The contentious $13 million ambulance purchase under Zambia’s Constituency Development Fund (CDF), a fund aimed at improving healthcare services at the local level, is causing a stir. Rather, it has come to represent ineffective bureaucracy and potential corruption, raising questions about the government’s dedication to openness and accountability to the people.
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearings, presided over by Bwana Mkubwa MP Warren Mwambazi, revealed the scandal. The Auditor General’s report on Zambia’s financial records for the fiscal year that ended on December 31, 2023, is being closely examined by PAC.
The purchase of 156 ambulances by the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA), the Ministry of Local Government, and the Ministry of Health was one of the issues that were brought to light.
The procurement process has drawn significant criticism for its irregularities. Open public tendering, a requirement for government contracts to ensure fairness and competition, was bypassed in favor of selective bidding. Officials justified this decision by categorizing the procurement as an emergency. However, the glaring delays in delivery undermine this justification.
Under normal circumstances, emergency procurement allows for limited bidding to address immediate needs. Yet ZAMMSA chose to award contracts to Ace Pharmaceuticals and Aqueous Investments neither of which are accredited dealers or manufacturers of Toyota Land Cruisers, the vehicles specified for the ambulances. This decision sidelined official franchise holders like Toyota Zambia, who could have provided after-sales service and warranties.
Even more damning is the revelation that the contracts signed in June 2023 stipulated a delivery timeline of 16 to 20 weeks. By June 2024, all 156 ambulances were to be delivered, but this deadline has now been pushed to December 2024, with an additional extension requested for February 2025.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government defended the delays, claiming that meeting the contractual timeline was “impossible.” The PAC was unimpressed, particularly given that the procurement process had been framed as an emergency.
Further scrutiny reveals questionable decisions that compound the scandal. Officials from the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Health, and ZAMMSA traveled to Dubai to inspect the ambulances’ assembly. This trip, far from expediting the project, has been criticized as an unnecessary expense. Moreover, the decision to involve middlemen rather than direct manufacturers is seen as an attempt to inflate costs.
