By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
Corruption Alert: Gary Nkombo to buy 156 Landcruisers at the cost of $8.3million!
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Gary Nkombo will spend $8.3million (K36million) purchasing 156 Landcruisers for each constituency using Constituency Development Fund(CDF).
Please note that, the 156 Landcruisers were not budgeted for or planned for in the 2021/2022.
This is wasteful expenditure.
This has nothing to do with the needs of the people but a central decision made from Lusaka to make the bulk purchase, usually motivated by financial kick-backs.
So all the hullabaloo by President Hakainde Hichilema that Ward Development Committees based in Constituencies will identify needs and projects and forward their preferred recommendations for approval, is but a smokescreen.
There is what is called “Absorption Capacity”. Municipalities and Constituencies have not built capacity to utilize the K25.7million.
They had issues with spending the K1.7million and we still have many Constituencies that have not utilized the 2019 and 2020 CDF!
This money has to be spent in a financial year or Controlling Officers have to apply for approval for its retention.
There is not enough qualified procurement and other experts at local level to implement the guidelines.
Even when the Zambia Public Procurement Authority lifted expenditure limit from K2million for municipalities and councils, and upgraded it to unlimited threshold, capacity of officers is yet to be built in the Councils to spend these monies.
So to avoid the return of such monies to the Treasury as the new Budget is due next month, Ministries, Provinces and other spending agencies apply to vary vaults and race to make bulk purchases just to utilize the money.
This is what is happening.
Let’s treat this occurrence of 156 purchase of vehicles at a collosal.cost of $8.3m (K36million) by Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, as a Corruption Alert.
