Over K4 billion meant for infrastructure and other developmental programmes has allegedly been misappropriated by the Provincial Accounting Unit (PACU) in Luapula Province.
This development, which has angered Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services Kennedy Sakeni, came to light when he paid a courtesy call on Luapula Province Minister Benson Kapaya in Mansa yesterday.
Mr. Sakeni, who is on a tour of media institutions in Northern and Luapula Provinces, said the Patriotic Front (PF) government was in a hurry to develop the country hence those who were frustrating it development pace will be sent elsewhere.
He said government has a passion to foster development in all parts of the country.
The misused funds have affected the completion of a bridge in Tayali community.
This facility is meant to aid school going children to smoothly cross a stream in order to get to school.
“Children will be cut off when going to attend classes especially when schools resume on January 14 next year because the culverts are still lying idle for over six months as nothing has been done since they were sourced,” Mr. Sakeni said.
Mr. Sakeni, who is also Chief Government Spokesperson, lamented that some civil servants were in the habit of paying themselves allowances in the pretext of working to develop the country when in fact not.
“About K4 billion has been misappropriated maybe half of it has gone towards allowances. It is sad that projects were being affected in this way,” he said.
And the continued misuse of funds has paralysed the operations of the Zambia News and Information Services offices (ZANIS) in Mansa.
This came to light when Mr. Sakeni toured the offices in Mansa yesterday and was told that the provincial office had not received their monthly allocations since September this year.
ZANIS