Name, shame culprits in ZAMMSA forensic audi

tBy NATION REPORTER GOVERNMENT has been challenged to name and shame culprits who have been implicated in the ZAMMSA forensic audit instead of embarking on a wholesale dismissal of workers, most of whom are innocent and had never been involved in the procurement and supply of medicines, the Community Action Against Corruption (CAAC) has said. The CAAC says unless the system is changed, the endemic system failures at ZAMMSA cannot be blamed on the innocent employees who know nothing about medicine procurement nor supply and distribution. Brighton Tembo, the executive director of the CAAC says the mass and indiscriminate dismissal of ZAMMSA workers was grossly unfair because Government should have targeted individuals implicated in the forensic audit Mr Tembo said while the dismissal of senior officials allegedly involved in corruption at the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency was welcome, sending all employees packing was unfair to ordinary workers. “Ordinary people are victims of the indiscriminate firing of these workers. I do not think an office worker, or an auxiliary worker at ZAMMSA, or a security guard at the lowest level, was involved in the scandals at ZAMMSA, Government should have made public the forensic audit and should have named and shamed those implicated instead of embarking on wholesale dismissals” Mr Tembo said. He questioned how gardeners, cleaners, drivers, security guards and other auxiliary workers could have been involved in the corruption scandals reported at the agency. He said Government should instead have used the forensic audit to identify and remove those found wanting. Mr Tembo warned that asking workers to reapply for their jobs does not guarantee that innocent employees will be reinstated, creating room for new people, including those allegedly connected to influential individuals, to take over the positions. “Some innocent people will reapply but they will never be recalled. You are going to find a situation where ordinary people will reapply but there is no guarantee of these people being called back,” he said. Mr Tembo also cautioned that firing workers alone would not resolve the problems at ZAMMSA, stating that structural weaknesses in procurement and distribution systems had allegedly allowed abuse to occur. “Firing personnel at ZAMMSA in itself is not an ultimate solution to the problem at the medical hub. This action by the Health Minister, Professor Chilengi will not cure the corruption and theft of medicines at ZAMMSA,” he said. Mr Tembo said Government should instead strengthen systems so that replacing personnel did not simply reproduce the same problems. Mr Tembo questioned the oversight exercised by the Ministry of Health, saying the clean up should extend beyond ZAMMSA if senior ministry officials failed to detect or prevent the alleged irregularities.

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