Africa-Press – Zambia. Inspector General of Police Lemmy Kajoba says the Zambia Police needs to change the narrative in the public sphere that it is one of the most corrupt government institutions.
Mr. Kajoba says the President has been consistent in his pronouncements that his government will take “a zero tolerance” approach to corruption and has cautioned police officers to avoid engaging themselves in acts of corruption in their discharge of duty.
The inspector general reminded all police officers of the core values of integrity, transparency, patriotism, excellency and accountability, which are enshrined in the institutional code of ethics, to promote the institution’s professional aspirations for improved performance.
“It is in the public sphere that the Zambia Police Service is perceived to be one of the most corrupt government intuitions,” he said.
“We therefore, need to change this narrative through transformation of individual attitude towards work and adopt the route of professionalism, especially that ours is a law enforcement agency,” he stated.
Mr. Kajoba highlighted the traffic section, security checkpoints and inquiries offices as areas of concern when it comes to corruption in the Zambia Police Service.
He spelt out interim measures that have been put in place to redeem the name of the police Service and restore public confidence in the institution. “My command will deploy secret agents in various points of duty with the aim of monitoring compliance to this directive,” Mr Kajoba said.
“All erring officers will meet stern action” he emphasised.
Meanwhile, the IG has urged members of the public to also take part in stamping out corruption in the country by avoiding bribing officers whenever they come in conflict with the law.
He has further appealed to members of the public to report any officer found indulging in corrupt practices to their supervisors or institutions mandated to deal with corruption such as the Anti-corruption commission. This is contained in a statement issued to the media in yesterday, by Inspector General of Police Lemmy Kajoba.
