The Ant-Corruption Commission (ACC) Director General, Godfrey Kayukwa says the institute has changed the way of fighting graft from investigations and prosecution to prevention.
Mr Kayukwa said the move is aimed at cultivating a culture where citizens will freely report corruptions cases to the commission.
He said the ACC has in its new approach also incorporated many institution in accordance with the new anti-corruption policy.
Mr. Kayukwa said this when he opened a three days training workshop for the focal point persons of the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) integrity committee in Lusaka today.
He said the fight against corruption needs to start with the prevention of very small issues adding that it becomes difficulty to control when it has taken roots.
He said government has attaches a lot of importance to the fight against as seen from the launch of the Anti Corruption policy which coordinates all efforts in the fight against corruption.
He said meanwhile challenged the integrate committees of the ZRA to spearhead and facilitate the process of preventing corruption by providing vital information to the public on the operation of the institution.
Meanwhile, ZRA Commissioner General, Criticles Mwansa has urged his staff to change the perception that the general public has on the institute being the the most corrupt in the country.
He said his staff should ensure that they operate professionally in accordance with the code of ethics to win the trust of the general public.
He has also said that ZRA has embarked on a program where they are working with the public on curbing corruption at ZRA adding that it has so far received massive response from the public.
He said this helped the public develop confidence in them adding that they have in the last eight months recorded 129 complaints cases with 85 percent of the cases already attended to.
He said there is need to create a corruption free environment which will make it hard for the staffs and the public to engage in corrupt practices.
ZANIS
Start with Chiluba. Can anybody account for the billions he dished out as slash fund? That was all corruption. If you don’t, then who are you after?
With all due respect to the new Director General, I really do not see anything NEW in what he is talking about. Is he saying before this people were not reporting to the Commission “freely”, but under some kind of duress? As usual, he is trying to place blame where it does not belong. The problem is not in the way corrupt practices are reported to his Commission. The problem is the corrupt manner that the Commission handles such reports, which see the corrupt walking free because the Commission refuses to perform in a professional manner.
Cont’d…Secondly, even if the Commission performed in a professional manner, which sometimes happens when a non-entity with no connections to the centres of power; then the corruption kicks in at the level of the Courts! So please spare as the BS. Start with State House and allow whistleblowers to speak without fear of victimization and see what happens. Otherwise, don’t waste our time with meaningless schemes.
Its a good move to embed such policy in society because we have a lost decade under Chiluba which goes way deep. Prosecuting top people only is not solving the matter but rather just letting the small fish know that they have to be carefull otherwise they will be next.
The only corruption that TF knew was that committed by Chiluba so other felt they where still free to commit all sorts.
Atleast this system does not seem like it will target individuals like the TF did
one word; STUPID
Is it me or is the word graft used wrongly in Zambia? I thought graft was actually a good thing! I may be wrong though.
These initiatives will work properly if the government can come up with legislation that protects the “Whistle Blowers”. Otherwise,……………………………
Its good move on paper but enforcement will be probematic due to political nterference. There are lot of high profile cases whose files have either gathered dust or disappeared in thin airs. We are yet to judge the new DG. Col. Godfrey Kayukwa (rtd). Can some one shade light on the disbanded task froce coz we still see some skeletone staff in Woodlands extension. Are they operating from due to lack of office accomodation at HQ in down or something like winding down……………
My word!!! The grammar, spelling etc in this article is terrible. Do they have editors at ZANIS? Did this journalist really pass his exams? Or did he obtain his qualifications corruptly? This is sickening, ba LT. Yangu!!!
Ba ACC, nga 76b ZRA scam ili kwi? How come things are quite after quite some expose by Muvi TV? Or are you still waiting for some more whistle blowers(hope the cops don’t pounce on them like Mumbi and Kapata), work and spare us the rhetoric…
Mr Directors sir, what needs to change is speeches – less of them and more of action. We need to know per month how many have been caught at passport office, how many corrupt cops have been found out and dismissed summarily, how many politicians awarded contracts to their friends and have since been exposed and shamed etc. Thats what we what to hear from you, little stuff that make criminals’ lives unbearable. For example try installing CCTVs at police stations( monitor them) the criminal cops will instantly stop transacting inside their offices but outside even when its raining , so you see you are starting to make their lives a little bit harder. So next year don’t buy Pajeros instead buy CCTvs for Lusaka police station and passport office, ZRA have money they can buy on their own.