No effective combat against corruption until agencies mandated to fight graft are rid of graft

By Daily Revelation Editor

In our previous edition, we carried a story where it was revealed that junior police officers who were manning the Luanshimba checkpoint between Kabwe and Kapiri Mposhi district had been removed because of corrupt practices of soliciting bribes from truckers and other motorists with a view to facilitate easy passage at the facility.

Central Province police commissioner Roy Kashimba confirmed the removal, although offering what appeared like a PR statement for the action, describing the removal as a normal practice in the operations of the Zambia Police, adding that there was nothing sinister about what the police command had done.

The problem of corruption in the police in terms of soliciting bribes and other vices is very widespread. It is not only restricted to Luanshimba checkpoint, as it is a cancer that has infected the police service in particular and Zambian society in general.

However, it becomes more worrying because the institution that is supposed to fight crime in the country is one where the vice is rife. We wonder how many vehicles carrying illegal stuff those junior thieves allowed to pass on those checkpoints. And the fact that this is widespread, we can confidently state that illegality at a scale unimaginable and difficult to account for is being proliferated in this country simply because those who are mandated to do the job have abandoned any semblance of morality required to stop the same illegality.

We wait to see what other action the police command will take against those junior officers, because just going by that response from their leaders, one can deduce that they will simply be re-assigned elsewhere where they will continue with the corruption. The response we would have expected from their leaders was a categorical statement saying that their juniors had been removed from their areas of operation because of corruption and that further action was being taken against them and that their other colleagues who were involved in the same should take this measure as a lesson to stop their illegal activities.

Corruption cannot be effectively fought in this country when institutions that are mandated to fight the vice are corrupt to the core. The end result is what we are living through in this country where people freely proclaim that “there is nothing for mahala.”

Yes, some of these brothers and sisters of ours are not well remunerated, and they try to get by, by engaging in bribery and other activities especially around areas involving vehicle checkpoints. That is one of the most lucrative areas. Therefore the issue of remuneration can be considered to enable these people to have a living wage. However, that alone will not be enough as corruption has more to do with one’s character than any other consideration. Therefore, apart from just looking into the issues of remuneration, more investment should be channeled towards the development of character in terms of re-educating our people to appreciate the very important role they play in our society.

When corruption is effectively confronted in the agencies mandated to fight the vice, it will therefore be easy for them to combat the corruption that has infected this country.

Mere political statements of ‘we have zero tolerance towards corruption’ will not work. This is something that requires consistent time, effort, resources and investment towards ensuring corrupt free institutions, which unfortunately, which we don’t see unfortunately.