Ministries get K15.8 bn to pay utility bills
By ZANGOSE CHAMBWAGOVERNMENT has disbursed K15.8 billion to clear outstanding utility bills owed by ministries, provincial administrations and spending agencies to various suppliers of goods and services.
Ministry of Finance and National Planning public relations officer Chileshe Kandeta said in a statement released in Lusaka yesterday that a total of K10 billion has been released to the Ministry of Defence towards the clearance of outstanding rentals for defence personnel while K4 billion has been disbursed to the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company for outstanding utility bills owed by various Government agencies.
Mr Kandeta said K1.8 billion has been disbursed to Lukanga Water and Sewerage Company for bills owed by the prison service and other Government agencies in Central Province.
He said in the last 10 months, over K42.1 billion has been disbursed for similar purposes of which K26.3 billion was released last year to various utility companies which include Zamtel, Zesco and Mansa Municipal Council.
Mr Kandeta said the money disbursed in the last 10 months also includes funds paid to the water and sewerage companies around the country.
“Let me take this opportunity to announce that the Ministry of Finance and National Planning is conducting a monitoring and evaluating assessment of grants made to local authorities between January 2006 and December 2009.
“The exercise is meant to ascertain the receipt and effectiveness of the grants to local authorities during the period under review. The grants were made under different fiscal architectures such as restructuring grant, recruitment grant, capital grant and grants - in lieu of rates,” he said.
Mr Kandeta said under the restructuring grant, K71.5 billion was released between 2006 and 2009 to facilitate the clearing of retrenchments, retirements and other personal emolument obligations by local authorities.
He also said K94.6 billion was released during the same period for recurrent grant to support costs of running local authorities in addition to their own revenue sources from property tax, personal levy and user charges.
Others released were capital grants which received K25.3 billion meant to cater for development programmes such as construction of roads, markets and water access facilities.
Mr Kandeta said another K39.5 billion was released between 2006 and 2009 as grants to compensate local authorities for loss of revenue from rates of properties owned by the central Government in local authority jurisdictions.
He said Central, Lusaka, Southern and Copperbelt provinces have been visited under the monitoring and evaluation exercise to ascertain the receipt and effectiveness of grants to local authorities.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
