Ministers, chiefs abuse councils

Some Cabinet ministers, senior officials from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and traditional leaders have been claiming illegal money for fuel and travel allowances from town and district councils, Weekend Nation has learnt.

Our investigations have revealed that this practice has been going on for some time. The ministers make the claims when visiting the councils while chiefs demand the money when going to presidential functions.

Some district commissioners (DCs) and chief executive officers (CEOs) who did not want to be named for fear of political victimisation confirmed the tendency, saying the allowances are illegal because the concerned officials have their own allocations.

One of the CEOs said it is abuse of public resources for officials coming from the ministry, including ministers to demand fuel allowance from councils which are also struggling financially.

Said the CEO: “You know, there is no way we can complain to authorities because eventually there will be reprisals and you know there is a lot of labelling in government. But maybe the media can help us to correct this.

“But to be honest, what happens is an abuse of public resources. It has been a trend, so we cannot say that it is only the current minister and the deputy. It has been like that but as controlling officers, we think by exposing this practice, we can put a stop to it all.”

A DC in the Central Region lamented that the practice has extended to chiefs who come to collect allowances in the name of attending presidential functions.

“Some reach the extent of showing you the contacts of people you cannot question. What do you do apart from just giving that money? Whenever these ministers visit the council, they will ask for fuel and when you say, let’s go and put fuel in your car, they will ask for money. So we give K70 000 (US$175) for fuel,” said the DC.

Another DC said the expectation and procedure was that the ministers and senior officials from the ministry have fuel allocation which they use when discharging their duties and visiting councils is one of such duties.

“We find the claims as an anomaly but since these are our bosses, there is nothing we can do. You know, to survive working in government, you have to be very smart because these politicians can make your life unbearable. To sustain our jobs, we have to do what they want,” he said.

“In fact, we are not only talking about the current ministers, it has been a practice. It is interesting that they always refuse to receive actual fuel, they want to receive cash instead,” said the disgruntled DC.

A senior government source said it was wrong for a minister or a deputy and other officials from the ministry to demand additional funds when they travel to district and city councils.

Said the source: “If there is evidence to this effect, OPC can take action against the ministers just because it means they are being paid twice. District commissioners are not under obligation to pay the ministers.

“In fact, if they are doing that, they are failing in their duties as controlling officers at district level. How are they going to account for those resources? That is an audit query.”

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Rachael Mazombwe Zulu on Tuesday said it was not true that ministers and officials claim allowances when they visit councils.

“It is not like that…But call me later because I am at a function,” said Zulu.

Secretary for Local Government and Rural Development Kester Kaphaizi in the week said his office was not aware of the matter.

But Kaphaizi said ministers are not supposed to collect any allowances from the councils because they claim the same from the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) whenever they are travelling on duty.

Said Kaphaizi: “What we know is that these ministers collect allowances and fuel at the OPC and they are not supposed to collect any allowance from the council. In fact, I have never heard any complaint that ministers collected allowances from any council.

The principal secretary said it would be important for the councils’ controlling officers to bring forward information relating to the issue so that action could be taken.

On traditional leaders claiming money, Kaphaizi said chiefs are supposed to claim allowances when they have been assigned a special role and not when they are going to attend things such as presidential rallies.

OPC public relations officer Arthur Chipenda confirmed that ministers and deputies’ transportation is paid by his office and that they are not supposed to claim additional allowances when they travel to other offices.