in PF kikiki
ubututu mu UPND no bufotin in these chaps.When we say that the guy is full of inferiority complex people refuse.
Greetings family, The said Ministry is a very sensitive sector. External auditors is a No, No No.
Fat Albert has spoken
The laws of Zambia allows the Auditor General for private Auditor with the consent of the President.
During Lungu PF rule three Army Commanders were fired, so that has to be audited.
Sadly he is right here. These big firms are not Zambian, so this should tell you something.
@Bashi Anderson Junior, this is why was said, “…desist from using private auditors to audit the Ministry of Defense..”. Where does it say, “audited by foreigners”? It is ignorant silly illiterate bottom feeders such as failed disgruntled GBM and yourself that cause unnecessary BS. Read to understand and not to respond. Get over it ..mule-kutika
Lesson
#1. Get an education
#2. If you cannot do #1 surround yourself with educated successful people.
#3. If you cannot do #1 & 2 please refrain from commenting on issues that are beyond your comprehension.
#4.If you cannot do 1,2 & 3 then you are a useless toxic fool.
A sensitive sector Bollocks
No secrets there all public knowoledge
wait and see the wastage that was around during PF era
GBM, why are you afrid? Very soon youwill be cught napping