•PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu (left) shares a light moment with African Parliamentarian Network Against Corruption chairperson, UPND Choma Central Member of Parliament Cornelius Mweetwa (right) and UNDP country director Martim Faria e Maya (centre) at Government Complex during commemoration of the International Anti-Corruption Day in Lusaka yesterday. Picture by SALIM HENRY/STATE HOUSE
By JAMES KUNDA –
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has directed the Anti-Corruption Commission to ensure whistle-blowers exposing corrupt individuals are protected so that more perpetrators of the vice are arrested.
President Lungu said whistle-blowers need not be victimised when they expose anyone engaging in corruption.
Mr Lungu was speaking in Lusaka yesterday when he graced the commemoration of the International Anti-corruption Day under the theme ‘Break the corruption chain’.
It was the first time that a sitting Head of State graced the International Anti-corruption Day commemoration.
“We need to protect the whistle-blowers if we are to achieve victory in the fight against corruption.
“These people help us with information and when they come to you (ACC) with evidence on corruption, ensure that they are protected,” he said.
Mr Lungu implored the nation to break the corruption chain and stand up for justice by exposing corrupt acts in communities and workplaces.
He said people should report any such incidences to relevant authorities dealing with corruption.
The President reaffirmed the warning that his Government would not shield anyone serving in public office once found guilty of corruption.
He said he did not subscribe to making public pronouncements on anti-corruption because he understood that graft was a serious matter which should be left to professional institutions to handle without undue influence.
“It is in this regard that I urge the ACC to always remain vigilant so that it can resist overt and covert attempts by some people who seek to use this important organ of our governance as an instrument to settle scores.
“The ACC is too important an institution to be left to merchants of malice and it must not be used by lynch mobs whose intentions are less than noble,” he said.
Mr Lungu said as the Government was undertaking various infrastructure developments in all parts of the country, public officials and contractors should not siphon off resources intended for the projects.
He directed all public institutions that were yet to create integrity committees to do so as this was now a requirement following the launch of the National Anti-Corruption Policy (NACP) in 2009.
President Lungu also announced that 70 civil society organisations countrywide had been empowered financially to enhance public awareness on corruption.
ACC chairperson Timothy Kabalata said the institution had made headway in reducing corruption cases, and that had been done by increasing public awareness on exposing those found guilty of corruption.
Justice Kabalata said it was incumbent upon the institution that the nation worked as a collective unit in addressing the scourge.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country director Martim Faria e Maya said his organisation was happy with the Government’s zero-tolerance stance on corruption.
“In as much as this is gratifying, let me state that the fight against corruption requires the efforst of all citizens as concerned parties.
“UNPD will in this regard continue to support Zambia with an institutional capacity building framework that will assist in fighting corruption,” Mr Faria e Maya said.
Transparency International Zambia president Lee Habasonda said there was need for anti-corruption activists in Zambia to unite and work towards the common agenda of eliminating graft.
African Parliamentarian Network Against Corruption chairperson Cornelius Mweetwa urged the Government to expedite the tabling of the Access to Information Bill in Parliament so that erring public office bearers could be exposed.
