A whistleblower has sounded an alarm at what they described as looting by board members through sitting allowances from unprecedented board meetings at Indeni Petroleum Refinery.

The whistleblower explained that Indeni board which is now chaired by PF chairperson for elections Yamfwa Mukanga, has had 12 board meetings since May this year at which each of the over ten members is paid between K7,000 and K21,000.

“We don’t mind these people taking, but this kind of taking is too much. We cannot allow this kind of theft everywhere you look. Here at Indeni, the board is supposed to sit four times a year. But this board under Yamfwa has already held about 12 meetings since May. Each time they meet they get away with as much as K21,000 per day. What happens is that when they convene a meeting, they are entitled to K7,000 allowance per sitting, but they get another K7,000 for subcommittees. And there are days when they have two to three sittings and they get away with K21,000 each. That is clear theft,” the whistleblower said.

“Today (September 22, 2017) they are having a meeting and they will have another one tomorrow. What kind of complicated board matter are they meeting to discuss every day? They are not managers of the company who should meet everyday to run the operations, they are members of the board. This is unacceptable.”

The whistleblower said in August the board sat about six times.

“In May they had board meetings on the 9th, in June they had a meeting on 27. Then in July, they had two meetings on 17th and 27th. In August they had six board meetings on 4th, 8th, 10, 22nd, 25th and 29. This month they already had a meeting on the 4th and they are having another one tomorrow. This is looting of resources through sitting allowances,” the whistleblower said.

The whistleblower explained that seven board members attend the meetings, including Energy permanent secretary Emeldah Chola, while her driver from Lusaka is also catered for.

“All line managers are invited and get paid the same amount. Meanwhile, when they get all this money, there is a lodge where they stay for free, said the whistleblower.

“Also managers sitting on adhoc committees are being paid equivalent allowances that should be only entitlement to MD or directors.”

When contacted, Board Secretary Felicity Nyako Chisanga said she was not the board spokesperson and directed queries to the managing director.

“Uuumm… I think you are calling the wrong person. Yes I am the secretary, but I am not the spokesperson for the board. I think just call the MD, he will answer your queries,” Chisanga.

When asked to confirm if the board had a meeting today, Chisanga cut the line.