CHIEF Justice Irene Mambilima has urged accountants and other professionals in Zambia to make themselves active participants in the social and economic development of the country including politics.
Ms Justice Mambilima also called upon the public to report all people holding out as accountants to the relevant authorities to help rid the country of rogue accountants who always work to deter development.
She said this at AVANI Victoria Falls Hotel yesterday in a speech read for her by Supreme Court Judge Michael Musonda during the official opening of the joint annual business conference hosted by Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZICA) and Chartered Institute of ManagementAccountants (CIMA).
The conference, which has attracted accounting experts across Zambia and other international speaker, is being held under the theme “Leadership and Governance: Drivers to a First World Zambia”.
Ms Justice said it was sad to note that not many chartered accountants threw their hats in the ring at the just ended General Elections held in the country.
“Unfortunately, many professionals avoid participating in politics saying it is a dirty game.
“But the tragedy of all this is that the people making the political field dirty have over-subscribed and accountants may find the space taken by others.
“Little or nothing will be achieved unless accountants rise to the occasion and take up their rightful role in Zambia’s development,” Ms Justice Mambilima said.
Ms Justice Mambilima said Zambia had massive business opportunities but the opportunities had eluded the country’s attainment of desirable growth because accountability was still lacking in many sectors of the economy starting from the household level to the national level.
Unfortunately, many professionals avoid participating in politics saying it is a dirty game.
She also urged all professionals including accountants, to look beyond employment and become employers of labour and capital.
“You are accountants, but entrepreneurship is important to you and should therefore be embraced.
“There is no country that I know that has developed without a strong middle class. When more people are employed, the middleclass (the accountant) will be contributing directly towards poverty reduction measures.
“In turn when more households are financially empowered, government will realise more tax revenue to finance various development programmes of the country,” Ms Justice Mambilima said.
And Ms Justice Mambilima has noted with sadness that some accountants and human resource professionals shield their colleagues who hold out as accountants in violation of the Accountants Act.
She said society was looking for an accountant who would put a stop to corruption and abuse of public resources.
“There are known schemes of changing job descriptions of accountants to enable those who carry out accounting work to circumvert registration under the act.
“What they forget is that the accountancy profession is a noble profession that relies on integrity and credibility of its members.
Society looks to the accountant to protect their interests in the areas of transparency and accountability,” she said.
She said accountants should help in mapping sustainable growth of the economy through effective leadership and governance systems.
Ms Justice Mambilima also said leadership was an important subject that required serious reflection across Africa.
She said it was a shame for African leaders to be subject of prosecution at the International Court of Justice at the Hague adding that leaders in Africa should promote democracy, civil liberties and rule of law.
“The high levels of poverty across Africa reflect the failure of leadership. Why should Africa continue to experience conflict and wars when the citizens of Africa can live together in harmony?
“It is important to develop the ground rules for the engagement for society and develop strong institutions to protect weaker citizens of society. Strong governance institutions are important for the development of the country so that anyone who abuses the trust placed in him or her is called to account,” she said.
Speaking at the same gathering, ZICA president Wesley Beene said the theme for this year’s conference was seeking seeks to highlight the role which the accountancy profession plays in Zambia.
Mr Beene said the accountancy profession was offering leadership and governance with full determination to drive the country from being a third world to a first world economy.
‘Let me also take this opportunity to commend my fellow accountants for the key role they have continued to play in fostering national development.
“The accountants are gate keepers of the good governance for effective leadership. Good leadership and good governance are central to the meaningful development of any country,” he said.
Madam are you sure your boss likes that. Can professionals fit in in this political space full currently of thugs masquerading as leaders?
They’re free to strategise their own way of participation including forming a political party; nothing will come on a silver platter. Surely, you must blame yourselves for allowing the situation to degenerate to a level where now even a jerabo is representing you in parliament.
