By JULIUS PHIRI –

THE Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) in Eastern Province is saddened by  the high number of audit queries being recorded in the construction of roads, offices and housing units for public service workers, especially in the newly created districts in the province.
CSPR provincial coordinator Maxson Nkhoma said in a statement yesterday that the findings of the Auditor General’s report were worrying and if left unchecked would frustrate the country’s plans of opening up rural areas to economic activity.
Mr Nkhoma said CSPR was concerned that the high number of audit queries recorded in the construction of feeder roads were disadvantaging the end users, the citizens, as they did not get value for the taxes they paid due to wasteful implementation.
“An example in point is that in 2012, the Rural Roads Unit (RRU) had recieved K142, 265 for upgrading of the Kampondo-Chanyalubwe road via Kapongolo road in Lundazi but as of 2014, a total of K118,825 had been spent on fuel and lubricants and only seven kilometres of the 19 kilometre-stretch has been covered,” he said.
It was shocking that a contractor was then engaged to undertake the works on the 25 kilometre stretch that included the seven kilometres that had been done by RRU.
Mr Nkhoma said the total expenditure of K118, 825 incurred on the road by RRU was wasted.
He said CSPR found it strange and unacceptable, as the wasteful expenditure could have been avoided had there been adequate coordination and collaboration between Road Development Agency (RDA) and RRU.
In Vubwi, the Government released K1, 335, 000 for the construction of an office administration block.
He said on September 9, 2013, a contractor was engaged to construct the office block at a contract price of K1, 394, 225 but the contractor took possession of the site on September 19, 2013 and the office block was to be completed by February 2014.
“As of November 2014, the contractor had been paid K1, 475, 529, resulting in an overpayment of K81, 305. The overpayment had not been recovered from the contractor as of November 2014.
“Physical inspections carried out in November 2014, nine months after the expected completion period revealed that the works had not been completed, as roofing, plastering, flooring, painting, glazing, drainage structures, metal and carpentry works were still outstanding,” he said.
He appealed to Government to continue supporting efforts being made by civil society to allow community participation in monitoring various construction works being undertaken by the state to ensure that Government and its citizens get value for the resources being invested in the sector.
Mr Nkhoma said CSPR was happy with the manner in which some Government departments had reduced audit queries in the 2013 Auditor General’s report.
He said there was a reduction in the audit queries in programmes such as agriculture, health, education, water and sanitation, including social protection.
He called for punitive measures against erring Government officials in the management of public finance.