By Ernest Chanda
FINANCE minister Situmbeko Musokotwane says the PF gave out contracts like they were buying each other bottles of beer.
During questions for oral answer session in Parliament yesterday, Dr Musokotwane said the previous government did not care about the availability of resources.
He was responding to Lubanseshi PF member of parliament Kabwe Chewe who wanted to know when government would pay road contractors who are owed money.
“Honourable Minister, you have indicated that the sole purpose of constructing these toll gates, plazas, is to raise resources for the repairs of the roads and at the same time to construct the new ones. And that’s the more reason the government engaged the various contractors to perform that duty,” said Chewe. “May I know from you, Honourable Minister, when are you going to pay these contractors who have done a good job in terms of road construction across the country because Lubanseshi Constituency as I am speaking right now all the contractors have left their sites, but after doing some works. But those contractors engaged a good number of employees who are yet to be paid. Additionally, Patriotic Front made a serious commitment to make sure that the roads are done. The question is, you are in charge, when are you paying the contractors so that they can sort out the issues that they (sic) are pending?”
In response, Dr Musokotwane said there was no control on the number of contracts PF gave out.
“Madam Speaker, the issue of non-payment of contractors is something that I think has been referred to in the past few days because under the previous government there was no control. Contracts were just given anyhow, without taking a look at whether there was ability to pay,” Dr Musokotwane said. “As of now, I think there is probably about US $1 billion in arears today owed to contractors. How did that arise? Because people were just giving out contracts like they were buying each other bottles of beer without looking at whether there was money to pay them. So, there is a problem now. But we are going to deal with that. We shall make announcements of measures that are being taken to dismantle those arears. But it will take time because care and due diligence was never made when these contracts were being given out.”
But Shiwang’andu PF member of parliament Stephen Kampyongo defended the huge number of contracts given out under the former government in which he served as home affairs minister.
“I do appreciate the responses coming from the Honourable Minister of Finance, although I’m a bit concerned when you start saying contracts was being given without planning. People need roads, he (Dr Musokotwane) was here (as an opposition member of parliament), everyday he was asking about roads,” said Kampyongo. “And I know that not long ago there was a project called Formula One which we inherited under his charge; and there were no toll gates that time. The roads that were contracted were needed by the people of Zambia. And people of Zambia need road network everywhere. And, like he says, resources could be limited. When do you get back here with your Minister of Infrastructure with a plan that you call will be focused on the resources that you are going to have so that those roads that have not been completed can be completed? People need roads, so when we were giving contracts, we knew that people needed roads.”
In response, Dr Musokotwane said even if people need roads, it was wrong for PF to give them in a wild manner.
“Indeed, Madam Speaker, people need roads. But the answer to providing roads is not to give out contracts in a wild manner where you don’t look at the resources. Anyone who comes, contract; anyone who comes, contract!” he said. “Unlike in Formula One where contracts were funded, in this particular case, contracts have not been funded. They were just given willy-nilly, and now we have a problem.”
Dr Musokotwane said the infrastructure minister, Charles Milupi would at some point announce which roads would be given priority.
“And I’m quite sure, Madam Speaker, that my colleague the Minister of Infrastructure at some point will come. He will announce which roads will be done by PPP (Public Private Partnership). He will announce which roads should be repaired using our own resources, something that was never done in the recent years,” said Dr Musokotwane. “What we owe, Madam Speaker, is way back to about 2012, 2013 when the plan was announced. But that plan was just a plan to deal with roads in one section of a country. The rest of the country they said, ‘wait, you’ll come later in Stage 3’. By the time we came to Stage 2, the country was already heavily indebted. There was nowhere else to borrow now. So, those who were told to wait for Stage 3 it has never happened.”