THE Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) has refunded the Norwegian Embassy part of the funds that were meant for a road project in the South Luangwa National Park, whose contract award was queried by Norway.
Last year the Embassy raised concerns regarding ZAWA’s financial management of one of the road contracts in the South Luangwa National Park, and wrote to the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources over the matter.
The concerns involved Zawa’s scandalous award of the contract under the SLAMU road contract, where the authority paid the contractor an amount of K1.4 billion even before the works were undertaken.
Norwegian ambassador to Zambia, Tore Gjøs confirmed that ZAWA had paid back the funds that had been released for the project while the government would refund the amount that was mismanaged.
Ambassador Gjøs could not, however, state how much Zawa has refunded but said the government had committed to refunding the misapplied funds during the course of this year.
He said the embassy had held several successful high-level meetings with government on the matter.
“ZAWA has since paid back the funds under the SLAMU road contract account and Government has further committed to pay back funds that were lost under the contract under this year’s fiscal budget,” he said.
Ambassador Gjøs said the commitment by the Government and Zawa to pay back the funds was encouraging, and the embassy no longer had the concerns.
“The Embassy is satisfied with the progress that both ZAWA and the Government of Zambia have made in addressing the concerns,” he said.
Norway has had a longstanding partnership with the Government of Zambia in the wildlife sector through support to Zawa.
At the time the embassy raised the concerns with the Ministry, media reports suggested that Norway was suspending its support to Zawa because of the authority’s financial mismanagement.
Tourism Minister Catherine Namugala had said the Government was talking with the Norwegian embassy officials and assuring them that the situation would be corrected and that Norway did not cut its support to the wildlife sector.
And Ambassador Gjøs has told the Times that his Government was continuing its support to ZAWA in 2010 and was considering extending its assistance to the wildlife sector beyond 2010 under a different support framework.
He said the embassy would continue to consult ZAWA, the Ministry of Tourism Environment and Natural Resources and other stakeholders on further support to the wildlife sector.
[Times of Zambia]
wat an embarrasment. serves them right
At least this one has a happy ending…#:-s
=))=))=))=))=))=))=))
It has taken the donors 45 years to realize their money is being misappropriated the comedy that is our country.
This minister is good looking i will take a trip to zambia and do a FTJ if she is married
Are the culprits who misapplied these funds going to get punished? That’s the question!! Yes! refund the money, but who is going to fill the hole these monies going to leave in our national coffers? If not the people who already benefited from the misappropriated funds, then who is supposed to foot the bill here, TAXPAYERS?
It is good that now donors have started demanding real accountability from our home-grown crooks. It would be even nicer if the Zambian govt can somehow recover some of the stolen/misapplied funds. But, wait a minute, I forgot, the crooks are the very people who are supposed to fight corruption on our behalf—-THE GOVT FAT-CATS. These people use govt as their personal ATM. With access codes distributed only amongst family, friends, and political cronies!!
Doners need to scrutinize every penny they give, that is the only way.
:)>-Zawa should know that when a wrong of this nature was commited it came with costs such as bank charges, transfer fees and so on.So let all these costs be apportioned to the officials salary deductions for the Zawa Employees.:((What is wrong with Government workers, we in the private sector you can’t do such a thing as misapplication coz it is a firable offence! Minister you look, sweet!!
What an embarassment! It really serves them right! What about the culprits?:-t:-t:-t:-t:-t:-t
I have always had this crush on Namugala! when will i meet her face to face? Cathy you are pretty. Back to business, paying a contractor before works are done is a serious lapse that requires attention. i dont understand why the issue log is closed at paying back. yes paid back by govt how? is it through salary forfeiture by the culprits? taxpayer or by displacement? where and who are the culprits? i hope dirt is not being swept under the carpet. we are waiting.