By STEVEN ZANDE –

.Kampyongo

HOME Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo has urged Zambians to stop offering bribes to public officers to help end corruption by civil servants.
Mr Kampyongo said every Zambian had a duty to shun practices like encouraging public officers to accept bribes because this undermined the country’s moral fiber and denied the Treasury the much needed revenue.
“Addressing and ending corruption, thefts and nepotism in our public sphere is, therefore, the duty of all of us, regardless of our station in life,” the minister said.
He said this at Chelston Police Station in Lusaka yesterday when he launched the Zambia Police direct deposit system, an initiative which entails that all people charged by police should pay their fines at banks and therefore reduce police contact with money paid for fees and fines.
Mr Kampyongo said it was unheard of for police officers to follow people requesting for a bribes but this resulted from motorists with challenges like a faulty vehicle who bribed officers and this fueled corruption.
He expressed confidence that the direct deposit system would enhance accountability and transparency in handling non-tax revenue which was collected by Zambia Police Service and this would further enhance public confidence in police officers.
Mr Kampyongo directed Zambia Police to ensure front-line officers in handling the facility were adequately trained to avoid revenue loss and guarantee an effective and efficient system.
The new technologies and innovations being implemented should not inconvenience the public and the system should be easy to use and faster hence the need for close cooperation between police and financial institutions to ensure the initiative effectively served the people.
Mr Kampyongo praised Zambia Police for taking a lead in heeding President Edgar Lungu’s call for public institutions to take advantage of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) to improve their operations.
Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja said the new system which was in line with Government aspirations to achieve e-governance would help police curb cases of delayed banking that had brought officers in conflict with the law.
Mr Kanganja said when introducing the project there were challenges like poor compliance levels in the public, banks being closed on holidays but this could not outweigh long-term of the system hence people should comply as refusal to comply was a criminal offence.
Investrust Bank chief executive officer Simangolwa Shakalima said the bank would support the initiative which would help support Zambia’s economic growth projections.