29 Nov 2016

 Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Kenneth Matambo says he is aware that some ministries are still failing to pay contractors or suppliers on time.

Responding to a question in Parliament, Mr Matambo said his ministry as a paying agent for government has made available to all ministries the generic standards for payments for goods and services procured by government.

He said all suppliers of goods and services are to be paid within 10 working days from date of receipt of invoices, adding that request for payments are processed by his ministry within the stipulated generic standards.

The minister said payments through Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) are processed within 48 hours upon receipt of payment vouchers by Accountant General and upon request, payments of high value amounts of P1 million and above are processed through Real Time Gross Settlements (RTGS) within 2hrs.

He said it is also the responsibility of the Accounting Officer to take appropriate action against official who delay payments to contractors or suppliers as provided for in the Government Financial Instructions.

MP for Francistown East, Mr Buti Billy had asked the minister if he was aware that some ministries were still struggling to pay contractors/suppliers on time which was against government policy.

MP Billy had also asked the minister what his Ministry was doing to address the problem of late payments and what action was taken against officials who ignore the law.ENDS