After Monday’s session when they expressed their displeasure at the financial goings-on at the Chinsali council, members of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee were similarly unimpressed with what they got to learn when the Solwezi Town Clerk Venture Kafula and his team appeared before them today.
They observed that failure by the council to get workers to account for imprest amounting to K12,270,215.00 since December 2016, amounted to a breach of Local Authorities Financial Regulation No.119, with Committee chairperson Maxwell Kabanda (MMD, Serenje) directing Bishop Kafula to make sure the process to set things right was begun right away.solwezi council
“We can’t continue with this trend of people comfortably working without retiring such huge imprest. Immediate action should be taken and as a committee, we direct you (Bishop Kafula) to recover this money by deducting from the erring officers’ salaries,” Mr Kabanda said.
United Party for National Development (UPND) Luampa MP Makozo Chikote said failure by councils to ensure public resources were put to good use portrayed a negative impression that Government was not doing its work of service delivery to citizens.
The directive was based on the findings recorded in the Auditor General’s Report on the review of operations on local authorities for the financial years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
The committee also heard that a total of 508 payment vouchers amounting to K15, 097,411.00 made during the period under review were not availed for audit.
This was contrary to the Local Authorities’ Financial Regulations No 98 (1), which required that all payments vouchers , with supporting documents, and any other forms which support a charge entered into the accounts, shall be carefully filled, secured and be readily available for audit.
Bishop Kafula told the Committee that the council had already taken steps to recover some of the money from erring officers but struggled to explain how officers got approvals to receive ‘fresh’ imprest before they had cleared previous excess.
Bishop Kafula said payslips were readily available for verification and that the council would ensure no officers would be issued fresh imprest before retiring the previous payments.
Evans Chibanda (PF, Mufulira) said it was irresponsible of the council management to allow erring officers to get away with breaching financial regulations.
Mr Chibanda said many financial irregularities among councils had led to many of them failing to provide adequate services to rate-payers.
Bishop Kafula also apologised for the missing payment vouchers, but explained that many of them had been misplace but had now been traced and were available for verification.
He said the council had secured a strong room for safe-keeping of financial documents with only one officer managing the room.
He said despite a number of challenges, the council was making headway in its efforts spur economic development for the capital town of North Western Province and assured the committee that in the coming years, the status of Solwezi would improve notably.
Mscheew ,look at all this corruption ,thievery and fraud going on under PF’d watch .And yet they came onto national stage in 2011 claiming they’re allergic to corruption and abuse.
And Edgar is laughing off.
Nobody has any respect to the current PF-M!D government.
You roundly educated and experienced Diaspora and educated folks at home must start mobilizing yourselves for good and accountable leadership guided by strict ethos and passion for a just developed society.
Look, Solwezi Council is under UPND rule with all legislatures and civic leaders mandated. The PF administration is merely disbursing public funds equitably. Prepare resources and solidarity world wide to build an irresistible critical mass.
Zambia will soon caught with Nigeria or Kenya where funds simply disappear…surely is this not a crime and why dont you give AG’s office powers to prosecute!!
*…catch up with Nigeria
Good job. It’s time government money i accounted for!
He is lucky its zambia, he can keep he’s job. What a joke……
Only Solwezi, I bet it is worse in Muchinga, Northern, and Luapula.
But when will the monies be recovered from Ministers who illegally overstayed after parley had been dissolved before last years general elections?
Solwezi can not make any progress with a tribal bishop cadre for a town clerk lets advertise these jobs on open labour markets if we want good results,garbage in finish the rest.Iam shocked why we expect good results from un qualified personnel.
They should start by auditing State House. If you want to kill a snake, why go for the tail when the head will bite you?
Mwanawasa was the onily Zambian president who had State House routinely audited like any other government sector. That is where the real dead rat is located.
So Solwezi Town Clerk Venture Kafula is a Bishop…really laughable…what a country of misappropriated titles!!
Deducting imprest from salaries is not enough and the best way to go. Public workers will stop retiring imprest because they know that after all, it will be deducted from salaries. It will be some sort of interest free loan. We should put stiff measures in place should someone fail to retire imprest within the stipulated time frame. Deductions should be followed by written warnings and subsequent dismissals should someone repeat the vice because these are public funds and development is retard. Its common for public officers to get money purporting to have undertaken working trips when not.
This is THEFT BY PUBLIC SERVANT! IT IS A CRIME!
How can we even THINK of letting these people retain their jobs???
They should be IN JAIL, not still in EMPLOYMENT! If a burglar is arrested with goods he has stolen from your house, and he gives it back to you does that mean he has now not committed any offense?
After all, failure to retire imprest is illegal of which should not go un-punished. Deducting a salary is not punishment. Someone should account for the money he/she got. By accounting for the money shows that the person actually undertook the assaignment. Authorities should investigate further to find cause why someone failed to retire imprest and not just deducting from a salary.
The big problem is the Local Government Service Commission, this is a failed institution, has it as continued transferring same erring officers in a view to protect them from crimes, they have been commiting. It’s dishearten to serve under the local government because that’s where corruption bleeds from. The commission itself is the cause of all the problems and it will be better if the same is disband as it serves no purpose.
How the African psyche works is perplexing. It seems hardwired for pilferage and fails to grasp the concept of accountability. The is no respect for public funds from the top echlons to the lowest rungs. Everyone wants to pilfer.
Africans should learn to live within their means for starters and take pride in doing honest work.
The administrative and governance systems should be strengthened to such a point that perpetrators are punished heavily.Misuse of public funds should be serious offence.
The taxes and levies we are paying are from hard earned money. The authorities need to grasp this and make better use of our hard earned money. More than 60 % of our incomes go to the government. We are better off not paying taxes and levies if these monies are going to be wasted at the…
Double standards, can someone update me, Have our Ministers who illegally got salaries and allowances after the dissolution of parliament returned our money? The CC ruled against them and it seems the case has died a natural death. UPDATE PLIZ.
When are coming to Nakonde?
Why start with a small council in Solwezi and leave out the erring ministers that illegally stayed in office at the behest of a misleading constitution interpretation by the vision less visionary? He mislead his ministers who later stole money from the government which has not been reimbursed by now. The calamny and total disregard of ethos and esthetics in the public service falls on the PF goons. The auditor generals report has exposed a lot of thievery and corruption and yet nothing and no one has been jailed. Start with illegal ministers like luwo and mwanakatwe.
Fire the head of this council. Should it take Parley to tell them what to do. They are failing to provide services claiming they have no money yet it is due to mismanagement. FIRE HIM/THEM WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT.
If the two ministers are also in office illegally, they must be removed. Correct things must be done in this country. Lusaka is also dirty Yet you are crying that you are owed 21million in Rates. Are you also waiting for Parley to teach you how to collect? Lusaka Mayor where are you.
Corruption has no political boundaries. Simply put Zambians are corrupt regardless of which party they belonged to.
Zambia is failed state, period!
300,000,000 million kwacha was stolen from State house in 1 state function during Mwanawasa time. This is a good move.
Sorry Alibaba
But Africa is a failed continent !!