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“Jubilee – Zambia Shocked by government’s misappropriation of HIPC funds” Jubilee-Zambia is deeply saddened by the recent revelations of rampant abuse of tax payers’ funds in government custody including the HIPC money. We urge government to urgently give a public account for the abuse of these funds. This statement follows the Auditor General’s 2005 report presented to parliament on 25 January 2007. We commend the Auditor General for exercising due diligence expected of the Auditor Generals’ office by bringing before parliament irregularities obtaining in the utilisation of public funds. As a network that tirelessly campaigned for debt cancellation for over 8 years, we are concerned at the lack of prudence in the use of resources freed by debt relief. We feel that the manner in which colossal sums of resources meant for poverty reduction were mismanaged is a betrayal of the Zambian people whose sacrifices resulted in the availability of these funds. We are particularly saddened by the lack of accountability for the expenditure of poverty reduction funds amounting to over K3.5 billion that was paid to 60 district welfare schemes. We are very worried that this trend may continue if government does not put in place strict monitoring and accountability measures on the use of debt relief money. Thus, we urge parliament and the Ministry of Finance to inform the public of the immediate legislative and administrative measures that will be taken to protect the remaining debt relief from abuse by public officials. We call on government to ensure that there are regular public reports of the list of projects that are being funded by HIPC and other debt relief resources. As a sign of commitment, government should address these concerns by commencing appropriate legal action against the controlling officers and the officials who benefited from the criminal actions. We are concerned about governments’ tolerance of an environment that sustains financial wastage in our state institutions. It is unacceptable that the majority of the population of over 70% living below the poverty line should continue to be sidelined in sharing of the HIPC benefits despite their tremendous sacrifices. We challenge government to show real commitment to the fight against corruption by placing strong controls which match its self pronounced praises of financial management, fiscal discipline and prudent economic management. Government must take the Auditor General’s report seriously and not consider it as any other report. We look forward to pro-active action to address the wasteful and inhuman ways in which huge resources are being lost. Given the range of injustices facing Zambia which lead to poverty including weak investment agreements that promote externalisation of resources, low revenues from mineral taxes and royalties, high Pay As You Earn (PAYE), we cannot afford to lose anymore of our resources through sheer selfishness and carelessness by public servants. Government must deliver on HIPC promises by demonstrating how these resources are funding poverty reduction program. Government has a legal and moral obligation to promote its citizen’s interests especially the poor and marginalized |
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