COUNCILS HAVE BECOME DENS OF CORRUPTION – PAC PUBLIC Accounts Committee chairperson Vincent Mwale says it is disheartening and disturbing that instead of being agents of development, some councils have become dens of corruption. And local government minister Emmanuel Chenda says the government will soon revise Constituency Development Fund guidelines with a view of ensuring that the fund is prudently used by councils. Moving a motion to urge the House to adopt the PAC committee report on Wednesday, Mwale said revelations that most local authorities were mismanaging CDF were unfortunate. It is disturbing that instead of being agents of development, as envisaged by the local government act, local authorities are increasingly turning into dens of mismanagement and in some cases breeding grounds for corruption, Mwale said. Therefore, I call upon all stakeholders including traditional leaders, the media, community leaders, civil society organisations and indeed the public to begin to ask the questions and demand explanations about how funds are managed when projects have not been delivered. Mwale said PAC wondered how effective CDF was being used and whether there was any value for money being realised. Sadly, Mr Speaker, your committee has to report that all is not well with the implementation of CDF as the Auditor Generals report has demonstrated, Mwale said. Local authorities are failing to administer the funds in accordance with CDF guidelines. There is persistent failure by local authorities to be above board, an issue that should be immediately addressed. Mwale said CDF was wantonly being misused, a trend that needed to be stopped immediately. In short, CDF is being mismanaged and wasted and its time to bring to an end this misuse. Mr Speaker, there are a lot of Zambians who believe that the local government system is there to bring development to the grassroots and improve the livelihood of the people in rural areas, he said. Mwale noted that political interference in councils at procurement levels was rife and should not be tolerated. Your committee is sad to report that the auditor-general has again reported this problematic behaviour by some political leaders and examples are cited in your report. Sir, such cases border on abuse of authority and in all cases where this has been highlighted, your committee has recommended that the cases be reported to investigative wings for appropriate action, he said. He appealed to leaders to practice restraint and ensure that public interest remained central to their work. Officials should be left to implement the projects. Your committee is concerned also that while CDF has been increasing steadily, there has been no corresponding effort to enhance the capacity of council workers to handle such funds and the procurement involved, he said. Mwale cited the failed proper procurement of second hand graders by eight councils which approved K14.8 billion for the purchase of earth moving equipment. As of December 2013, amounts totaling K12 billion had been paid to the suppliers but some equipment ordered and paid for had not been delivered while those supplied were defective. For example, Choma, Kalomo and Kazungula councils paid the supplier called Techmia Commercials K1.3 billion, K2.4 billion and K529 million respectively without following tender procedures and equipment has not been delivered, Mwale said. Mwale also hailed the excellent work that Auditor General Anna Chifungula had continued to undertake in ensuring transparency and accountability in the usage of public funds in the country. As PAC, we would like to assure the nation that we shall remain supportive of this important office. We shall support all measures aimed at ensuring that the credibility of the Auditor Generals office is not diminished in anyway, said Mwale. And Chenda said government would consider the concerns that members of parliament raised in the usage of CDF and grants. These problems need to be addressed if the impact of these funds will be felt. Arising from your committees findings, its evident that the issues highlighted in your report must be attended to. The House may seek comfort in that we are revising the CDF guidelines to make them more user friendly to deal with the issue of red-tape, to ensure that the role of the MP is very conspicuous, Chenda said. But this also calls for responsibility on the part of MPs; they are senior councillors and they are supposed to give leadership at the various local authorities to ensure that the projects approved are in accordance with the guidelines and also that the money spent is spent properly and properly accounted for. Meanwhile, Chongwe PF member of parliament Sylvia Masebo said the real problem with CDF was not so much of lack of capacity in councils but the mindset that such funds were political. On the onset, I want to say that the real problem here is not so much of capacities lacking in councils but its also in the mindset that CDF funds are looked at as political money either administered or involving politicians namely MPs in a manner that is a bit directly, said Masebo. postzambia/post-read_article.php?articleId=51655
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 07:38:11 +0000
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