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The Zambia National Economic and Social Welfare Association has called on law enforcement agencies to swiftly prosecute offenders, recover plundered public resources and hold all lawbreakers accountable following revelations in the latest Auditor General’s report.
The report shows that more than K300 million in Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocations remains unrecovered and unaccounted for.
In a statement issued in Lusaka on Saturday, Association Public Relations Manager Anthony Lupiya said the findings make for sad reading and point to the urgent need for reforms and stronger safeguards to curb leakages of public resources.
Lupiya warned that the Association would not tolerate what he termed a “culture of transfers”, where errant officers are simply moved to other districts instead of being sanctioned.
He demanded that the Ministry of Local Government immediately deduct unretired funds from the salaries of cited Town Clerks and Council Secretaries, in line with Sections 51 and 52 of the Public Finance Management Act No. 1 of 2018.
“We demand Publication of Defaulters: To recover the K300 million, councils must immediately publish the names of all groups and individuals who have defaulted on empowerment loans,” Lupiya said.
He stated that as an organisation committed to the 2030 national goal of zero corruption, the Association views the situation as a “Two-Tier Sabotage” of the Zambian people — internal looting by council staff and external negligence in recovering soft loans.
Lupiya said a strategic analysis of audit findings in Western Province and across the country revealed a total failure by the Ministry of Local Government.
“The internal rot — council staff continue to treat public funds as personal, interest-free loans. By taking ‘advances’ for workshops and travel without providing proper documentation, these officers are successfully stealing liquidity meant for community projects,” he said.
He added that external leakages identified by the Auditor General point to a massive failure to recover soft loans.
Lupiya argued that the K300 million revolving fund had effectively stopped revolving due to weak monitoring systems and suspected political cronyism in fund disbursement.
He warned that Zambia could not allow the decentralisation policy to be used as a cover for decentralised corruption and entrenched political patronage.
“It is unacceptable for public resources meant to improve healthcare, education, infrastructure, and social services to be mishandled or wasted while citizens continue to suffer from poor service delivery,” Lupiya said.
He announced that the association would activate its team of legal and economic experts to monitor recovery efforts and ensure that the voices of youth and vulnerable communities in Western Province and across Zambia were heard.
“Ultimately, we call upon Parliament to legislate an Access to Information Act to provide a legal framework for citizens to demand and access information regarding public fund management, including the CDF,” he said.
Lupiya emphasised that every coin meant for national development must be used strictly for its intended purpose, noting that misappropriation of public funds — regardless of the amount — disproportionately harmed the most vulnerable and should not be condoned.
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