The Zambia Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has arrested Joseph Ngulube, Quantity Surveyor in the construction of the FTJ University for fraudulent facilitation of payment.
Timothy Moono, ACC Chief Corporate Affairs Officer said The 53-year-old Mr Ngulube has been arrested and charged with one count of fraudulent facilitation of payment contrary to section 34 (2) (a) as read together with section 40(2) of the Anti-Corruption Act No.3 of 2012.
As the Quantity Surveyor at the Ministry of General Education and part of the Project Management team for the construction of FTJ Chiluba University, Mr Ngulube fraudulently facilitated a payment to China Energy Engineering Group-Hunan Electric Power Design Institute Company Limited by signing and issuing an Interim Payment Certificate Number 2 valued at Over 29 Million United States Dollars.
He said the USD29 Million was inflated by a sum of over 7.5 Million United States Dollars for goods purportedly supplied when in fact not.
Mr Moono said Mr Ngulube has been jointly charged with Joseph Phiri Architect at the Ministry of Higher Education, who was recently arrested for a similar offence.
“Mr Ngulube has since been detained at Ridgeway Police Station and will appear in court tomorrow. In this matter involving the construction of the FTJ University, the Commission has also arrested former Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba, and two former Permanent Secretaries at the Ministry of Higher Education Mr Owen Mgemezulu and Dr Nkanza,” Mr Moono said.
Meanwhile, only two days after Dr Edouard Ngirente, Rwanda’s Prime Minister said that the political will to enhance transparency and accountability are key factors to implementing the zero-tolerance approach against corruption in Rwanda, Edouard Bamporiki, the former State Minister of Youth and Culture was suspended from the cabinet and placed under house arrest amid serious corruption charges. Just a day after his arrest, admitted on Twitter that he had indeed committed a crime of corruption and he pleaded with the President to forgive him.
