One wonders whether Finance Minister, Hon. Dr. Musokotwane, took leave to avoid embarrassment trying to defend the K65m theft.
Lusaka, June 16 – Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Hon. Brian Mundubile, has announced that a Motion of Censure will be moved against Hon. Eng. Charles Milupi for telling lies in Parliament.
This is in relation to Hon. Eng. Milupi’s explanation on the floor of the House in his capacity as Acting Finance Minister that he had tendered a copy of a deposit slip of the K65 million which was reported missing.
Hon. Mundubile has told the media that Hon. Eng. Milupi committed a very serious offence against the rules of the house.
“He went against the order of Madam Speaker who told him to bring a deposit slip. He lied to the whole nation. He came with a bundle of documents, that did not contain the deposit slip. He has joined a list of Ministers whom we will censure for lying in Parliament. The Minister has had an opportunity to come to the floor of the House twice and the deposit slip was not there. He thought from the bundle of documents he brought we were not going to go through,” he said.
And Hon. Mundubile has wondered why the mysterious deposit slip has eluded everyone. He said the only explanation that can be given is that the money has allegedly been stolen by the UPND.
The leader of the Opposition wondered whether that could be the reason Finance Minister, Hon. Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, took leave to avoided embarrassment by trying to defend how the K65m was used.
“What is clear is that that K65m was stolen. What the Investigative wings must do is to swing into action, the stories about the money going to the students is a lie. The Finance Minister would have been caught up in trying to justify the K65m as opposed to trying to negotiate Zambia’s debt. Hon. Dr. Musokotwane continue on that trajectory. On that one Sir, we salute you; we have hope that there are one or two honest people in the UPND,’’ he said.
Also Read: Response to the Statement regarding the alleged missing K65m.
Meanwhile, Mufulira Central Member of Parliament, Hon. Golden Mwila, said from the various unsatisfactory explanations given, it is easy to conclude that the money was not spent for its intended purpose. He said the opposition MPs will ensure that there is accountability on how the money was spent.
“Why the Anti-Corruption failed to avail the bank statement of the K65m before the Auditor General but it had to take the Minister to come to parliament with an explanation. Whenever you see confusion like this, just know that there is something fishy about it. The Zambians must know. This is not the PF matter but one raised by the office of the Auditor General,” he said.
Source: Smart Eagles.
You can now follow Woodpecker’s Digest on Twitter and Facebook!
©2022 Woodpecker’s Digest Inc.
Putting news into perspective
