NDC Secretary General Mwenya Musenge says President Edgar Lungu was not comfortable working with the former Acting Auditor General Ron Mwambwa, because the latter had exposed a number of corruption scandals in the PF government.

And Musenge has charged that government now has a ‘golden opportunity’ to appoint a bootlicker as Auditor General whom they will use to shield their corruption scandals.

Meanwhile, Musenge says it was wrong for the government to have allowed Mwambwa to act as Auditor General for almost three years without being confirmed.

In a statement, Musenge stated that the resignation of the acting Auditor General raised a lot of questions that required urgent answers.

“The resignation of Acting Auditor General Ron Mwambwa raises a lot of questions that require urgent answers. We have been told that Mr Mwambwa has left his job to pursue other personal endeavours. We however understand the frustrations that could have led Mr Mwambwa to vacate office. In the first place, it was wrong for the Secretary to the Cabinet to have allowed Mr Mwambwa to have acted as Auditor General for almost three years without being confirmed in his substantive position. The General orders in the civil service are very clear on one Acting in a higher office,” Musenge stated.

He stated that Mwambwa should have ordinarily been confirmed in his position after acting for six months.

Musenge charged that it was President Lungu who was not comfortable confirming Mwambwa as Auditor General.

“Ordinarily, the Acting Auditor General should have been confirmed in his position after acting in that capacity for only six months. The failure by the supervising officer herein, the Secretary to the Cabinet not to recommend the confirmation of Mr. Mwambwa raises a number of ethical and professional matters. The truth of the matter is that President Edgar Lungu was not comfortable confirming Mr. Mwambwa,” he stated.

“As NDC, we want the following questions to be answered: Could it be that the Acting Auditor General failed the vetting test by security agencies? Could it be that the Acting Auditor General was involved in inimical activities that automatically disqualified him for substantive promotion? Or maybe, could it be that Mr Mwambwa was not qualified for the job? This we doubt because the latter has actually been given a job in Liberia to set up an audit system in that country. This in itself actually shows that the Acting Auditor General has the right credentials for the job.”

He charged that President Lungu was not comfortable working with Mwambwa because the latter had exposed a number of corruption scandals in the PF government.

“If Mr Mwambwa failed the vetting test, we can’t question the appointing authority further. A closer look at the matter involving the none confirmation of Mr. Mwambwa in his Acting capacity raises political eyebrows. The truth is, President Edgar Lungu is or was not comfortable working with Mr Mwambwa. Mr Mwambwa exposed a number of corruption scandals in Government as cited and evidenced in the various audit reports released under his tenure. These glaring financial irregularities definitely did not settle well with Mr. Lungu,” he stated.

“The exposure of graft activities as cited in the Auditor Generals several reports confirms that President lungu is running a corrupt regime. And President lungu is not serious in fighting corruption. Obviously, the Head of State couldn’t confirm a person in that office who seems to be fighting an evil that the system embraces.”

Musenge stated that government now had an opportunity to appoint a bootlicker as Auditor General, whom they would use to shield corruption scandals in government.

“The system will now have a golden opportunity to look around and appoint a bootlicker who they will use to shield the grand corruption scandals in Government. It does not make sense for the Acting Auditor General to resign immediately and forfeit his pension and other benefits. By the way, this is a man who has worked his entire life in the civil service rising through the ranks and files to the highest office to become Acting Auditor General,” he stated.

Musenge observed that the resignation of the Acting Auditor General was a big blow to the fight against corruption.

He added that perhaps the Acting Auditor General could have discovered something fishy which had led to his resignation.

“The resignation of the Acting Auditor General is a big blow to the fight against corruption. They should be something fishy that the Acting Auditor General discovered leading to his resignation. The man could have been frustrated and probably threatened. Its most likely that he should have come across very incriminating data involving President Lungu’s associates,” Musenge stated.

He appealed to the PF government to allow civil servants operate professionally and independently.

“As NDC, we appeal to President Lungu to respect governance institutions. The PF government should allow civil servants operate professionally and independently. Since Mr Mwambwa acted for three years, it is only prudent that President Lungu rejects the resignation of the Acting Auditor General, confirms him and subsequently retires him. This will greatly motive staff in the civil service. The mare fact that the confirmation of civil servants is taking longer than necessary speaks volumes on the work culture of the office of the Secretary to the Cabinet,” stated Musenge.

“The office of the Secretary to the Cabinet has seemingly become moribund. The Secretary to the Cabinet should ensure that his line Permanent Secretaries put in place measures to recommend to the Public Service management Division PSMD, officers for confirmation particularly those who have acted in their positions for over six months. The abrupt resignation of the Acting Auditor General is therefore regrettable.”