20100628
allafrica

Zambian President Rupiah Banda is under fire after his denunciation of international donors claiming that nobody asked them for help and that they should not blackmail Zambians.

The outburst has sparked fears more aid-providers might suspend funding.

President Banda last Friday told donors not to interfere with Zambia's internal affairs, after The Global Fund and the European Union (EU) suspended aid to Ministry of Health and road construction because of corruption in the two sectors. "We should not allow donors to feel that they can interfere in our internal affairs. This is a free, a sovereign country," President Banda said.

The US Embassy in Lusaka said it would not tolerate misuse of its taxpayers' money. "We ensure that whoever is going to be implementing our programme can meet the accountability standards that we set and that they have a track record of using this development assistance money in an efficient way," said Michael Koplovsky, US Embassy chargé d'Affaires, on Lusaka's Radio Phoenix. Opposition legislator Daglous Syakalima said President Banda's "undiplomatic" statement against donors was very dangerous because donors financed Zambia's national budget hence they had a right to demand accountability.