Government says it is loosing billions of Kwacha every year through corrupt practices which have become a wide spread phenomenon in business transactions in the various sectors of the economy in the Country.
Copperbelt Permanent Secretary Jennifer Musonda said Government and many other
organisations including the mining Sector had experienced situations where they
have paid for items either on inflated prices , items that have never been
delivered or paying twice for the same goods.
ZANIS Kitwe reports that Mrs Musonda said corruption in procurement of goods and
services would have a serious impact on economic development and poverty
alleviation in the Country if not checked.
The PS said this in kitwe today in a speech read on her behalf by Kitwe District
Commissioner Macdonald Mtine at the official opening of a two day Anti Corruption
Commission (ACC)Â workshop for procurement officers drawn from the Mining sector.
She added that it was important that procurement being one of the areas most
vulnerable to corruption was manned by people of high integrity.
The PS said there was need for elaborate and clear guidelines in the procurement
system inorder to ensure transparency and accountability.
Mr Musonda said procurement officers need to be given specific instructions about
the goals of procurement and be held accountable for transactions they carried out.
And speaking earlier at the same function, Anti Corruption Copperbelt Regional
Director , Milton Siakabeya called on procurement officers in the mining sector to
put in place measures aimed at preventing fraud.
Mr Siakabeya said the ACC had since embarked on a programme to educate procurement officers from the various sectors of the economy on risk management to avoid fraud.
If the Govt. paid suppliers on time the percentage added by most businesses to cover account settlement delays would be removed.This is the real problem.The fact that you cannot execute a writ against Govt. or councils makes doing business with them very risky and any prudent supplier has to factor this risk in the pricing.The PS should get real and discuss how Govt will stick to paying within 30 or 60 days. if Govt. can achieve that suppliers will adjust their pricing…….it is not rocket science!!!
It is true billions of Kwachas are lost through procurement. Govt procurement officers are the most corrupt officers. They drive porsche cars.
Chuchu is failure and a let down when its comes to corruption. A battle must be fought and won and then a war will be walk over. But chuchu started in full throttle and he is now diminishing like a shooting star once it comes to corruption and if anything he is the master of corruption and blinding us that he is fighting corruption while shielding others who are his favourites. We have a long way to go to fight corruption and am pretty sure the one and only man would can fight corruption is bashi chilufya sata michael. Plz those who want to counter attack my comments DO NOT USE arabic especially pragmatist.
I disagree. This is purely blatant corruption. You can’t tell me that the govt machinery has no proper, authenticated methodology for processing payments. Infact, most (if not all all ) of their procurement staff are mandated to be members of the Zambia Institute of Purchasing and Supply which is the professional body that dictates professionalism in this field. The fact that these procedures are circumvented is merely due to the wanton need for “extra” cash by the people inside the system. You can’t tell me someone from the outside can simply show up with documents of something he has never supplied and walk away with a hefty check as payment. What happens when the auditor General comes through (even though it may be two years later) these anomalies could be traced. They are never traced because people on the inside do the needful to make sure this is never seen. Corruption. Pure and Simple.
Apologies. Meant to say ” I disagree with #1″ for post #4
Ba Joze(3),out of curiosity what makes Cobra a better person to combat a scourge that ravages the whole world??Maybe i have missed something in his political history that shows he has been a champion of any anti graft drive. LPM on the other hand resigned as VP because of corruption!!After his resignation, he went back to work at Mwanawasa and Co. and basically forgot about politics until the fateful night he was woken up at an obscene hour and called upon to serve his country.LPM may not have achieved the results he hoped to, but he will ALWAYS be credited with being consistent with his dislike for corruption. I respect you exercising your choice of a potential tenant of Plot 1 but could you possibly educate us on WHY he seems to be YOUR answer to the problems we have in Zambia.
Who says there less corruption in Chuchu’s govt??? We have here Chuchu officials confessing that we are loosing billions of Kwacha every year through corrupt practices now!!! What a contra???
Guy_wapa_Zed (4+5),do not confuse theft with corruption.These are two different vices and the law has different provisions for each of them!!The article bemoans the high cost of goods and services the govt. has found itself liable for.my contribution was a possible explanation for this situation.IPS qualification is irrelevant in this case.If you ask many suppliers to govt. you are likely to get a similar comment as i have made.
#8 Thanks for the clarification. Below stuff is taken from Wikipedia
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Do the math
Sorry again gents. having an issue with my PC.
#8 Thanks for the clarification. Below stuff is taken from Wikipedia
Corruption is a general concept describing any organized, interdependent system in which part of the system is either not performing duties it was originally intended to, or performing them in an improper way, to the detriment of the system’s original purpose”
In the criminal law, theft (also known as stealing) is the illegal taking of another person’s property without that person’s freely-given consent.
Do the math
# The Pundit
dont think about the entire world just think about your own country first. mind you i didnt say to finish but to reduce corruption. if we compare japan and zambia we will find that japan has a single digit in corruption while zed has tripple digits. coz the fighting of corruption starts from the top and premiers once found in corrupt activities they simply resign. Coming to your line of thot, well I fell sorry coz that’s the habit kk used to be very much concerned about external politics while subjecting zed to poverty. Honestly you will agree with me for the first in your life that sata is a practical man (chibomba milimo) the original pragmatist not abo abalemba ici “chang cheng chung” nokupepa organic dobo from teka farm. The Pundit recall the way sata transformed MOH, local govt.
Ba Joze(11),Cobra does indeed have a record of getting things done.In many cases his performance was exceptional and to this day unequalled.The same can be said of the spin he put on FTJ’s third term.Given a little more airtime on ZNBC he would have succeeded!!Cobra showed he is a man of principle when he openly supported Mugabe even if it is political suicide to do so!!Cobra is indeed so special FTJ endorsed him for Plot1 in the last election.I am left wondering Cobra’s take on democracy, given that his party has never had a convention to confirm him as leader.Maybe,just maybe, this is the man we really should be looking to, to take our country forward.!!
