Ba ACC, why mu vichitilamo?

AS FAR as the fight against corruption is concerned, about three weeks ago President HH had promised a bombshell – to reveal how those in the previous administration robbed the nation in broad daylight and emptied its coffers.

He is yet to drop the bombshell.

And when he addressed Zambians living in the United Kingdom last week, he assured his audience that “the corruption and asset recovery fight is in full gear. Soon results will begin to show.”

But what we have seen the past week, instead, is the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) firing blanks; seemingly groping in the dark to glean for evidence of crime.

Clearly there is a mismatch between the huge pronouncements the President is making publicly about the fight against corruption and what appears to be happening on the ground.

Perhaps someone must remind the President that one cannot drive a car in full gear when one wheel is coming off.

Yes, one would have thought that once the ACC knocks on your door, they would already have determined the case and weighed their evidence.

But what we have so far witnessed is the ACC seemingly working in reverse.

By all means, the ACC should only transact in hard evidence, anything beside that should be left to the gossip columns.

Usually, when hit with hard evidence, suspects either run away or corporate with law enforcers, they don’t squeal and kick.

The ACC must be beyond reproach in order to rally the public behind them. That is not happening.

Right now, the public’s confidence in the ACC is waning and reflecting badly on the President, who has turned himself into a crusader against the vice.

Besides, there are many people out there who think they might have some information to help reign in those who might have stolen public resources, but with such mishandling of cases, they will be reluctant to come forth to proffer information.
And please, please ACC, don’t forget that the public is still trying to rebuild their trust and confidence after the Faith debacle, and many other debacles before that.

When many citizens see grand corruption whichever direction they look, it doesn't give much hope when the ACC turn on a chase only to return empty-handed.
What citizens keep seeing are screaming headlines about big arrests, but the big arrests don’t result in any big trials. Definitely something is wrong somewhere.

And the danger of mishandling these cases is that those who are accused of crimes will soon gain public sympathy simply because the crimes they are accused of cannot be proved.

And any prosecution will then be seen as persecution.

And, yes, arresting someone on insufficient evidence is tantamount to victimisation.

The President needs to harmonize his vision in the fight against corruption and that of the investigative agencies, although fundamentally they are autonomous bodies that should operate without his influence or indeed interference.

There's so much at stake both politically and economically. There is also donor confidence to regain and capitalize on once WE win this fight.

I emphasize “we” because the fight against corruption is not the President’s alone, much as he has placed himself in the saddle.

We should not make this fight about the President versus the clique of thieves (and let all the thieves get upset all they want).

Remember that it is the desire to end corruption that caused thousands of citizens to wake up in the small hours of August 12 and endure long hours on queues to cast their votes.

And it is not necessarily about recovering what they stole, but seeking justice over what we lost as a nation.

It is about justice for that child whose future was robbed because one greedy individual wanted to build a mansion or take a shopping trip to Dubai; it is about justice for a woman who died because the only drugs available at a clinic were expired.

What about those who used defective condoms and now have to live with an incurable disease?

Some are no longer with us to demand justice for themselves, but we are here.

That is why asset recovery in itself does not quite equate justice.

For as long as those accused of defrauding the nation still answer to the title “Honourable” or walk our streets, this fight will be without victory.

The ACC, therefore, owe it to the public to win this battle.

They must do the right thing for the sake of those who suffered from this evil.

We have a long way to go, and our start so far doesn't give a lot of hope.

With a score of 33 out of 100 on the Transparency International corruption perception index, Zambia’s corruption has become endemic.
And you know corruption is endemic when, in a place of pain, sadness, sorrow and death such as the UTH, one can freely ask for a bribe in order to carry out a blood test or do a scan for a patient.

This foreplay has lasted long enough, let's get down with the real thing!

 

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