By JAMES KUNDA –
THE Ministry of Finance has dismissed as a fabrication, information circulating in some sections of the media that it irregularly identified a contractor for the Lundazi-Chama road.
Ministry of Finance public relations officer Chileshe Kandeta said in a statement yesterday that the Ministry was aware of some Government officials who have engrained the habit of “stealing information,” distorting it, and supplying the media without authority.
“This Ministry echoes the calls of the authorities and concerned members of the public to sanction such officials,” Mr Kandeta said.
“Today (yesterday), there was a report in the media quoting an official in the Ministry of Finance who was insinuating that we had irregularly identified a contractor for the Lundazi-Chama road, this is a total fabrication.”
Mr Kandeta said the identification of the contractor was done by relevant public entities and endorsed by the Zambia Public Procurement Authority in accordance with the lending policy of the Export-Import Bank of China.
He said the road, which is one of the priority projects under the Link Zambia 8000, would be undertaken at an estimated cost of US$90 Million.
Mr Kandeta said the ministry was confident that the completion of the project would boost economic growth and development among the beneficiary countries by reducing the cost of doing business and promoting growth of international trade.
“While we appreciate that it is the duty of the media to keep the public informed, it is also important that media practitioners assess the credibility of their news sources,” he said.
“This ministry assures the public that it has instituted stringent financial governance systems and will strive to stay above board in all its transactions”.
He reiterated the ministry’s commitment to fiscal prudence so that the people of Zambia obtain value for money from public investments.