The principal secretary for the Ministry of Justice who is styled as Solicitor General, Alison M’bang’ombe, and the Administrator General Konjera Munde briefed members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that they have failed to trace beneficiaries of deceased estates amounting to K4 Million such that the amount is still dormant at the office of the Administrator General.
“This is a common problem because it happens that, sometimes, the person who was processing the claim has passed on and other beneficiaries are not aware that they have the benefits. Most of them are in villages,” he said.
PAC has since given the office of the Administrator General a month to furnish them with the list of all untraced beneficiaries from 2020.
The Solicitor General suggested that the Accountant General and Administrator General should engage district councils as a point of tracing the beneficiaries.
“It is our duty to make sure that they are traced and provided with the funds. Probably there is more that we can do in tracing, taking advantage of the new technology,” he said.
He also suggested PAC that the office of the Accountant General should be the custodian of the funds other than the Trust Fund, where funds are currently kept.
On his part, Chairperson for the committee Mark Botomani said there is a need to trace the beneficiaries immediately.
“We receive a lot of queries and we feel that the offices need to up their game. One thing that worries us is that, in this modern age, where technology is supposed to enhance our way of living, they are unable to trace the beneficiaries. That is worrisome,” Botomani said.
