Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary Thabo Kawana says the government will not discriminate against contract bidders based on the location of their businesses.
Kawana has expressed the government’s dismay that a tender awarded to a Garden Compound-based bidder for the procurement of ambulances has recently been termed a scandal by some media and members of the public.
Speaking at a joint press briefing with the Ministry of Local Government and ZAMMSA today in Lusaka, Kawana said the government does not discriminate against the location of citizens as it provides equal business opportunities to all.
“First and foremost, we wish to place on record that, as the Government, we do not look down on, or discriminate against, any of our citizens based on the compounds in which they live or conduct businesses,” Kawana told the press.
He condemned the disparaging remarks made against the tender awarded to the said company in the procurement ambulances.
“We, therefore, find it disheartening that a tender to supply ambulances has been termed a scandal merely for being partially awarded to a company based in Garden Compound.”
Kawana described the remarks made against the tender as a show of lack of respect for Zambian citizens who reside or conduct their businesses in low-cost areas.
“We find this to be an insult to the dignity of the Zambian masses living or conducting businesses in compounds and we distance ourselves from such an insult,” he said.
He further reiterated the government’s stance on ensuring that equal opportunities are provided to all citizens regardless of their social status.
“As the government, we will continue providing opportunities to all citizens, regardless of where they live or conduct their lawful businesses within the Republic,” he said.
Kawana was reacting to a concern raised by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the account that one of the companies contracted to supply half of the 156 ambulances under CDF is a pharmacy located in Lusaka’s Garden Compound.
