Patriotic Front (PF) Acting President Given Lubinda says government should question what Minister of Technology and Science Felix Mutati knows about the FTJ University project, as he was a minster in the PF government when the project was approved. Mutati has been implicated in the FTJ University project saga involving US$33 million.
Mutati has since come out to deny and provided evidence that he was not finance minister at the time but his statement has not clarified if he had not backed or overseen the payment approval as the payments were made few weeks from the time he was demoted.
When contacted by the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Mutati said he could not comment on the matter at that particular time as he was in the middle of a meeting but efforts to speak to the minister again proved futile by press time.
Mutati said “Why don’t we have that conversation a little later, remember I said I am chairing a meeting just now”.
During a Press Briefing on Thursday, monitored by the ZBT, Lubinda stated that the contract commenced during the time when Felix Mutati was Minister of Finance in the PF government therefore the minister should be able to explain what transpired because the Ministry of Finance is responsible for disbursement of funds.
Lubinda said the then Minister of Finance Mutati, should go to cabinet and explain what transpired but he is behaving as though he doesn’t have the information on his fingertips.
“The minister of finance who was there at the time when this contract was being entered into is fortunately part of the current cabinet, Felix Mutati was Minister of Finance in 2016, he was Minister of Finance in 2018, he stopped being Minister of Finance in 2018 when he was moved to Ministry of Works and Supply”, he said.
