By Agness Changala
Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) has cautioned the government on the desire to expedite disposing of cases of corruption, saying it should not be at the expense of affecting the due diligence and quality of investigations that inevitably need to take place in prosecuting those cases.
And TIZ has commended the President’s statement that cases of corruption will be tried and concluded in five months saying the organization will wait to see it’s actualization
Last week during an end of year Press Conference which was held in Lusaka, President Hakainde Hichilema said he had signed two pieces of legislation that will enable the government to try and conclude corruption cases within five months.
President Hichilema said if one engages in corruption, they won’t have to wait for many years for their matter to be concluded.
“I know there were some who were buying time and were even celebrating that we will wait. We will delay until after 2026, alebwelelapo and they will allow us to continue. There is no alebwelelapo. No alebwelelapo. There is nothing like that. There is no waiting, that’s the point I am making,” he said. There is no waiting for alebwelelapo. You will be tried now within five months and the case will close,” he said.
And TIZ said it will anxiously wait to see if the President’s commitment will indeed come to pass.
TIZ executive director Maurice Nyambe said there was no doubt that corruption cases had been known to notoriously drag, and over time, the evidence got adulterated and could lead to failure to secure convictions.
Nyambe said anything that could contribute to the expediting of these cases can only be a welcome development.
“We commend the statement by the President, although we will wait to see its actualization. There is no doubt that corruption cases have been known to notoriously drag, and over time, the evidence gets adulterated and could lead to failure to secure convictions,” Nyambe said. “Anything that could contribute to the expediting of these cases can only be a welcome development, so we will anxiously wait to see if the President’s commitment will indeed come to pass. We however, also wish to caution that the desire to expedite cases should not be at the expense of affecting the due diligence and quality of investigations that inevitably need to take place in prosecuting those cases.”
At the same function, President Hichilema said the government was also focused on asset recoveries saying there is value in it.
He said in doing so, there is deterrence and asset recovery.
President Hichilema said the government had put in a mechanism to have a proper asset manager so that the properties being recovered do not go to waste.
“We want them to gain value. To gain income. Luckily some of them are occupied already and have rental income. That’s your money,” said President Hichilema.
