As if the glaring poverty that the country is facing is not enough, President Lazarus Chakwera has gone on to sanction the procurement of two presidential jets from the Middle East, says the reports, and that government is now struggling to meet the costs.
The mind boggling and an exclusive new Chakwera-adminstration-low has come to light after the Central Bank is now neck-to-neck with time to meet the costs, whose funds are not available in the public coffers since it was never budgeted for in the latest, and first of MCP-led administration’s national budget, which was delivered last year by Finance Minister, Felix Mlusu.
The revelation has gone on to put to record how the new administration is going about its undertaking of the deal on the back of total disregard to procurement laws. This is the case owing to the fact that the deal is being ran in the corridors of the capitol without involving one significant and relevant government agency: Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA).
Miflo Online has gone on to further unearth another fact that says the procurement of the jets was first hatched by the previous regime but later halted since it was thought that the government would not be able to sanction the funds to be used to pay for the deal. But when the MCP led government ascended to power, they thought of revitalizing the deal, even without it being budgeted for.
With an already ailing economic status of the country, largely owing to the dwindling domestic revenue collection due to Covid-19, as well as an over 31 percent tobacco output decline – which is the country’s biggest export – has left the country’s economy on a deathbed, the news that such expensive asset, not one, but two, has left some people to shock.
Another interesting, yet a saddening revelation, is that the Jets are second hand, which puts to the beam the fears of high and frequent maintainace costs that the jets could be demanding.
One social commentator who has commented on the issue has said that despite that the purchase of jets is ill-timed, the fact that the law is being disregarded is worrisome since Chakwera and his alliance partners have been all over the town, preaching about the total regard to the rule of law which they say would always champion.