By GIDEON NYENDWA
PATRIOTIC Front Members of Parliament have asked Grant Thornton and Price Water House and Coopers to withdraw from contracts to audit the country’s defence wings because the contracts are illegal.
Speaking at a media briefing, leader of the opposition in Parliament Brian Mundubile said the audit firms should withdraw from the contracts or risk facing legal challenges in the courts of law.
“We are taking this matter to court because the ministerial code of conduct has been broken, the constitution has been broken and we cannot sit idol as MPs, as representatives of the people we can’t let this illegality to continue,” he said.
Mr Mundubile said the government broke the law by subcontracting the two foreign firms to audit the Zambia Army, Zambia National Service and Zambia Air Force because it was only the Auditor General who could subcontract or contract those services and in case of the defence and intelligence services it was the Auditor General with express permission from the president which was not the case.He also warned the Auditor General not to be used as a sacrificial lamb in this case because they know he was not involved in the authorisation of this contract.
He said they know that the UPND might try and coerce him saying that he had authorised the contracts when in the actual sense they were told on the floor of Parliament that it was the Secretary to the Treasury who signed those contracts.
And Lukashya Member of Parliament George Chisanga said the UPND was propelling a narrative that PF was raising these issues because they were scared that they would be exposed in the audit was untrue.
Meanwhile, Mr Mundubile said UPND should just put their heads straight and apologise to the nation about this illegality because anyone could make a mistake.
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