Permanent Secretaries in the Ministry of Finance have been transferred to the Cabinet Office as a result of investigations into alleged illegal allowance payments, while some directors have been transferred to the Public Service Management Division.
Situmbeko Musokotwane, Minister of Finance and National Planning, claims that the freedom of movement of the officials will enable law enforcement organizations to carry out their duties.
Following complaints of alleged misuse of public funds, the Anti-Corruption Commission is now conducting investigations at the Ministry of Finance.
In a statement released this evening, Dr. Musokotwane stated that law enforcement is looking into ministry employees and that the investigation is the result of a special audit that began in 2018.
These on-going investigations are a result of a special audit of the IFMIS for the period 2018 to 2021 which revealed irregularities in the payment of allowances to some members of staff,” he said.
According to Dr. Musokotwane, some Permanent Secretaries at the Ministry have been transferred to the Cabinet Office, while some Directors have been transferred to the Public Service Management Division, in order to facilitate further investigation progress and reduce the likelihood that sitting officials may cause the investigations to be delayed.
“Despite the staff movements indicated above, the Ministry of Finance and National Planning remains fully functional as usual because measures have been taken to assign duties to other public officials in place of those who have been re-deployed from the Ministry,” he said.
The minister said the Treasury will fully cooperate with investigative wings and will support and provide them with any information required in the course of their investigations.
“Going forward, the investigations are fully under the control of the law enforcement agencies in line with their mandates. They will therefore be informing the nation on the progress they are making and the way forward. In this regard, the law enforcement agencies will have the full support of the Government as usual and we should all give them space to conduct their affairs professionally,” Dr Musokotwane said.
