About K1.7 billion at the Lusaka City Council (LCC) has allegedly been misused and police and the Anti-Corruption Commission have moved in to investigate the matter.
However, a senior LCC official has been suspended pending investigations.
The council is now seeking a comprehensive forensic audit to trace the money and the culprits in a probe that started when Local Government and Housing Minister Eustarckio Kazonga commissioned a special audit.
This followed reports of irregularities in the PF-run councils.
Lusaka mayor Robert Chikwelete confirmed the alleged misuse of the money and said the council decided to verify reports of financial abuse following a ministerial directive in April this year.
“We have just concluded our internal audit and what I can confirm now is that K1.7 billion has been misused. We wrote the Minister of Local Government, Dr Eustarckio Kazonga last week requesting authority to allow the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the police to move in because we suspect more has been stolen,” Mr Chikwelete said.
The mayor said the council had in the interim transferred most of the workers in the finance department to allow investigations to take place smoothly.
The transfers were necessitated by the report of the establishment and audit committees of the council, which are composed of councillors, co-opted members from strategic institutions and senior management officials.
Another statutory audit report has revealed gross mismanagement, misapplication and theft of resources amounting to more than K2.9 billion.
Mr Chikwelete said he would work closely with the minister to ensure development targets were attained.
The statutory audits for 2008/9 revealed gross irregularities in the PF-ran councils and the minister in April gave them a 60-day ultimatum to explain how they would correct the weaknesses in the management of resources.
Dr Kazonga also wanted an account of how they would recover the misapplied money, set up financial regulations and ensure that they spend more money on service provision and less on personal emoluments.
[ Times of Zambia ]
This is a joke,why transfer people who are involved in such scam and not putting them on forced leave?
#1. I agree with you. Just how does that help to solve the problem? This is what people have been saying that when politians make promisses Zambians should tret such with caution.
Remember how Mr. Sata told us how best he was going to run Councils despite loosing elections. What has happened?? Where was the Mayor and other Civic leaders when this was happening??? Infact the entire council must be dissolved Now!!!!!!!!!!
Sata!!! This man and his PF!! Litmus test.
Govt must withhold funds to LCC . . .it must be good for PF
and thats just a tip of an iceberg ! wafwa ba PF baisa ! they have been saying “more money in OUR pockets” and this is what it means !
Part of this money is from the Swedish government. Then Mr Mphuno Ikulu will be telling donors not to question them. Who has bewitched you Zambians with the lust of money? Who cursed you Zedians with corruption and theft? What do you expect from a government which protects thieves? A government whose vice president can spend millions in London persecuting a thief and later praises the thief that he is a good man. What do you expect from a country whose leadership defends corruption and is corrupt? What has happened to RB’s sons who have been involved in RP capital ZAMTEL and GMOs. A country whose chief Justice can not understand justice but enjoy rubbing shoulders with thieves. A country whose leadership is a gunge of crooks. Shame on you.
PF run council for you.
All politicians are crooks. The biggest crooks are yet to rule, the likes of GBM,KAMBWILI, NSANDA, MUSHILI, KABIMBA, SATAN. What hope does this country have when such characters are waiting their turn to plunder, and you call it change, poor Zambia.
KAPOKOS EXISTS EVERYWHERE…
Guyz every proper thinking Zambia can tell that this is a campaigning strategy by MMD to tanish PF’s image and so that they can decampaign it.why is it always PF,MMD is afraid of Sata coz the guy and his party are a threat come 2011,you see everything is PF PF,What about Kajilo MuZungu’s issues what about the ministry of Health Scandals,what about cheque bouncers,Roads development agency,MDD is trying to make PF look worse than them.Check a few weeks ago they arrested this PF MP in Ndola For money Laundering,before that they arrested another PF MP. and they both denied them bail.what does this mean to all of you.follow events and you can quickly analys issue as they unfold.Don’t just follow what is being said,coz thats exaclty wat they want you to think
Well done PF!
If the pact was to win, one can only imagine how much will be looted from the Zambian economy.
Its a tough one!
Note that its not the Councillors, but council officers who are responsible for the theft. No politics here please. It s common knwledge that officers in GRZ are now living on stolen money. This should be a pure police without interference from MMD.
And please can some one who knows what has happened to the 13 billion meant for working on roads gone. coz I am just hearing that the money has been stolen by some pipo. I want to know who are these people and what the government is doing about it. The rains will be starting in 4 months time and again we will be forced to flee from our floaded homes because there are no drainages especially in Kabwata Site and Service.
Why conclude that its PF? The account department is not run by councillors but people employed by the local govt.