Vice President Nalumango's Response to Corruption Allegations Lacks Clarity and Direction
Lusaka, 19th July, 2024
Vice President Mutale Nalumango's response to Hon. Lukas Simumba of the Nakonde constituency was criticized for its lack of clarity and direction.
Hon. Simumba had accused the United Party for National Development (UPND) government of corruption, citing the dramatic increase in reported suspicious transactions in the latest Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) report.
"Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I would like to thank the Honourable Member for Nakonde for that question. It's a very important question," Nalumango began. "I think he has a right to be a little upset, especially after the elections, the by-elections."
However, her attempt to address the issue quickly became convoluted. "It is important to look at the report comprehensively and see the same suspicious transactions. How far back do they go? That is something to look at," she stated, without providing any specific details or actions the government would take.
Her explanation regarding the fluid nature of money and its value was seen as particularly muddled. "Money is liquid. Sorry, I am giving you answers on my feet. They may not be professional as you want it. But another thing you can say is looking at, I don't know whether the Honourable Member was still in the house in the last sitting. He is new. I know the former Minister was in the house. I am not debating you, Madam. But just saying, the figures of money are never the same. What is important is the value."
Vice President Nalumango’s attempt to clarify the value of money versus its figures only added to the confusion.
"The value of money is not only in the figures. The value is what does it buy. I am saying this because even the allowances of this house, the value may be the same but the figures have risen," she explained, failing to directly address the corruption allegations.
Her analogy about the cost of a notebook over time was criticized for being overly simplistic and missing the point.
"The amount that I used to buy a notebook in 2020 is not the same amount that I use to buy the notebook today. I may have had 2 kwacha, today I am buying at 10 kwacha. So it doesn't mean an increase. It is simply the figures."
In conclusion, Vice President Nalumango weakly challenged Hon. Simumba and other critics to provide proof of corruption. "But if it is like that and you choose to call us corrupt, you have to prove."
Vice President Nalumango's response failed to address the serious allegations substantively and lacked the direction needed to reassure the public. Additionally, there is growing frustration with the UPND's tendency to blame the previous Patriotic Front (PF) government for ongoing issues.
As highlighted, the current administration's strategy of deflecting blame does little to address the root causes of corruption and mismanagement.
Негізгі бет VICE PRESIDENT, MUTALE NALUMANGO SHE IS SWEATING TODAY IN PARLIAMENT RESPONSE TO CORRUPTION.
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