Parley orders full statement on Social Cash Transfer saga

SECOND Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Catharine Namugala yesterday urged Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe to come up with a comprehensive statement covering all issues surrounding the Social Cash Transfer saga. Ms Namugala asked the Minister to also indicate in her statement whether the Social Cash tTransfer donor funds which were allegedly missing were actually intact in a ZANACO bank account as reported by the Daily Nation Newspaper on September 24, 2018. She was responding to a point of order raised by Mazabuka Central Member of Parliament Garry Nkombo who wanted to know if the Minister was in order to remain quiet over the news that the money which was reported missing was actually sitting in a Zanaco Bank account. Mr Nkombo recalled that Ms Mwanakatwe had earlier said that Government and President Edgar Lungu were aware that the money was missing since June 2018 and those preliminary investigations had been established. He said it was now confusing for the donors and the Zambian people to learn that the money was actually intact in bank account. “I will quote from the Daily Nation September 24, 2018 Newspaper which says this money was found, a very pleasant discovery that this money for which the Minister of Community Development Emerine Kabanshi and officers from Zampost were fired has now been found telling us that there is no issue, “Madam, in answering to a question that was posed to her by the MP for Choma Central the Minister of Finance did indicate to the country that the government and the President were aware that this money was missing since June and that preliminary investigations had been established and revealed that indeed money was missing. He said that Ms Mwanakatwe even announced that Government had instituted a forensic audit. “Now here we are as the public confused that the money had been found. Is the Minister of Finance in order to remain quiet in the midst of this wonderful news that the money is sitting on an account in Zanaco Bank?” Mr Nkombo asked. In her response, Ms Namugala said the executive was in the process of bringing a comprehensive statement to the house on the issue of the social cash transfer. She ruled that the Minister of Finance must in her statement include Mr Nkombo’s concern and as well as engage all relevant wings, ministries and departments of government must be engaged in order to come up with a comprehensive statement. “The executive is expected to include that issue in the statement that is due to be delivered to this house. Since the executive is one, when they appear in this house, we expect that they will include all the relevant wings, ministries and department of government so that the statement is as comprehensive as it should be to cover all issues related to the social cash transfer,” Ms Namugala said.

Now here we are as the public confused that the money had been found. Is the Minister of Finance in order to remain quiet in the midst of this wonderful news that the money is sitting on an account in Zanaco Bank?” — Mr Nkombo.