Kalaba demands release of audit report on cancellation of Safari hunting concessions

IT is not surprising that an audit report detailing the corruption in the cancellation of the 19 Hunting Concession Agreements (HCAs) by the Ministry of Tourism is being hidden because the people involved are well-known, Harry Kalaba has said.

Mr Kalaba, the president of Citizens First Party says it is clear that there was corruption and illegalities in the cancellation of the Safari hunting concessions which were duly awarded to the outfitters.

Mr Kalaba said he was aware that the cancellation of the Safari hunting tender was also reported to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) but that it had failed to indict Tourism Minister Rodney Sikumba and his Permanent Secretary Evans Muhanga, even after it had concluded their investigations into the cancellation of Safari Hunting.

He stated that it had become clear that the UPND government did not want to be audited because they were scared the audits would certainly expose their corruption.

It has been revealed that the Auditor General’s Report that was recently published that exposed serious financial irregularities by the UPND government had details of why the Safari hunting tender was initially canceled ever after the Attorney General had advised President Hakainde Hichilema against the cancellation of the tender.

Yesterday, Mr Brian Mundubile, leader of the oppossition in Parliament wondered how an audit report detailing the acts of corruption in the cancellation of the Hunting Concession Agreements (HCAs) has been expunged from the recently released Auditor General’s Report.

Mr  said Zambians were hopping that government was going to take corrective measures over the cancellation of the Safari hunting concession, especially that the High Court had annulled the re-advertised tender for Safari hunting.