TOURISM Minister Rodney Sikumba says his ministry notified the National Prosecution Authority on prosecutors that were drawing double salaries and deductions are currently running.

The Auditor General’s Report on accounts of the Republic for the financial year ended December 31, 2020, revealed that 50 prosecutors were drawing double salaries from the Ministry of Tourism and Arts and National Prosecution Authority amounting to K2,706,005.

Responding to a press query on this issue, Sikumba said the ministry had further engaged NPA to take action against the said officers.

“The ministry has further notified NPA on the drawing of double salaries by these officers. A request was made to effect recoveries and deductions are currently running through the NPA payroll and funds are being remitted to the Treasury. The Ministry has further engaged NPA to take appropriate action on these officers as the pay slips are self-guiding in the event of wrong or over payment and it is the responsibility of each officer to report such anomaly. Members of the Public, since these officers were transferred fully to the NPA in 2017, the Ministry of Tourism has initiated jurisdiction over them, hence any other appropriate remedial action on them has to be collaborated through their employer who is NPA. In this regard, I am pleased to mention that NPA has been of great help in ensuring the right thing is done,” Sikumba said.

He said the NPA was granted Treasury Authority by Ministry of Finance in 2017 to migrate all prosecutors and subsequently completed the transfer process of all prosecutors to their payroll but that the information was not shared with the ministry.

“The Ministry acknowledges the Auditor General’s Report indicating that 50 prosecutors who were based at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (NPA) and DNPW after their transfer to NPA. The public may wish to know that government had transferred all prosecutors to the NPA whilst awaiting the granting of the Treasury Authority to recruit and transfer all prosecutors. During this transition period, the NPSA was paying the prosecutors the difference of NPA prosecutors salaries, whilst they remained on their substantive payrolls. In 2017, the NPA was granted Treasury Authority by the Ministry of Finance to migrate all prosecutors and they subsequently completed the transfer process of all prosecutors to their payroll,” said Sikumba.

“However, this authority and information was not shared with the ministry. In November, 2020 the ministry received directives from the Public Service Management Division (PSMD) informing the ministry that 45 prosecutors had been transferred to the NPA. Members of the public, this is the authority upon which the ministry relied upon to terminate the officers from the payroll.”