IN the course of the week, the Ministry of Local Government and Housing  announced  the  suspension  of seven junior officials for alleged theft of K3.3 million  and part of these funds was Constituency Development Funds for Rufunsa amounting K1.3 million.
Often, we have spoken against such activities which drain State coffers and hamper development, especially at constituency level.
If this revelation is proven to be true, it will trigger more questions as to how many of such cases of fraud have taken place at the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, in the past that have gone by without being discovered.
The minister, Emmanuel Chenda and Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) executive director Goodwell Lungu condemned this bad trend by junior officers.
Concern is also surfacing that the junior officers, mainly an assistant accountant, stenographers, typists, registry clerk, did not pull this up alone it is highly likely that these were just used like pawns in a chess game; senior officials could be involved as suspected by Mr Chenda and Mr Lungu.
The verbatim details in this matter are as follows; (1)The Ministry of Local Government and Housing gave instructions to their bank between 19th to 23rd October 2013 to transfer CDF meant for Chongwe and Rufunsa constituencies.
(2) In March 2014, the ministry received information from district treasurers from Rufunsa and Chongwe district councils that they had not yet received their 2013 CDF allocation.
(3) On March 14, 2014, the Ministry issued fresh instructions to their bank to transfer the CDF allocation for Rufunsa and Chongwe constituencies, amounting K2,600,000.00.
(4)The bank was only able to remit the funds for Chongwe Constituency Development Fund and not for Rufunsa, owing to insufficient funds.
(5) It was at this moment that it was discovered that the Rufunsa portion of the CDF funds amounting to K1,300,000 was suspected to have been transferred without Treasury authority, transferred to the ministry grants account.
(6)The funds were transferred from the CDF Account No.110110143887026 to Grants Account No.110110143887016 in sums of K700,000.00 and K600, 000.00 totaling K1,300.000.00. The first K700,000 was transferred on 13th December 2013 and the last K600, 000 was transferred on 13th February 2014 way after the 2013 financial year had closed on December 31, 2013.
(7) By the end of December 2013, the Ministry of Finance released a total of K195,000,000.00 in five installments. These funds were meant to benefit a total of 150 constituencies each meant to get an equal amount of K1,300,000 totaling K195,000,000.00.
The CDF account is funded in line with the approved amounts in the National Budget under Head 29/05, Programme 5004 and Activity 002 as a approved by Parliament additionally transferring such funds required the approval from the Secretary to the Treasury.
Documents reveal that the CDF for Rufunsa Constituency amounting to K1,285,755 was withdrawn the same day on December 13, 2013 when the first K700,000 was transferred to the grants account.
On this day, a total of K237,000 was withdrawn from the grants account.
These withdrawals continued until the 7th of March in 2014 as follows. From August 2013 to March 2014, K3, 354,035.17 was suspiciously withdrawn during the same period of the inter-account fund transfer between CDF Account No. 110110143887016 and Grants Account No. 110110143887016.
This is the detailed version of the way the transactions were effected and the alleged beneficiaries, who are currently on suspension and the Auditor General has taken up the matter for further verification as per practice.
However, as the public awaits the outcome of the Auditor General’s findings, such abuse of authority and misuse of public funds must come to end.
Officials charged with the responsibility of managing affairs of development, should know better than engage in practices that frustrate efforts of development.
Corruption is one practice that hinders development of any community and the country at large.
In this case, monitory mechanisms in the manner funds are disbursed have broken down, for such amounts of funds to withdrawn with impunity. This has to be checked.