I questioned why as Zambians we do express our outrage when our politicians and civil servants abuse our meagre resources to fulfil their selfish desires.
Compare this to the furore the MPs' expenses scandal has caused in the UK. The events surrounding this sad development have highlighted the power of the press and also the fact that at the end of the day politicians are accountable to the electorate. The UK taxpayer telethon account was empty when the story first broke last week as MPs continued holding the line "my claim was within the rules". However this changed when the politicians realised that people were really angry at the excesses of the claims. The taxpayer telethon account quickly started swelling as one MP after another started writing out cheques lead by the Honourable member for Salford brandishing a cheque for almost £14000.
Lusaka Times is currently running the following stories highlighting abuse of public resources…
ACC uncovers K10bn theft involving Ministry of Health Officials
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has unearthed a scam in which over K10 billion from the ministry of health has been misappropriated.
Eight accountants nabbed for theft of poverty alleviation money
The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has arrested eight accountants at the Ndola cabinet office for theft of over two billion Kwacha meant for poverty reduction programnmes.
Health Human Resources Specialist arrested for theft
A Human Resources Specialist with the Ministry of Health has been arrested by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) for theft of public funds totalling over K30 million.
Poverty reduction funds diverted to repair the Provincial Minister’s house.
The parliamentary public accounts committee has heard how K108 million meant for poverty reduction in Northern Province were diverted to repair the Provincial Minister’s house.
Perhaps the only consolation in some of these cases is that the suspects has been arrested and charged. The law enforcement agencies should expedite the prosecution of these cases so that the culprits can be made to pay for their crimes against the people of Zambia.
The PANEL
Compare this to the furore the MPs' expenses scandal has caused in the UK. The events surrounding this sad development have highlighted the power of the press and also the fact that at the end of the day politicians are accountable to the electorate. The UK taxpayer telethon account was empty when the story first broke last week as MPs continued holding the line "my claim was within the rules". However this changed when the politicians realised that people were really angry at the excesses of the claims. The taxpayer telethon account quickly started swelling as one MP after another started writing out cheques lead by the Honourable member for Salford brandishing a cheque for almost £14000.
Lusaka Times is currently running the following stories highlighting abuse of public resources…
ACC uncovers K10bn theft involving Ministry of Health Officials
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has unearthed a scam in which over K10 billion from the ministry of health has been misappropriated.
Eight accountants nabbed for theft of poverty alleviation money
The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has arrested eight accountants at the Ndola cabinet office for theft of over two billion Kwacha meant for poverty reduction programnmes.
Health Human Resources Specialist arrested for theft
A Human Resources Specialist with the Ministry of Health has been arrested by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) for theft of public funds totalling over K30 million.
Poverty reduction funds diverted to repair the Provincial Minister’s house.
The parliamentary public accounts committee has heard how K108 million meant for poverty reduction in Northern Province were diverted to repair the Provincial Minister’s house.
Perhaps the only consolation in some of these cases is that the suspects has been arrested and charged. The law enforcement agencies should expedite the prosecution of these cases so that the culprits can be made to pay for their crimes against the people of Zambia.
The PANEL
3 comments:
Interesting to see that Shaid Malik step aside PENDING AN INVESTIGATION....
Perhaps Madam Dora can learn something.
Shaid was convinced he was one million percent correct to ask tax payers to fund his £2000 entertainment system and £800 massage chair.
These politicians are the same world over. It just seems like in Zambia there is a higher concentration of the bad apples.
The PANEL
To me, it's partly the result of an uninformed electorate, shackled by 3 decades of one-party brainwashing.
The Zambian public in general simply accept on face value what politicians tell them! I recall one MP speaking on radio Phoenix in reply to a question about excessive cars, etc. He simply said "We're entitled to it." And that was the end of the argument!
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