Ex-PS, 13 others arrested

Ex-PS, 13 others arrested BY ADRIAN MWANZA  FORMER Southern Province Permanent Secretary Sibanze Simuchoba and 13 other officials at the Provincial Administration have been arrested for wilfulfailure to follow procedure and fraudulent false accounting involving over K623, 000 contrary to the Laws of Zambia. Mr Sibanze, 66, of House No. 19 Ngwerere Road, Roma, Lusaka, together with Enoch Kashweka, 57 a former Principle Accountant, and Linda Siwale, a Chief Planner at the Choma Provincial Administration had been jointly charged with one count of Wilful failure to follow Procedure contrary to Section 34 (2)(b) of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012.  But when contacted for a comment Mr Simuchoba said that he could not comment over the matter since it was still in court. Meanwhile ACC said that Mr Simuchoba with the two others wilfully failed to follow applicable procedure in the manner they authorized transfer of funds from a named account without written approval from the Secretary to the Treasury.  ACC corporate affairs officer Jonathan Siame said   Simuchoba and  Kashwekahad also been charged with another count of wilful failure to follow procedure   in the manner they authorised transfer of funds from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) relief account to another account without written approval from the Secretary to the Treasury. ‘’Meanwhile, 11 other officials from the Choma Provincial Administration and various Ministries have been arrested for fraudulent false accounting contrary to Section 326 of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia,’’ he said.  Mr Siame said the 11 had each been charged with one count of fraudulent false accounting for falsifying retirement entries of various amounts of money paid as imprest, purporting to have travelled to various districts in Southern Province when they did not in fact travel, a matter which concerns the provincial Administration, a public body. He said the 11 officials included Mr Hameja Muzoka, an accountant, Mr. MuyanoMwanang’ombe, senior accountant at the Ministry of Health, Mr Cheelo Chiyanika, senior accountant at the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection, and Mr. Brighton Mutokola, an accountant at the Provincial Administration.