Ba Joze, i forgot to highlight Cobra’s choice of Taiwan over China as a development partner.I sincerely hope he doesn’t have to return monies rumoured to have been given to him in return for official recogniton when he lands in Plot 1.
This is truly an exceptional man who must have universal appeal to all democracy loving citizens and those who have no issues with polygamy or chain smoking.
Original Pundit (at 1 and 8), suppliers have to impose a surcharge(interest) on delayed payment after the default has occured, i.e. GRZ has failed to pay within 30days or whatever, not to factor it in ex ante. This is theft. If, as you argue, they can predict that GRZ will in fact delay, they should simply adjust their expectations of cash flow and avoid the costs associated with the delay, some of which are mitigated by the fact that GRZ gives them bulk business.
The PS also taked about double payments.
Francis(14), when you borrow from the bank to finance an order, the interest is from the date of disbursement!!On late payments: Govt. should consistently reduce payment periods and use this as a basis to demand/negotiate a reduction in price from any supplier.Double payments is an audit issue and the solution is very clear for that.Becoz govt know they cannot be sued for overdue payments to suppliers(a writ cannot be executed) they have become complacent and they take advantage giving an opportunity for corrupt practises to set in.
Mr CB PS, you’ve talked about a very well documented vice in Zed. It’s not like it’s a new thing. Shushus have reported on it since 1964. But only in the first and second republic was the information acted upon. Some people here may remember one Paul Russel who was ever on radio in the 80’s as ACC’s commissioner or something. The mines have also been hit by it. Mopani Mines, has in last year to two, come out to complain about govt’s inactivity about it. People come back from the diaspora, for example, with their savings, and try to invest into this business of supplying to GRZ or the mines. It’s not long before they wither out, coz of no ‘corrupt partners’ on he other end. Mr PS, the officers you talk about teaching risk management know it all. That’s why they are so successful at hiding fraud. We need the various arms of govt charged with the responsibility of stopping this vice to act. That’s all is needed. Action please!!!!!!
#6 I do not beleive LPM resigned as Veep coz of corruption. He was being marginalised by FTJ. This man made it difficult for him to operate as Veep. As a result,he felt his position was useless. FTJ assigned him to less important duties which became frustrating to him. Do you remember the Nchanga Mine disaster when Enoch was Veep. FTJ was out of the country and he blocked Enoch from visiting the deceased miner’s families.FTJ came back and immediately visited them, saying he was surprised that the Veep did not rush to Chingola. Political mileage within gov. gentlemen.If LPM resigned becoz of corruption, he would have asked Katele and Mabenga to relinquish their positions.To our surprise, these two are actually his bedfellows.Strange isn’t it?
KC(17), go to ZNBC or Times of Zambia archives and watch/read LPM’s reason behind his resignation. things will become clearer for you.
#18 Why should I subscribe to hearsay? What you are referring me to is LPMs’ side of the story. You need inside info. to know what exactly transpired.Respond to the statement in line six(contribution no. 17). Do not be fooled by politicians.
Original Pundit, you still haven’t addressed my central concern: Is it right for a supplier to sneak in the cost of potential Govt delay in their original quote? I dont agree. GRZ is not borrowing from suppliers. There’s a mutual agreement that suppliers will be paid within 30 days of delivery. So they have no justification to inflate original price before any default has infact occured. They’re just defrauding Govt.
It is common business practice to factor in/charge a cost for late payment, particularly where a person or organization is known for late payments. This is true for the government of Zambia. I totally agree with The Original Pundit
Yes of course unscrupulous Accountants do it but it has no legal or economic logic as long as its done ex ante. Its called fraud in legal terms and its some adulterated form of asymmetric pricing behaviour in economics.
Picture this, they go to the buyer and say here’s the cost of the product we deliver plus the cost of your delayed payment which we have anticipated and determined! Totally absurd, to anybody who believes in free market and full information principles.
I am in a country where free market is the ‘mainstay’. When you go to borrow from the bank or want to buy a car on Hire Purchase,your interest rate instalment will have a factor for poor credit’payment history. If it is determined that you are always late in payment, your interest rate immediately goes up. Remember that there is a cost associated with trying to recover money from the government, not forgetting inflation.
#23. We’re talking about two slightly different processes here. The issue you describe has to do with the buyer being ranked PROBABILISTICALLY according to their risk status. And interest determined on that basis. The practice in well-developed markets ensures that the buyer is fully informed and accepts(ex ante or beforehand), otherwise they go seek a better deal elsewhere.
Further, the US market is self-regulated to ensure these risk charges are themselves largely market-determined, so prices are low. And if default actually does occur ex post, further fees are still imposed. This isn’t total indemnity against actual default.
However, if Zambian suppliers are calculating a GRZ credit score on basis of past losses and we assume that the market is competitive then the 2 scenarios are effectively same. My fundemental objection of this assumption is this: we have a one buyer (acting through unscrupulous agents i.e. corrupt officers), many sellers market. Outcomes will be different.
Bwana Francis(24),if i give you a 30 day account i am giving you credit and that attracts interest!!That is why obtaining goods on credit costs more than a cash purchase….basic business practise.The pricing regime is further complicated if you have a poor credit score as is the case with GRZ.In this situation a service or product will cost more due to the risk associated with offering you credit.The lender also incurs other costs such as insurance (in developed economies)and this cost is always passed on.This is basic and accepted business practise worldwide and is not a crime.If GRZ can improve their payment record the cost of credit will come down…end of !!