Melo Media | Monday, 4th December 2023
During today’s session of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), it was revealed that K697,414, which was intended for the procurement of Bulls, was instead used to cover allowances.
During today’s discussions, the Ministry was unable to offer adequate answers as the Committee members took turns questioning the Permanent Secretary Engineer Himba Cheelo.
The Ministry declared that the funds were utilized for the purpose of training Artificial Insemination Technicians nationwide. However, this decision faced opposition from members who argued that the training was a misuse of funds since it did not achieve its intended objective.
The Auditor General’s report disclosed that as of July 31, 2023, a sum of K697,414 was received for the activity. This amount includes K524,588 allocated for the procurement of bulls and K172,826 designated for the transportation of the bulls from the supplier to the Mazabuka Insemination Training Centre.
The report unveiled that during the review of records conducted in March 2023, it was discovered that the Ministry did not acquire the breeding bulls as intended. Instead, a total of K697,414 was allocated towards disbursing subsistence allowances to different officers who participated in the artificial insemination training held in Mazabuka.
The Bulls had not been acquired as of August 31, 2023. Given the evident lack of a suitable response, the Committee made the decision to move forward with other issues.
