Africa-Press – Zambia. Stakeholders in Kapiri Mposhi district have called on government to re-examine provisions allowing suspects of corruption to enter into settlement and immunity agreements to be spared from prosecution.
The stakeholders have observed that the current provisions facilitating surrender and forfeiture of assets suspected to be proceeds of crime in order to waive prosecution against suspects are a negation to the fight against corruption.
Kapiri Mposhi District Chamber of Commerce Chairperson, Benko Sichilima, noted that conditions provided for such as under Section 80 of the Anti-Corruption Act are bad laws which are subject to abuse.
During the district stakeholder’s engagement on the formulation of the revised National Anti-corruption Policy, Colonel Sichilima submitted that the provisions will continue to be used to perpetuate criminality by those in power.
“Simply put, this law is bad because why should you shield someone you even know is corrupt in the situation that they are willing to give back what they stole which they for sure don’t even give back entirely while petty thieves are jailed for a long time,” Col. Sichilima wondered.
Colonel Sichilima has however called for the strengthening of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) to thoroughly investigate and prosecute corruption related cases without political interference.
And Twikatane House of Women and Children in Africa Executive Director, Juliet Kawanda has called for programmes aimed at tackling the root causes of corruption in Zambia. According to Ms. Kawanda, the fight against corruption has been reactive.
She added that there is need for investment in efforts aimed at preventing the vice, noting that people are induced to engage in corrupt practices due to socio-economic factors.
“Let’s motivate public officers such as police officers so that they don’t get tempted to receive an inducement while on duty because their conditions of service are poor,” Ms. Kawanda said.
She further submitted that there is need to enhance and encourage automated service provision mechanisms to reduce interaction between service providers and the public to reduce corruption in the country.
Meanwhile, Kapiri Mposhi District Commissioner, Francis Hasalama said the new dawn administration has prioritised the fight against corruption and economic crimes because of the detrimental effects the vices have on national development.
Mr. Hasalama explained that the formulation of the revised National Anti-Corruption Policy is part of the efforts of strengthening the fight against corruption and economic crimes.
“Effective implementation of this framework will bolster good governance and observance of the rule of law for improved service delivery and investment that will steer the economic transformation agenda required to improve the living standards of the people,” Mr. Hasalama said. The Ministry of Justice is collecting submissions from stakeholders on the formulation of the revised National Anti-Corruption Policy.
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