Zambians now deserve true corruption fight

By Daily Revelation Editor

And so after a prolonged scorched earth fight between the Musa Mwenye led Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Board and their director general Thom Shamakamba, the latter resigned yesterday with President Hakainde Hichilema accepting his decision to step down.

In essence, we can safely say that the position Thom and Hakainde found themselves in was untenable, given the many allegations of failure by the former to discharge his functions, from failing to pursue government officials accused of corruption, to entering into questionable immunities with former or serving government leaders who were under ACC investigations. The board had literally expressed a vote of no confidence in their DG, to the extent that the frustrations against the President to act were now simmering into public view.

Surely, Hakainde was not going to be a President that was going to preside over an institution that was so deeply divided within itself, especially when he continuously pronounces himself as someone who does not tolerate corruption.

And so Thom is gone now. We hope that the fight against graft will receive new vigour in terms of living up to the Presidents proclamations that the fight does not have a face, and his administration would fight past, present and future corruption. What the nation was beginning to witness was a corruption fight that focused on the leaders who served in the PF administration. Some could rightly argue that it was fast becoming a vindictive fight aimed at punishing political opponents and scoring political points.

As ACC board member Dr O’Brien Kaaba has correctly observed, the strong anti-corruption fight Hakainde launched when he ascended to Presidency had ebbed off and lost traction. 

Dr Kaaba observed that there were three areas of vulnerability, which the President needed to urgently attend to if the fight has to be resuscitated, look credible and gain traction.”

He noted that State Chambers were in the forefront of looting and facilitating corruption, and that this had put all law enforcement agencies in an awkward situation as state chambers ought to be an ally in fighting corruption. 

“No serious crusade against corruption can yield fruits when the heart of the legal machinery for government is contaminated. The level of corruption is sickening, to the extent that state chambers are the ones looking for litigants to sue the government and pre-agree to settle or enter consent orders involving huge sums of money,” Dr Kaaba stated. “The scheme has been perfected to the extent that some orders are now signed using judges outside Lusaka to avoid public scrutiny and media attention in Lusaka. The president needs to do two things: a) dismiss his senior legal advisors and b) either set up a commission of inquiry or authorize a special audit into all the high value payments authorized by state chambers in the last three years.”

These are some of the valid observations Kaaba has raised. We hope that going forward, all the corruption, past, present and future, will be fought wholesomely, regardless of the position one holds. If anything, Hakainde too must open up himself to more scrutiny, especially in the area of opening himself up to more public scrutiny in the declaration of his assets.

And we hope, Hakainde will involve the board in identifying a new director general to avoid the challenges experienced with Thom. Beyond that, Hakainde must actively work towards giving the investigative agencies proper tools to fight corruption in this country, including amending the laws so that they should become truly independent.