Bob Sianjalika
18 July 2004
STATE House Deputy Minister Webby Chipili says the decision to print polymer notes was made before the current administration assumed office.
Mr Chipili was reacting to incessant attacks by Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata that the current administration ordered the printing of polymer notes.
He said in an interview yesterday Government had all the minutes of Cabinet meetings which showed the project was initiated by the previous administration.
He said Cabinet approved the project to print the notes in 2000 and all tender procedures were followed.
Mr Chipili said Mr Sata should not accuse the current administration of having authorised the printing of the polymer notes when he actually attended the Cabinet meeting which gave authority to the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) board to proceed with the project in 2001.
He advised Mr Sata to be factual when dealing with important issues such as the current polymer notes as the people of Zambia would only appreciate the truth.
"Let him be factual and avoid politicking even on important issues because we want facts on the table and not distorted information," he said.
He said it was wrong for Mr Sata to also accuse the current BoZ Governor Caleb Fundanga of being responsible for the poor quality polymer bank notes as he was not yet in office by then.
"If there were any deals over the polymer notes, Mr Sata was in Government and should know all the kick-backs that were involved," Mr Chipili said.
He acknowledged that opposition political parties were important to provide checks and balances to Government and not mislead the people.
Mr Chipili also wondered why Mr Sata still wanted to debate over the polymer notes when the company that printed them had already agreed to print new ones with a longer life span.
He explained that the fading of bank notes was not a new issue as it once happened during the reign of former President Kenneth Kaunda while the Bank of England also had a similar situation.
"The company responsible has agreed to reprint the bank notes although some members of the public should be informed that every bank note has a life span and polymer money is better," he said.
Mr Sata made a scathing attack against Government over the polymer notes at a rally in Mtendere.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2004 The Times of Zambia. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
