Africa-Press – Zambia. Information has emerged that Chairman of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee Warren Mwambazi’s company Balaam Ltd is one of the firms that supplied Face masks to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr. Mwambazi has been chairing heated PAC hearings this week that have been receiving submissions on the irregular supply of Covid-19 items to the DMMU.
On Monday, DMMU National Coordinator Dr Gabriel Pollen was instructed by Mr. Mwambazi to get hold of his predecessor Chanda Kabwe by whatever means possible to explain to the Committee why companies affiliated to PF cadres received supply contracts during Covid-19.
This was after Dr Pollen informed the Commitee that efforts to reach Mr. Kabwe have proved futile as the former DMMU Coordinator who is said to be unwell has not been picking his calls. It was at this stage that Mr. Mwambazi instructed DMMU to get hold of Mr. Kabwe even if it means putting him on a Zoom call from his hospital bed.
But some senior officers from the Minustry of Health who opted to remain anonymous have revealed that Mr. Mwambazi’s company known as Balaam Limited was awarded three contracts by the Ministry of Health to supply DMMU with Covid-19 items valued at over K14 million.
“We are shocked that Hon. Mwambazi is now championing audits of the Covid-19 supply contracts when his own company Balaam Ltd received three contracts at over K14 million to supply Facemasks,PPPs and Thermometers in very suspicious circumstances,” the sources said.
The sources added,” he used the same company to get another Covid-19 tender at ZESCO valued at over K700,000. We don’t understand why he is using PAC to embarrass his own friends who supplied to DMMU when he also did,” they said.
They accused Mr. Mwambazi of turning the PAC hearings into a tool for embarrassing officials from the previous administration. “You know that Hon. Mwambazi was in PF until he was left out of the adoption process but before that, he used his friends in the party to get numerous contracts just like everyone else.”
They have since challenged Mr. Mwambazi to declare interest when matters of DMMU and Covid-19 response are brought before the Committee hearings. “He cannot continue chairing those meetings when he is clearly conflicted. PAC is a very important institution and we cannot have a Chairman who is compromised, the sources stated.
For More News And Analysis About Zambia Follow Africa-Press