YOUR HONOUR THE CHIEF JUSTICE, WE WENT TO SCHOOL TO SECURE GOOD JOBS AND GOOD FUTURES AND NOT TO BE DEGRADED TO THE LIKES OF MUMBI PHIRI, DAVIES CHAMA, FRANK BWALYA. HAVE YOU TRIES YOURSELF TO STAND AS COUNCILLOR, MP OR PRESIDENT? ZAMBIAN POLITICS ARE FOR NGWANGWAZI
You forgot GBM- be objective. The whole bunch is rotten.
Everyone is an accountant, you mean U dont know that accountant is just about counting and subtracting your money? Even charging for services mahule they charge from k20 to K400 Did they go to study accounts to charge for use of their ka hole with honey? accountants have no respect on earth, imagine what do they do daily in an office for 30 days? just collecting receipts, paying for services like wAater etc and at the end of the month salaries are not ready ATASE ATI accountant tiye UKO UNYELE UKUTALI
Well spoken madam chief justice. You should perhaps join Politics too and assist the country to stabilise in many areas of developments in Zambia especially the many flaws in Zambian law systems. Encourage our many UNZA Engineers too to do the same. How on earth can a country with so many Engineering graduates export ALL its copper only to import simple “copper washers” back to Zambia at great cost? Surely, surely ba UNZA, what is going on?
But you chose not to do politics yourself? Thanks for the encouragement.
I am a natural scientist and I love my country dearly. What I can’t stand is cadrerism which our politics thrives on right now where people are made to act illogically for expediency. I’d rather go and do something more intellectually fulfilling. Thank you for your consideration madam.
I am also a natural scientist and the last thing I want to do is to stand on a podium and scream my voice hoarse to get a vote, instead of perfecting my new formula for a detergent paste, or chemical means of purifying gold, or even my novel process of making tobomutwe…
Unfortunately your staying away is not a solution. Somebody needs to rise up, get in and work to correct the situation! And it seem you and I are not up to the task. We need a learned champion here!
@Umwina Nkana, if you observe the majority of Presidential candidates who stood in the last election ARE professionals, but the time always comes when you still have to stand on a podium and scream your voice hoarse (and even wimper and dance cikokoshi) to convince the masses.
There was a think tank that was promised in Chiluba’s, Levy’s and even Sata’s regimes to help politicians in economic development but these never seem to take shape. Ed had one man Mulusa during his short term. What Lucky should have done was to constitute a team (think tank) to map out a proper broad-based industrialization document and not to move about inspecting projects alone.
The IDC is a good idea but we still need a broad based think tank, with representation (and stationed) in each province (zone)…
There is a brain drain in the country due to fundamental issues created by this government and it is failing to work with its people. How can professionals find work? Which professional areas open to our learned colleagues? Where are no jobs openings for them? Cabinet office? Ministries? Media?
The Brain drain will carry on as long as there are no jobs for professionals in the country
CLIVE CHIRWA TRIED IT, WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?
The high levels of poverty across Africa reflect the failure of leadership. Why should Africa continue to experience conflict and wars when the citizens of Africa can live together in harmony?
These are the questions you should be putting to Lungu when you are in closed doors. However, you are make the right noises but to a wrong audience. Look at Lungu he signed the constitution with great pompom, but what has happened? He was the first to flout it. First he argued ministers can remain in office and then after the petition he has failed to step aside. You and all the top leadership in the three branches of government are the ones who are failing the Zambian people. You make laws but your are the first ones to override them. You are the chief justice but you do not understand that the…
legal and social foundation of society is based on a strong constitution where the leadership is in the forefront of complying rather than being in the forefront of flouting the laws.
Professional or non professional;the problem is that common sense, objectivity, social consciousness and patriotism are in short supply. There are Professionals today who support the current govt which champion illegalities, violence, injustice and fiscal indiscipline.
Like she did when Lungu put here there. The face is Zambians are passive people and will continue to be led by others.
The constitution bars her from running to politics