Opinion: Petty Corruption Campaign by the Corrupt Any campaign or crusade that fails to show integrity is a corrupt denigration of intention. This is what is happening to Government’s anti corruption campaign. The Government has failed to show any commitment to a genuine fight against corruption, therefore the campaign is corrupt and doomed to fail. The investigation against Minister of Youth and Sport Chishimba Kambwili is laughable compared to more serious allegations of corruption and graft that Government has failed to investigate and prosecute. While Kambwili is being investigated for an advertisement in the press, no investigation has been undertaken to determine the irregular procurement of overpriced fuel from Trafigura. This matter has never been explained by Government in spite of demands from several sectors of society. Nothing has also been done to investigate single sourced roads and capital projects which the World Bank has discovered and reported about. The tendency to prosecute petty corruption at the expense of organized single sourcing overpriced corruption indicates a clear lack of political will to fight corruption in the country, except where it involves perceived enemies of the regime. There is no doubt that economic development can only succeed where there is good governance that proscribes and punishes all manner of corruption regardless of the station of those involved. That is why the World Bank has developed guidelines that aim at enabling Government initiate effective financial management, service delivery, investment climate, and accountability systems. Little wonder therefore that NAREP President Elias Chipimo remains staunchly unimpressed by the PF’s purported fight again corruption following the decision by the Anti-Corruption Commission to probe Honorable Chishimba Kambwili for allegedly allowing his government ministry to spend money on congratulatory messages for his personal development. He says that what the PF would like to present as a continuing example of its solid credentials in the fight against corruption is nothing more than the evidence of continuing wrangles and instability within their ranks. It must be very clear that good governance will not only foster economic opportunities but also deliver services to the poor, regulate markets and fight corruption. Government must be predictable because ground rules exist to prescribe conduct and performance is governed by regulation that can only be abrogated at the risk of severe penalties. As it stands not a single case of high level corruption has been reported apart from the few reported by the Auditor General, and yet it is common knowledge that large scale contracts especially those offered to Chinese companies are invariably single sourced. In most cases the same names are indicated as facilitators to these contracts. Conventional wisdom suggests that prosecutions will only come when power passes. However this is counterproductive as it defeats the purpose of good stewardship. Source: Daily Nation zambiareports/2014/04/11/opinion-petty-corruption-campaign-corrupt/
Posted on: Fri, 11 Apr 2014 04:39:14 +0000
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