Gov’t purging officers at Auditor General’s Office, Ministry of Finance – Kafwaya

By NATION REPORTER

THERE is a cleansing cartel within the senior UPND hierarchy that believes President Hakainde Hichilema has taken too long to fire and dismissed the unwanted civil and public servants and have embarked on a purging process by hatching a plot to scandalize senior civil servants both at the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Auditor General, Mutotwe Kafwaya has said.

And Mr Kafwaya has challenged the Minister of Finance Situmbeko Musokotwane to state the legality of the audit report that has resulted to the suspension and transfer of several senior civils servants at the Ministry.

Mr Kafwaya, the Patriotic Front (PF) Lunte Member of Parliament says the events at the Ministry of Finance and National Planing and the Office of the Auditor General were nothing but a purging process meant to hound out professional and career civil servants so that they could be replaced by UPND cadres.

Mr Kafwaya stated that the Office of the Auditor General had commenced interviews to recruit auditors and directors to enhance the office which is currently undertaking the auditing of government under the UPND but that the State had halted the interviews indefinitely without informing the Auditor General Dick Sichembe.

He said the purging at the Ministry of Finance and the OFFICE OF THE Auditor General was unfair and an act of maladministration because the UPND had decided to select professional civil servants to dismiss and replace them with their own cadres who would in turn begin to churn out audit opinions that would be in favour of the government.

“What is happening at the Ministry of Finance and the Auditor General’s Office is unfair. What is happening is nothing but purging of professional and career civil servants so that they (UPND) can employ their own cadres who shall be churning out audit reports that will be favourable to the government.”

“They have selected people to be taken out of those offices so that they can be filled by their cadres. I have challenged the Minister of Finance on the legality of the audit report that has resulted into the dismissal and transfer of officers at the Ministry of Finance because I know that audit report is illegal,” Mr Kafwaya said.

Mr Kafwaya alleges that there is a scheme by the UPND cartel to replace senior civil servants which he said was being championed by senior officers at Cabinet Office, Ministry of Finance (MoF), some state house staff and the UPND secretariat.

Mr Kafwaya says the story of stolen funds at MoF was but propaganda that was designed to smear mud at professionals whose positions are earmarked for desirable candidates.

He said the cartel in the UPND was using the media, Transparency International-Zambia (TI-Z) and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Mr Kafwaya said the cartel thinks that president Hakainde Hichilema was too slow in removing senior civil servants and replacing them with their people.