Opposition legislators have walked out of the Friday sitting of Parliament following the Speaker, Nelly Mutti’s decision to curtail debate on the audit by private entities of the defence and national security services.
Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Brian Mundubile and Mutotwe Kafwaya sought clarity on why government had given three different positions on the matter.
The duo also sought to understand what motivated government to break the law, but the Speaker chose to close the debate and directed the MPs to seek the answers elsewhere.
It is at this stage that the Opposition MPs walked out of Parliament.
In May 2022, government hired six audit firms at a cost of K16.8million to verify outstanding arrears of owed to contractors and suppliers.
The consultants were expected to audit supply of goods and services, road contracts, the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP), Zambia Revenue Authority VAT Refunds, Fuel, Awards and Compensation.
But last week, it emerged that Grant Thornton and PriceWaterHouse were auditing books of accounts at defence forces and national security.
This has prompted objection from the Opposition that have stated that the Public Audit Act Section 24(3) prohibits consultants, agents and private auditors from accessing books, records and documents or entering the premises of the defence and national security services.
The procurement of such services must be done by the Auditor General and not by the Ministry of Finance.
Further the Opposition has demanded evidence to show that Part VII section 73(3) of the Public Finance Management Act No. 1 of 2018 was complied with.
The provisions require that the Auditor General must seek and obtain authority from the President for private Auditors to inspect records of the defence forces and national services.
