We are now at a crunch time, IT’S TIME TO OWN UP…this is time for govt to say we messed up – Kafwaya

We are now at a crunch time, IT’S TIME TO OWN UP …this is time for govt to say we messed up – Kafwaya

By Fanny Kalonda

IT’S time to own up, we are now at a crunch time and this is time for government to say we messed up, says Lunte PF member of parliament Mutotwe Kafwaya.

He says the declaration of the drought as a national disaster was emotional as there’s no scientific report the President referred to as basis for the decision.

Kafwaya expressed worry on the budget realignment and how the government would administer resources during a national disaster as UPND has failed on the accountability score.

“I read his script, there is no reference to any report. There is no reference to any stakeholder consultation. There is no reference to any cabinet decision. This is what I’m saying. If those things happened, the President has not revealed to anyone. Now based on what I saw after reading his declaration this is why I’m saying my conclusion would be that that was an emotional declaration,” Kafwaya said when he featured on Millennium TV’s Platform programme. “Do you know when this is a disaster what happens to procurement? You are literally saying no procurement procedures. No procurement procedures but we are talking about UPND government which is an expert in single sourcing even when there’s no need for single sourcing. So I am now worried about that budget realignment and how the taxpayer money is going to be administered by this UPND government which has an inclination towards single sourcing, towards direct bidding. So for me on accountability score, UPND has failed from year one. Now given this situation which I am saying the President did not demonstrate that this was a scientific decision, we’re now going to transfer power to this administration to make these procurements without a single procurement process.”

Kafwaya said there is need to look at the declaration with a sobre mind.

“Stop politicising, even your discourse to the people. It’s time to own up. We are now at a crunch time. This is time for government say, we messed up. I have been complaining about procurements in Ministry of Agriculture, you know that. But these procurements now are going to extend to the Ministry of Energy. So where does this leave us as a nation now in terms of the accountability of the nation? So I am concerned about that. Very very concerned about that. This is why for me I want a scientific process so that even in future, somebody should not come and use the words I am using that it was emotional it was a declaration that was aimed at whipping the emotions of the Zambian people. A declaration that was aimed at whipping the international community so that the international community can push in a lot of resources, which resources in the end will have no accountability. So it’s very very important and key to look at this whole thing with a sober mind,” said Kafwaya. “So part of these pronouncements that the President made as far as agriculture is concerned this carelessness on the part of the UPND government. They were careless, they were insensitive and they lacked vision. Because we all knew, everybody knows in the past, we’ve had droughts and this is the wisdom in president Edgar Lungu’s government to begin to stock maize because you can’t control when God decides to switch off the rains.”-The Mast