PRESIDENT Banda (pictured) says he is concerned over questions that have been raised about his administrations commitment to the fight against corruption.I am fully aware that some (people) have questioned our commitment to fighting corruption in the light of certain recent events. My Government is deeply concerned about these perceptions and intends to do everything within its power to counter those perceptions through actions as well as words, Mr Banda said.
He said this at State House yesterday when he launched the Millennium Challenge Account-Zambia (MCA-Z).
The MCA-Z was established in July 2009 as a unit under the Ministry of Finance and National Planning and its objective is to prepare projects that the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) will accept for funding.
Mr Banda said he is also aware that similar questions have been raised about his administrations commitment to the rule of law and civil liberties. The President said the government will make every effort to ensure that all its actions address the concerns.
He said the MCA-Z is one more step towards the countrys vision of becoming a middle-income nation. I wish the MCA-Z team every good fortune; they have our full support and we have high expectations that they will succeed and develop a strong programme for Zambia, he said.
The United States government established the MCC in 2004 and it has so far disbursed about US$6.3 billion to 18 developing countries for a wide range of projects on grant terms. The MCC only helps countries that meet standards of good governance and invest in people and economic freedom.
Mr Banda said he appreciates that the MCC carefully and objectively monitors the standards on a regular basis to ensure that they are not only met, but also maintained. He said Zambia became eligible for the Compact assistance in December 2008, meaning that the country has made significant progress with regard to the standards.
Mr Banda said Zambia should maintain the standards and build on the progress for the country to remain eligible. The MCC emphasises country ownership of programmes and eligible countries are expected to select and prepare projects for funding by the MCC. Mr Banda said since beneficiary countries choose the projects, Zambia must ensure that the projects proposed to the MCC for financing meet high standards set for the projects. The standards must meet an acceptable economic rate of return as well as social, gender and environmental safeguards.
Once an agreement has been reached with the MCC on the projects to be financed, the countries have only five years within which to disburse the funds and complete the projects. This ensures that time and money are not wasted.
Mr Banda said this will require management of the highest standards.
He, however, said Government does not know how much Zambia will receive from the MCC until the Compact documents are fully signed. Mr Banda said the MCC has agreed to compacts totaling just under US$700 million for Tanzania and Morocco and hoped that Zambias programme will not be much less than that.
Financial resources on this scale for our country do not come often or easily. So it is important that the best possible use of the resources is madeThey must be applied to projects that will have a clear impact on economic growth and poverty reduction, he said.
Mr Banda said the projects must be developed as part of the countrys overall development plan and well integrated with programmes being supported by other co-operating partners, as well as the private sector.
Earlier, Deputy Minister of Finance and National Planning Chileshe Kapwepwe said the MCCs threshold programme was important in making Zambia eligible for the MCC funding.
Ms Kapwepwe said the threshold programme, which started in 2006 at a cost of US$22.7 million, has the overall aim of reducing corruption and improving Government effectiveness.
She said the programme has three parts and under the first component, business processes were improved in several Government institutions, such as the Ministry of Lands, Immigration Department, Zambia Revenue Authority, and capacity of the Anti Corruption Commission was improved.
And MCA-Z national coordinator Robert Liebenthal said the MCCs main instrument is the compact, which is an agreement between the MCC and the partner country to provide large-scale grants of at least US$100 million over five years.
Mr Liebenthal said Zambia became eligible for the MCC when the countrys control of corruption indicator exceeded the median of all low-income countries for the first time, and the result was based on 2007 data.
Zambia must maintain eligibility by continuing to score above the median for all median indicators, especially the corruption control indicatorMCC attaches particular importance to this indicator:
Zambia could become ineligible if that indicator slips, even if all indicators are favourable, Mr Liebenthal said.
He said the MCA-Z started work in July 2009 and its first task is to conduct a constraint analysis that identifies critical barriers to economic growth and poverty reduction. The MCA-Z team will include specialists covering outreach and consultation; gender, social and environment; monitoring and evaluation; implementation (including financial management and procurement) and other sectors.
Mr Liebenthal said by the end of this month, a steering committee for the MCA-Z will be appointed and will consist of senior government officials, representatives of the private sector and civil society and eminent individuals.
Zambia Daily Mail
Post published in: Uncategorized