By NATION REPORTER
ZAMBIA’s internal and external security has been exposed and is being compromised by Government’s decision to contract Grant Thornton and Price Waters and Coopers, private auditing firms to carry out audits in the country’s defence and security wings, Given Lubinda has said.
The Patriotic Front has called for the dismissal of the Auditor General for allegedly sanctioning a private firm to audit security wings.
And Mr Lubinda says it is shocking that Vice-President Mutale Nalumango said that she could not provide adequate answers and was unaware when she was asked about the Grant Thornton contract to audit the Defence Force Units.
Mr Lubinda, the Patriotic Front (PF) acting president, said it was worrying that the UPND administration had thrown security care to the wind by exposing the internal and external security of the country to private companies whose credibility was but questionable.
He said in an interview that it was negligence of the highest order for Government to risk the security and sovereignty of the country by contracting firms to audit the defence and security wings by engaging private institutions to look into their books.
Mr Lubinda, the former Justice Minister said the revelations by Ms Nalumango in Parliament on Friday that she did not know how Grant Thornton and Price Waters and Coopers were sub-contracted to audit security wings of the State were a cause of serious concern.
He stated that the fact that Vice-President Nalumango was unaware that her own government had contracted private companies to check the books of the country’s security wings was confirmation that the security of the nation was highly compromised.
Mr Lubinda stated that the responsibility of any government was to ensure that the internal and external sovereignty of the country and that it was a scandal of frightening proportions that government had decided to put the security of the country at risk.
“Zambia’s internal and external security has been highly exposed and compromised by the decision by the UPND administration to throw care to the wind and contract Grant Thornton and Price Water and Coopers, private companies to carry out audits in our defence and security wings.
“That Vice-President Ms Nalumango openly confessed that she did not know how Grant Thornton was sub-contracted to audit the security wings of the country shows that our security is highly compromised. The responsibility of any government is to ensure that the internal and external security is fiducially protected,” Mr Lubinda said.
And PF presidential hopeful, Mutotwe Kafwaya, has questioned how the Auditor General could get private firms into the country’s security wings to start looking at matters of security interest.
He said with his experience of being a former member of the defence council, at no point could the defence wings sanction a private firm to start scrutinising documents of high security interest in any nation.
And Lukashya Member of Parliament George Chisanga expressed disappointment that although this was brought up in parliament during the Vice President’s question time and but she did not give satisfactory answers.
