The University of Zambia (UNZA) has refuted as false the published innuendos alleged to be contained in a preliminary audit report authored by the Office of the Auditor General for an on-going audit process conducted for the period 2015 to 2018.
The University said that these media publications are based on false and malicious allegations aimed at discrediting and damaging the reputation of the institution.
The media reports insinuate that the University Management engages itself in illegal activities by suggesting that the institution has been paying salary increments that have not been approved.
UNZA Head of Communication and Marketing Brenda Bukowa said the reports also insinuate that the university has no systems that guard against its core business of managing examinations with integrity.
Ms Bukowa said it is true that an audit was conducted by the Office of the Auditor General in the stated period above, this audit exercise has not come to a conclusion based on laid down procedures as provided for by the law.
“UNZA Management is therefore appalled that media institutions could be publishing unverified reports based on an ongoing exercise. Management finds this impunity not only misleading but also a deliberate ploy to incite members of the general public to garner an uproar against the management team at the University of Zambia, a team that has worked tirelessly to uphold the integrity of the institution which it manages as a trust on behalf of the people of the Republic of Zambia,” she said.
She has urged the public to rebuke with the contempt it deserves, the invalid media publications regarding illegal salary increments and dubious changes to student results alleged to have been in an audit report undertaken by the Office of the Auditor General.
Ms Bukowa has appealed to Journalists to practice high levels of professionalism in their conduct as they execute their noble profession of journalism.
