Msoni shocked, govt has failed to pay US$42M for MSL drugs

The opposition All People’s Congress (APC) is shocked by reports suggesting government has failed to pay US$42 Million owed to suppliers of medicine to Medical Stores Limited (MSL).

APC President Nason Msoni says it does not make sense for government to fail to pay such a small amount of money when it has been issuing Eurobonds involving huge sums of money.

Mr Msoni says his party is left to wonder where government is taking the money it is borrowing through the issuance of Eurobonds when it is failing to fund areas that benefit the broad section of the Zambian people.

Nason Msoni

Mr. Msoni has questioned government why it wants to be running public health institutions such as hospitals without simple basic drugs.

He states that his party does not think this is how government should be run.

Mr. Msoni has argued that as far as his party is concerned, the idea of a government is to live up to the needs of the people and that if a government is failing to meet this obligation it must be voted out at the earliest opportune time.

He says to this effect, his party is challenging the PF government to give a breakdown of the expenditure of the recently issued US$1.25 Billion Eurobond.

And Mr. Msoni has described as appalling government’s decision to increase the floor price for maize by only K5 from the initial K70 to K75 for 50kg bag.

Mr. Msoni believes that such an increase does not reflect any nature of seriousness on the part of government.

He says by making such a small adjustment, government is in fact driving farmers into poverty because the K75 maize floor price it has set will be swallowed by costs farmers incur.

Mr. Msoni notes it would have made economical sense if government tasked the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to buy maize from farmers at a minimal price of K100 per 50kg.