By Isaac Zulu
Major Ben Phiri says syphoners of public money have cause to worry following the appointment of Mary Chirwa as head of the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC).
In a statement to Daily Revelation, Maj Phiri charged that plunderers of natural resources and syphoners of public money have cause to worry because the UPND administration has demonstrated commitment to fight graft.
“With Mary Chirwa at zenith of the Drug Enforcement Commission, serial plunderers of our natural resources, habitual syphoners of public money have cause to worry because this time around, there will be no sacred cows and whatever needs to be done to get to all suspects will be put in unstoppable motion. Mary Chirwa’s appointment and subsequent swearing in as the Drug Enforcement Commission’s boss signals the start of a pragmatic and serious fight against corruption of all those involved in graft irrespective of the position held in retrospect,” Major Phiri stated. “Mary Chirwa’s astute and robust approach to societal evils in the area of economic and financial crimes can never be contested considering how energetically she navigated the cases at the Financial Intelligence Centre, where she served as the respotory of all managerial and administrative functions as director.”
He further pointed out that the fight against corruption is a collective responsibility.
“Let us all collectively invoke our patriotism instincts as Zambians by cooperating with the Drug Enforcement Commission whenever called upon to do so, as the fight against corruption is essentially for all of us for the ultimate of all Zambians,” Major Phiri stated. “The money saved in corruption fight will go towards the implementation of the free education concept, a sustainable disbursement of the increased Constituency Development Fund, availing affordable fertilisers to the rural based farmers; thereby assuring the nation of food security, continued reduction in fuel prices, etcetera.”
He charged that the PF government embraced corruption like a requisite ritual.
“In the last seven years no seriousness was shown in stemming the corruption vice and the unsavory practice became a norm which was embraced as a requisite ritual by the Edgar Lungu led Paya Farmer (PF) administration,” stated Major Phiri, who is also former Luapula Province permanent secretary. “Our expectation is that all corruption related cases that received lacklustre approach in the past will be ferociously pursued and all culprits brought to book so that, for once, Zambians can migrate to a hitherto elusive phase of assurance that never will our public resources pillaged as the reported of the infamous overpriced US$1 million each fire tenders, expired condoms and drugs, inflated prices of fertilisers, highly suspicious E-voucher, debt swap, etcetera.
