Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairperson Musa Mwenye, SC has assured the nation that the commission will continue to be professional and impartial in the fight against corruption, regardless of who is involved.
And Mr. Mwenya has again advocated for a lifestyle audit for all public officers and has asked for the support of all stakeholders.
Speaking during the commemoration of International Anti-corruption Day, Mr Mwenye said the commission will continue placing emphasis on preventing corruption as well as ensuring that the corrupt individuals face the full wrath of the law and that they are deprived of the enjoyment of ill-gotten wealth.
Mr. Mwenye said Zambia need men and women of integrity in all their dealings to win the crusade against corruption.
This year the International Anti-corruption Day commemoration activities are being held under the theme: “United Nations Convention against Corruption at 20: Uniting the World against Corruption”.
Mr. Mwenye said the International Anti-corruption Day commemoration is an opportunity to reflect on the fight against corruption by stakeholders.
“This event further presents us with an opportunity to examine our individual and collective roles in the fight and to reaffirm our commitment towards reducing corruption, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets as well as develop effective, inclusive and transparent systems in institutions for the purpose of enhancing service delivery. The republic of Zambia signed the United Nations convention against corruption on 11th December, 2003 and had it ratified on 7th December, 2007. As a result of this, various legislation has been enacted and amended which specifically domesticates the provisions of the convention into the laws of Zambia. This year’s theme calls for a re-affirmation of member nations to make even more concerted efforts amongst themselves and with other stakeholders in uniting against corruption. It is clear that the efforts of one member state without collaboration from others would not yield as much success because corrupt elements do not confine their nefarious activities to their own nations,” Mr. Mwenye said.
He said Zambia has made progress in domesticating the provisions of the ratified UN convention on anti-corruption.
“The institutionalization of corruption prevention through the integrity development programme which the anti- corruption commission through its corruption prevention function commenced in 2006 with eight (8) institutions. i am glad to report that 141 integrity committees have so far been established in both public and private institutions. These integrity committees are designed to proactively deal with the triggers to corrupt practices and unethical conduct within institutions, thereby reducing opportunities for corruption in an organization. It is envisaged that even more committees of this nature will be formulated because it is now a requirement of the law,” Mr. Mwenye said.
“Members of the public are strongly encouraged to take advantage of these committees by reporting any unethical conduct by any member of staff or processes or procedures that they believe to be contributing to a lack of proper service delivery, to the members of integrity committees. The enhancement of the commission’s efforts in educating the public on the ills of corruption and enlisting their support through various sensitization programmes. Public education programmes seek to develop a culture of integrity among all members of the public whether in the private or public sector since corruption is not only a crime but is a moral issue too. This year, over 5 million Zambians were sensitised through various media platforms,” Mr. Mwenye stated.
He took advantage of the commemoration to again advocate for a lifestyle audit for all public officers.
“The continued enforcement of the law by the commission through the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of corruption in order to punish wrongdoers on the one hand and deter would be offenders on the other. In collaboration with various international organisations, a number of anti-corruption commission staff have undergone various capacity building programmes in investigations and prosecutions. The continued collaboration of the commission with other law enforcement agencies across borders and jurisdictions through mutual legal assistance. this collaboration has been in areas of extradition of suspects, evidence gathering and the exchange of information for use in investigations and in the courts of law,” Mr. Mwenye said.
“In line with the convention’s emphasis on asset recovery which is aimed at returning assets to their rightful owners, the commission has established an asset recovery unit and shifted its investigations and prosecutions focus from only conviction based forfeitures to non-conviction-based forfeitures. This strategy is aimed at recovering ill-gotten assets and to deprive criminals from enjoying illicit proceeds of crime. This strategy further is in line with the government’s pronouncements of recovery of assets illicitly acquired for the benefit of Zambians. The approach is already yielding positive results as witnessed recently with the handover to government of forfeited money that was then used for student scholarships and bursaries in universities. The commission will therefore not relent in its efforts of recovery of stolen assets that belong to the Zambian people. It is in this regard that I wish to take advantage of this forum to again advocate for a lifestyle audit for all public officers and ask for the support of all stakeholders in this call,” he said.
Mr. Mwenye concluded:”I wish to assure you and the nation at large that the anti-corruption commission will continue to be professional and impartial in the fight against corruption, regardless of who is involved. The commission will continue placing emphasis on preventing corruption as well as ensuring that the corrupt individuals face the full wrath of the law and that they are deprived of the enjoyment of ill-gotten wealth. If we are to win this war as a nation, we all need to be men and women of integrity in all our dealings, collaborate effectively and resist engaging in corrupt practices corruption free Zambia begins with you and me.”