Vice President, Mutale Nalumango, has directed the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to consider suspending the loan component under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), due to the high rate of loan defaults by beneficiaries.
Speaking during the Vice President’s Question time in the National Assembly today, Mrs. Nalumango expressed disappointment that many beneficiaries are not repaying the funds, despite the CDF loan scheme being a revolving fund intended to benefit more citizens and stimulate economic growth.
She emphasized that the loan component should only resume once defaulters begin to pay back their loans, warning that it would be wasteful for government to continue injecting money into a system that is not yielding returns.
“All those who have been accessing loans with no intention of paying back qualify to be called thieves,” said Mrs. Nalumango.
And Mrs. Nalumango has clarified that government has no intention to bribe a judge in south Africa dealing with the state funeral impasse of former president Edgar Lungu.
Responding to a question from Mpika Member of Parliament Francis Kapyanga regarding the leaked audio involving Mafinga Member Parliament, Robert Chabinga, and other a cabinet minister Mrs. Nalumango clarified that the audio in question does not confirm any government plan to bribe a judge in South Africa.
Mrs. Nalumango said that audio whether fake or real does not represent government position on the matter saying that what was said in the audio was merely a suggestions adding that it is not unusual for people to express differing opinions in the wake of the death of a prominent individual, noting that many Zambians may have shared their own private views about the matter.
By Christabel Kamunu.
