Shamakamba ignoring ACC board

By Daily Revelation Editor

The ACC board has repeatedly passed resolutions to pursue and finalise investigations that are said to have been ignored by the commission’s director general Thom Shamakamba, against Copperbelt minister Elisha Matambo, Information permanent secretary Thabo Kawana, Central Province permanent secretary Milner Mwanakampwe and Solicitor General Marshal Muchende among others.

Before assuming office and on coming to office, especially on in his presidency, President Hakainde Hichilema promised that he was going to fight past, present and future corruption, that there would be no sacred cow in this fight.

We are not accusing the government officials who are being mentioned of being guilty of corruption. In fact there is a possibility that they may even be cleared if thorough and fair investigations were conducted. However, credible information received from impeccable sources within the investigative agencies indicates that these probes have literally stalled, that there is actually no action being taken on them, with files packed on the shelves and gathering dust if not thrown in the dustbin entirely.

This is totally different with how swift the ACC has dealt with cases involving former leaders, particularly those who served in the PF administration and those who have fallen out of favour with the administration.

This is not how to fight corruption in the country. In fact, failure to move on the cases involving government officials might actually do more harm to those who have been accused in that if they are innocent, society will continue to move with the mindset that they are corrupt, just for the fact that they have been mentioned to be under investigation by the ACC. If the ACC has tried to pursue the cases for instance against the said individuals and others, why not just come out to state that they have found nothing against them so that they are cleared? One of those to have been fired on account of alleged corruption, Dr George Magwende for instance, has pleaded with the ACC to clear him saying he carries a heavy weight of being accused to be corrupt every day just on account that he was fired over alleged corruption and ACC announced they were investigating him.

As for the UPND administration, if indeed you are serious about fighting corruption, why don’t you put in the necessary framework to ensure you achieve your goals?

State Counsel Wynter Kabimba says there is a lacuna in the law which has created a functional problem saying while board can resolve they have no power to direct the DG.

He said besides that, the DG was not appointed by the board but the President, therefore the supervisory role of the board on the DG was very limited.

Kabimba said all these were issues that could have been resolved under the Legal and Justice Reforms Commission which was set up by late president Michael Sata, which was aimed at streamlining the relationship of the heads in these investigating agencies and the supervisory organs of those institutions.

Why doesn’t the UPND administration take up some of these noble ideas in order to strengthen the oversight role of these institutions, if they are indeed serious about fighting corruption, rather than appointing lame-duck boards just there in name without any meaningful role in terms of administering these important state institutions?