. Mwenye

By CHARITY MOONGA –
THE Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has summoned Attorney General Musa Mwenye to state the correct position on the autonomy of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).
The committee led by Chipangali MMD MP Vincent Mwale wanted to know the autonomy of the ECZ in the wake of audit queries cited by the Auditor General’s office on the commission’s irregular disposal of 31 motor vehicles and 102 motor cycles valued at K2,165.124.
ECZ director of elections Priscilla Isaacs said the Commission was an autonomous body that had its own assets which it could dispose of independently without refunds to Government.
The commission was autonomous on the issue of irregular payment of both non-practice and retention allowance in which it paid K1,429,137 non-private practice allowance K739,956 and retention allowance K689,182 to 23 employees and the ECZ did not need to remit funds to the Government.
But the PAC took the ECZ boss to task for claiming to be autonomous when the received funding came from Government but the situation was opposite when it came to remitting and retiring the funds to the Government.
“This matter about the ECZ autonomy needs to be resolved with the Attorney General because when you get Government funds, you belong to the public service but when it comes to remitting funds back to Government, you say you are autonomous. We are summoning the Attorney General, we will speak with him and check with him on the issue of your autonomy as ECZ,” Mr Mwale said.
Lubansenshi Independent MP Patrick Mucheleka and Mr Mwale said the ECZ should be beyond reproach and there should be no gaps.
The committee took the ECZ to task over the commission’s failure to operate with an Information Technology strategic plan and an IT steering committee contrary to standard requirements.
The committee was also concerned that during the financial year ending in 2012, the ECZ operated without a backup policy.
There was also failure by the ECZ to deduct tax on allowances totalling K2,422,521  paid to ECZ employees for utility, education and fuel allowances during the period 2012, which was under review without deducting tax contrary to Section 6.2 (iii) of the income Tax Act No.323.
The ECZ was also cited for funds totalling K25,600 that had not been acquitted by the beneficiaries as of December 2013 and failure to provide records for audit.
It also failed to provide records for audit by the Auditor General for electoral materials given to selected councils and have not been accounted for.
Missing payment vouchers totalling K137,121 and fuel worth K43,292 procured during the period under review at Mongu, Serenje and Kabwe councils had not been accounted for while unacquitted payments amounting to K113,101had not been accounted for.
But the ECZ maintained that records had been updated and the payment vouchers in question had been acquitted and were now available for verification.