03/12/2024
PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The matter regarding the purchase of 156 Ambulances under Constituency Development Funds-CDF, worth 13 million US Dollars by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Ministry of Health and ZAMMSA is total disgrace.
Firstly, we wonder as to why the three named institutions opted to use Direct or Limited process instead of Public Tender Process to pick ACE Pharmaceuticals and Aqueous as suppliers. Under normal circumstances, Selective or Direct Bidding is provided for if goods or services required have one or limited supplier or are under emergency circumstances.
Secondly, we have official manufacturers or accredited franchise dealers such as Toyota Landcruisers or Toyota Zambia who should have been considered, instead of the two named Indian owned Companies which could not even guarantee after-sale-service
Apparently, the failure to deliver all the 156 Ambulances by these third party middlemen even after the procurement process was completed one year down the line is a clear indication that there was no due diligence or serious assessment on their financial status before contracts were given out by the selecting team. That's why only 11 out of 156 Ambulances ordered have been delivered so far. The idea of extending the delivery period of these Ambulances is but a sheer waste of time and infact there is no guarantee that the two contractors are still ready to service the contract, especially after all these concerns coming from the public.
As Governance Experts and indeed Zambian citizens, we shall be failing in our duties if we bury our heads in the sand and continue clapping for wrong things in the Governance system. We have a duty to protect public resources by ensuring that we hold those mandated to run the national affairs accountable.
Therefore we appeal to all investigative wings to take keen interest in this matter by getting to the root of the issue and bringing all th