CORRUPTION FIGHT RHETORIC – NYIRENDA

By Lumbiwe Mwanza

THE Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) must stop the fight against corruption if there is nothing else to do so that we focus on other developmental issues other than making pronouncements that do not seem to yield any tangible result, Operation Young Vote (OYV) Executive Director Guess Nyirenda has said.

During the official opening of the First Session of the 19th National Assembly, President Hakainde Hichilema reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to eradicate corruption saying his administration had a zero-tolerance policy on all forms of corruption.

But speaking to The Scoop, Mr. Nyirenda said that as much as President Hakainde Hichilema had shown the desire to eradicate corruption and ensure that there were no sacred cows, the fight against corruption seemed not inspiring enough.

He said to enhance transparency and accountability in national affairs, there was a need for proper implementation of pronounced strategies such as the review of policies and legal framework for oversight institutions to enable them to effectively fight corruption and economic crimes.

“The Government should be able to fight corruption without looking at faces and tribes. If a person is corrupt, they need to be dealt with. There are some people who feel that they are not being prosecuted but being persecuted and it is having a dent on the fight against corruption,” Mr. Nyirenda said.

He said that if people continue perceiving the fight against corruption in this manner, then Zambia risked not making any progress in the fight against scourge.

“We keep seeing also the issue of political affiliation having a toll on the fight against corruption. We saw in the issue of the sugilite that some involved individuals that seemed to side with the ruling party had their cases dragging. If there is nothing to fight about in terms of corruption, it is better we fold our arms and look at other developmental issues. The fight should not be rhetoric,” he said.

He said that it was important that what was said by the Head of State in Parliament came to fruition.

He insisted that the fruition of the pronounced measures would mean that institutions with the mandate to curb corruption operated independently.