Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Over 80 civil servants were undergoing disciplinary action for fraud relating to the use of public funds as of late December 2018.
Secretary to Cabinet Roland Msiska says some of the disciplinary processes, which have resulted in a number of job loss in the public service, were accumulations from previous years.
Dr. Msiska has disclosed that as far as accountability is concerned, especially in financial prudence, government has thus made tremendous achievements.
He tells QTV News that through the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), government has been able to identify wrongdoers, fire them and recover part of the lost public funds.
Dr. Msiska states that this does not however mean that in 2018 civil servants suddenly became corrupt.
He explains that the increased number of civil servants placed under disciplinary measures is actually as a result of the new systems government has put in place.
The Secretary to the Cabinet states that with the new ICT system it is very easy now for government to detect any fraud or misappropriation of public resources.
He says this also explains why the size of the 2017 Auditor General’s report published in 2018 was considerably smaller than previous reports.
Dr. Msiska notes that in addition to the use of the ICT system, government is also applying the Public Finance Management Act to the latter to ensure that public funds are used to be best ability.
He says to this effect the audit in the use of the Social Cash Transfer funds is almost complete and that some individuals are being identified and taken through disciplinary processes.