Matambo and alleged bribery by some Mopani officials

By Daily Revelation Editor

Copperbelt minister Elisha Matambo says the government is investigating some Mopani Copper Mines officials for allegedly collecting money from job seekers.

Matambo said such “nonsense” should not be tolerated because his administration worked hard to get the mine up and running and people should not be made to pay in order to have a chance at getting employed.

We commend Matambo for being so forthright in denouncing the alleged bribery and we shall support him to ensure that the culprits are brought to book.

But what Matambo is denouncing is something that has generally become cancerous in this country. Such is not only happening at Mopani as alleged by the minister, but everywhere in most companies, where a lot of demands are placed on job seekers to pay money to some would be employer, while others go to the extent of demanding for sex from female applicants in order for them to be offered jobs.

We all have to admit that this is the stupid culture we have allowed for ourselves where demanding for payments from needy people to access employment or services has been normalised. We have normalised this moral sewer and we now consider bribery as part of our everyday life.

Nowadays, people cannot even do any act of humanity without demanding for some payment in kind.

But there is something people like Matambo can actually do to advocate for the return to a culture that is upright; a culture that is corrupt-free. His focus must not only end at denouncing the wrongs he is seeing at Mopani, but should use that to come to a realisation that he is working as a leader in a society that has been culturally damaged. This society requires him to use his leadership position to advance just causes as a member of parliament and minister. He must realise that he’s serving in a society where corruption has become endemic, and where bribes and all sorts of nichekeleko are now part of normal everyday life.

What this country needs is a true fight against all forms of corruption, where the fight against corruption will permeat all the levels of society down to the very grassroots. For instance, we may not claim that late president Levy Mwanawasa managed to eradicate corruption in the country, but at least society appreciated his efforts so much so that individuals, government, public institutions and those in the private sector – all started coming up with integrity committees in their work places. If the same effort had been carried forth by successive administrations, it would go a long way in terms of entrenching an anti-corruption mindset in this country.

It is therefore not too late for Matambo and his colleagues in government to set along that path. They must get to a realisation that they can play a huge role towards achieving a corrupt-free society using their leadership positions in a manner that renders credence to the fight against graft. When a leader is committed to certain ideals, it won’t be long before society adjusts to them. Society usually adjusts to the pace set by its leaders. If a leader is firmly committed to the fight against corruption, society will adjust to that. And if a leader is just posturing and pretending to fight corruption, society will adjust to that too, and corruption in such a society will even worsen further.

The nation has been through various leaderships since independence, and we all saw how generations of Zambians adjusted to very specific leaders on corruption, especially those who led the country for longer periods: from Dr Kenneth Kaunda through to the other presidents. At one point the nation was known for the leadership code, at other points the advent of brown envelopes enveloped the country etc.