‘DON’T EXPECT HH TO DISH OUT MONEY’

By Arnel Chitundu

THERE is a need for the country to differentiate official duties from personal visitations, Former Southern Province Minister Edify Hamukale said.

Speaking to The Scoop, Dr. Hamukale said there was a need for Financial Reforms to enhance the efficiency and strengthen the stability of the financial system of the country.

“In Government practice, when a Minister or President is visiting a particular Chief there is a budgetary allocation that is given out to that visiting official, to give gifts to the chief as he visits that particular Chiefdom,” Dr. Hamukale said.

He said when the President of a country visited a province and not a particular chief, the money budgeted for was meant for visitation of a particular chief and not a group of chiefs.

He added that if people expected a Head of State to dish out money that in the end defeated the purpose of Zambians demanding for financial prudence.

He said those who were giving sacks of money to chiefs, certainly were not drawing that money from their personal businesses, and questioned why anyone would want the President to draw money from his personal businesses to give chiefs, stating that it does not work that way.

“It is clear that a visit of such nature might have a certain limit, but not exorbitant expenditure on chiefs, where is the country going, if we are going to reform financial systems in the republic of Zambia,” he said.

He explained that every President, Minister or Member of Parliament came from a certain Chiefdom, stating that it was expected for certain chiefs to be their blood relatives.

He questioned whether those leaders who were giving unsolicited sums of money to chiefs were drawing that money from their personal businesses, National Coffers or well-wishers.

He said Chiefs were leaders in society, and if seen flashing money around, then it defeated the purpose to have Prudent Financial Management in Zambia.

He said it was important for citizens to concentrate on better issues of debate that sought to improve the country’s development, unlike attacking individuals and expecting them to spend their personal resources and hard-earned money on chiefs, as the money came from the National Treasury.