ACC MOF ARRESTS SELECTIVE – MPUNDU
By Ernest Chanda
EMERITUS Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu has charged that arrests made so far at the Ministry of Finance are selective, arguing that some culprits have been deliberately left out.
Archbishop Mpundu has wondered why only 18 people were arrested when there were others who received the same allowances.
“We have observed that out of all the people in the ministry, almost everyone who received the allowances, the Anti-Corruption Commission decided to selectively arrest only 18 people in February and March 2023 and coincidentally all the 18 are from the Eastern and Northern regions as they claimed that they were only following instructions from above. Isn’t it worrying that the Anti-Corruption Commission is not independent but operating under the instructions of powers that be?” the OCIDA chairman said in a statement.
“The names of the 18 people arrested are as follows; Fredson Yamba, Dick Sichembe, Francis Mbewe, Clara Mazimba, Chibwe Mulonda, Kennedy Musonda, Mulenga Pamu, Gregory Kabwe, Nora Mwila, Hector Sampa, Chanda Mumba, Joseph Nonde, Medson Moyo, Angela Bwalya, Edward Zimbizi, Elijah Manunga, Mulenga Kachela, Faides Kalangwa.”
Archbishop Mpundu wondered why other recipients of the same allowances were not touched and are still serving in the same civil service.
“We have also observed that among the people who were paid the same allowances (as the list is long) who don’t come from the Eastern and Northern regions, who were not arrested, examples are the following: Sandra Kawana, Joyce Sundano, Bridget Siakalenge (wife to Siazongo Siakalenge – Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for Finance and Economic Development),” Archbishop Mpundu said.
“Joma Simuyi Tambatamba, Mukuli Chikuba (who was the controlling officer at the Ministry of Finance), Ringo Zulu, Mulele Mulele, Paxina Simulunda, Richard Munjunga, and many more.”
He questioned the promotion of two officers who benefitted from the same allowances when they too should have been arrested.
Archbishop Mpundu called on investigative wings to arrest everyone who received the allowances if indeed they were illegal.
“We have also observed that Sandra Kawana and Ringo Zulu who [were] beneficiaries of the same allowances have been promoted to Director and Controller of Internal Audit (permanent secretary level) respectively and as a result have been made the lead investigators/auditors in the special audit investigating the mismanagement of the said allowances. How can these two be impartial and produce an objective report?” he wondered.
“Have they declared interest? Isn’t the likelihood of Sandra Kawana and Ringo Zulu being malicious very high? If really these allowances were illegal, which we do not condone as OCiDA, why then not arrest every recipient of the allowances like Bridget Siakalenge the wife of Siazongo Siakalenge, Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for Finance and Economic Development, Sandra Kawana, Joyce Sundano, Joma Sumuyi Tambatamba, Mukuli Chikuba, Mulele Mulele and Ringo Zulu so that fairness and justice is not only achieved but also seen to be achieved?”
He further wondered why authorities engaged conflicted officers to be investigating others.
“We also question why did the authorities engage officers who are conflicted and compromised by receiving the same allowances (Sandra Kawana and Ringo Zulu) to audit and investigate others? Can there be really a fair outcome of the exercise? Why is Sandra Kawana investigating the Auditor General and others long after the arrests have been effected? Did the Anti-Corruption Commission really establish the cases before the arrests or they were working under strict instructions from an invisible powerful hand? Why then are they working in reverse?” Archbishop Mpundu asked.
“We are made to understand that the powers to appoint a special internal audit team rests with the Secretary to the Treasury. Can the Secretary to the Treasury [Felix Nkulukusa] confirm that he is the one that instituted the special audit? Most surprisingly, we are wondering why and how the Auditor General and his two deputies have been dragged into the Ministry of Finance saga. Could it be that he is the main target? Could the schemers be using the Ministry of Finance as a way to remove the Auditor General because of the constitutional protection of the office?”
He also wondered why the Auditor General was being prevented from auditing the Executive for the period under the new dawn administration.
“Why is the Auditor General being prevented from auditing the Executive for the financial year 2022? To this, we are very surprised of the unprecedented and highly suspicious arrest of the Auditor General over his entitlements of allowances which is a total of about K1 million in four years,” he said.
“How can such an important and noble government institution in the name of Anti-Corruption Commission be used to advance an agenda which is clearly a regional agenda as can be seen by the selective and handpicking of who should be arrested and who should not be arrested? Is this the reason the Commission was moved to State House? We are also aware that the Auditor General’s audit focus for the financial year 2022 on Ministry of Agriculture FISP (Farmer Input Support Programme), Ministry of Tourism Hunting Licences, Ministry of Home Affairs construction of police posts and Ministry of Local Government CDF is not sitting well with the Executive. We will follow these matters closely.”
He also said the current acting Auditor General was in office when some of the important audits were omitted.
“Even the period the President was referring to as the Auditor General omitting important audits like FISP and Hunting Concessions, it was the new Deputy Auditor General Ron Mwambwa who sat at the helm of the Office of the Auditor General (from 2015 to 2018) Not Dr Sichembe,” Archbishop Mpundu said. “We are also wondering why Francis Mbewe has been replaced by Ron Mwambwa as Deputy Auditor General when Honourable Situmbeko Musokotwane assured the nation on the floor of the august House that those transferred officers to Cabinet Office will go back to their offices once cleared. The question is, has Francis Mbewe been found guilty already? We have not heard of any court process. Lastly, we are also wondering, what is this Ministry of Finance noise all about? What we are seeing here is not corruption nor the fight against corruption, but a calculated scheme aimed at achieving a regional cleansing out of government of certain names. We can only say we shall keenly be following these events and matters to their conclusions in the courts of law. We only hope there will be no nolle prosequi like it was in the Mumbi Phiri case.”
Meanwhile, Archbishop Mpundu said he has information that allowances paid to the arrested officers were in fact entitlements.
“We call it Ministry of Finance SAGA because it is being presented in more than one aspect. We say this because a certain group of people with the support of powers that be have decided to misrepresent the facts and turned them into the theft of allowances at the Ministry of Finance and calculatively flooded both the electronic and print media with this propaganda. But some of us saw through this because what we saw was far from being the so-called theft of allowances, but as a gimmick for regional cleansing of certain names out of government as can be seen from the selective arrests by the Anti-Corruption Commission out of almost everyone in the ministry who used to be paid these allowances,” said Archbishop Mpundu.
“Having said that, we would like to inform the nation that we have reliable information that the allowances that were paid to officers in the Ministry of Finance were actually an entitlement and were duly approved at the highest approval level in government (Secretary to the Cabinet, the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Secretary to the Treasury) contrary to what has been continually peddled by this powerful group of people. We also have information of how stringent the payment system of paying allowances and the payment software are in government that it is not easy for one to circumvent the system and steal without being discovered, in fact the transaction wouldn’t go anywhere.”