Mpombo: Its Too Late For Zambians To Oppose Purchase Of $42 Million Fire Tenders
GEORGE Mpombo says it is now too late for Zambians to oppose the purchase of 42 fire tenders at $42 million when the trucks have already been delivered to Zambia.
And Mpombo says the procurement of fire machines at such an excessively humongous price raises questions about the credibility of the government. At the time the $42 million fire trucks contract was revealed in 2015 by The Post, the opposition questioned the cost and advised that the deal be cancelled.
But they were dismissed by the PF and its government and called “frustrated politicians” who were bitter because of losing elections. The fire trucks have now been delivered to Zambia and yet to be distributed to councils across the country. Following the flagging off of the distribution exercise by Vice-President Inonge Wina last Friday and a tweet by local government minister Vincent Mwale, there has been public outrage over the deal, with several Zambians wondering why the country accepted to purchase a unit of the fire tenders at $1 million.
Local musician Chama Fumba, popularly known as Pilato, has since posted mobile numbers for Mwale, local government permanent secretary Amos Malupenga and supplier GrandView International shareholder Bokani Soko, asking Zambians to individually seek answers over the fire tender deal.
But Mpombo said the whole issue was now “water under the bridge” as Zambians missed the chance to have the contract terminated before the trucks could be supplied.
“The Zambian people should get out of the cocoon of timidity and speak out on issues while they are in manageable stages. Zambians will be the ones to pay heavily over the government’s misuse of taxpayer’s money if they chose to be in a cocoon. Now its water under the bridge, there is nothing more we can do. What is being said now should have been said when we were alerted in 2015 that these people plan to purchase fire tenders at $42 million. Zambians have to be pro-active and raise issues as they come. To talk when things have already reached boiling point, when things have already slipped out of a manageable stage of control doesn’t help,”
Mpombo said.
“It really doesn’t help, people should have the duty of providing checks and balances. If these issues were raised at an appropriate time when the media talked about them, I am sure things would have taken a different turn altogether. Let Zambians get out of the cocoon of timidity and passiveness and speak when it matters most. Now the cost is quite hefty, we will pay heavily.”
The former defence minister said the government should explain how it settled to spend $1 million on a single van. He said the deal “smelt a rat” and watered down the credibility of the leaders in government today.
“That is such an excessively humongous price, it’s huge. The government must unravel the mechanism of pricing behind that. That figure is astounding, the prices raises eyebrows,” Mpombo said.
He said the entire deal was a rip-off on the coffers of the already limping economy.
“This boarders on moral issues. The nation deserves a clear explanation. As it stands, we smell a rat. The whole thing doesn’t add up. The whole thing is a rip-off of public funds, which can reverse the economic outlook or economic development of the country. When you are saying you are cutting costs and there are these activities that raise eyebrows, it’s a setback to the economic development of the country. It also leads to a loss of confidence in the procurement system of the country. The nation deserves an explanation on why an expensive bidder was picked. This raises a lot of ethical and moral issues,”
Mpombo said.
“These are issues that undermine the credibility of government, that’s why it is important for the country to know exactly how that bidder was arrived at. There were shortcuts in order to favour certain individuals. Certain people close to the corridors of power took advantage of the situation; the nation needs to know. There is a confidence crisis in government. When a nation is going through an economic tough patch then such things are being exposed, it raises a lot of issues. We need answers to the many questions about the fire machines.”