Africa-Press – Zambia. The allegations that some contractors received payment for services not rendered during the PF regime have been dispelled by Mporokoso Member of Parliament, Hon Brian Mundubile. He challenged the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Hon Garry Nkombo, to reveal how much money the government lost through non-delivery of contracts.
Since the New Dawn Administration took over, many local contractors have not been paid because they have been labeled as PF cadres. Despite delivering their services to the government, they have not been paid, which has led to worsened money scarcity and an escalated cost of living.
In their defense, UPND officials have claimed that the contractors did not deliver the services as per the contract. However, Hon Brian Mundubile has schooled the New Dawn in Parliament on how contracts and business with the government are conducted.
Hon Mundubile explained that in the standard contract he has known for the past 20 years, either a contractor is paid an advance payment in exchange for an advance payment bond or an Interim Payment Certificate (IPC) is signed by the consultant. If there is payment that has been signed without work, the government can still execute the performance bond of the consultant. He challenged Hon Nkombo to state how much money the government lost regarding the matter in question.
Hon Nkombo had earlier stated that the government lost a lot of money. He assured the public that only those that did the work will be paid, and there will be reconciliation. He also admitted that there is a lot of work to be done to harmonize the feeder roads and address the issue of debt.
Hon Mundubile lamented that most local contractors have fallen victim to the government machinations, and as a result, contractors are failing to secure facilities with banks and international business. He said that the contracts don’t invite outsiders, not even the government, to resolve the challenges but the parties to the contract. He said that the sector has collapsed because of the mistrust that exists from the government.
The PF presidential hopeful challenged the Minister of Local Government to be clear on what contract was used in the particular transaction and which consultant is before the court today for having signed an IPC where no work was done. He explained that a contract is just a normal business.
Hon Mundubile said it is high time the government started promoting local businesses and ended the mistrust that exists between them and the contractors.
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