Government Officials No Longer To Receive Personal Vehicles

Treasury Secretary Felix Nkulukusa has said that government officials will no longer be entitled to personal to holder vehicles.

The Secretary to the Treasury released this statement during an appearance before the committee on parastatal bodies, chaired by Zambezi East Member of Parliament Brian Kambita.

Mr. Nkulukusa clarified that ministers and other senior government officials will now only be entitled to one utility vehicle each. 

In the event that the official vehicle goes to the garage, they will now have to use pool vehicles.

Mr. Nkulukusa stated that going forward, the rest of the government owend cars will be used as pool vehicles. This policy change is an effort to curb the colossal spending that has historically taken place on expensive vehicles for the benefit of politicians, when companies across the country are struggling

Mr. Nkulukusa added that government will simultaneously crack down on the use of government number plates in an effort to enforce this policy. No government official will be allowed to put a government number plate on a private vehicle anymore. 

The secretary to the Treasury stated that the secretary to cabinet will soon issue an extended brief on the new use of vehicles and number plates for government purposes.

Mr. Nkulukusa further said that permanent secretaries, ministers, and senior government officials like him will no longer sit on boards of Parastatal bodies, in order to enable them to provide uncompromised oversight.

Much like the reform to the use of vehicles for government officials, this change is in an effort to increase transparency and objectivity in the government, and redirect public funds back towards the public. 

Meanwhile, Nkulukusa has announced that the treasury plans to use debt swap initiatives to deal with loans sitting at the Development Bank of Zambia involving govenrment suppliers.

He noted that the Development Bank of Zambia has failed to perform its role in recent years because of political interference, while some institutions have not been paying back loans.

Mr. Nkulukusa was responding to a question in parliament as to why the country should continue with the DBZ while it has proved to be underperforming and insolvent.