By Chamuka Shalubala,
ANTI-Corruption Commission (ACC) director community education Dorothy Cheelo says the maximum prison sentence of 14 years for corruption is not adequate because the vice is an economic crime which can sabotage the nation.
And Cheelo says the commission was flooded with corruption complaints immediately after the August general elections.
Meanwhile, Cheelo says the commission does not wait for instructions, but adds that the President, like any other member of the public, can also lodge complaints.
Speaking when she featured on Radio Phoenix’s ‘Let the people talk’ programme, Tuesday, Cheelo said the sentence for those who engage in corruption activities should be harsh enough to deter would-be offenders.
“We have said we need legal reforms on a number of laws starting with the Anti-Corruption act. The Anti-Corruption Commission act, there is a retreat that is happening now where it has been revealed. So the review of the act has started. In a similar manner, the sentence, the minimum sentence for corruption is not something that we should be happy about. It should be a sentence that should deter offenders in the future so that it is scary to anyone who would want to engage in corruption, but there is no minimum sentence at the moment,” she said.
“The maximum we were given is 14 years, that is not adequate. Corruption is an economic crime which can sabotage the nation. Imagine you have expired drugs purchased through some procurement system and people take the drugs, they get sick, they die. You have murdered. It is you who was involved in that whole process who has caused that, so why should you go for 14 years when you should go for more because you have caused economic sabotage? So we need to have the act revealed in order to support this.”
And Cheelo said the commission was flooded with corruption complaints immediately after the August general elections.
“I should indicate that effective August 12, just immediately after the August 12 elections, the commission was flooded and is still been flooded with a lot of complaints of corruption.
Some of them are very surprising because they may have been reported a year or so ago but they are coming up now and they are coming with a lot of evidence, tangible evidence even with documentation. We have actually uncovered a lot of complaints which we are working on not only as ACC but with joint teams that have been formed of law enforcement agencies working together, tackling the vice from all corners,” she said.
“If there is something to do with drug enforcement, maybe money laundering involved, we have the drug enforcement on the teams. If it’s something we need information from the Auditor General’s office, the Auditor General is part of the team. If we need information from the FIC, they are part of the team and very available to avail documentation.
We have a lot that is going on in the background and the public will continue getting informed along the way as we uncover a lot of these cases, especially those in public interest. We know the public is expecting a lot from the Anti-Corruption Commission and we know that all eyes are on the Anti-Corruption Commission and we are alive to that.
We are doing what we can do best to ensure that we satisfy you, to ensure that you get what is yours back in terms of assets, you get the resources back and the nation moves forward.”
Cheelo said the commission does not wait for instructions, but added that the President like any other member of the public could also lodge complaints.
“The Anti-Corruption Commission has the law in their hands, they do not wait to be directed. We do not wait for you to lodge complaints. Yes, we will receive complaints from the public from all angles but we are on the ground. We have intelligence officers on the ground in different areas and we gather information about different people. We don’t sit back to wait for instructions, no. Of course, we will receive information, the President is a member of the public and like any member of the public he can also lodge complaints which he may come across and this is encouraging. Because when the President says things, we work in that kind of environment which we call walking with the lion and you are safe because you are protected. And that is what we are using as a basis for us to move faster than it was before,” she said.
Cheelo further called for the establishment of independent courts for corruption cases to expedite the hearing of cases.
“We need independent courts for corruption. You will realize that there are so many cases that are of public interest. I will give an example of our famous Kapoko case because it is in public domain and some of the sentences have been passed and have been served. How do you take nine years to conclude a case in court from day one? Nine years and the public loses interest along the way. They see it is a waste of time and some even lose track,” she said.
“We are investigating all those where we have gathered intelligence and where we have seen things that were happening, and so we have information and reports from all over. It is not that we are targeting the private persons, but the law does provide for targeting private persons where they interface with the public and that will not stop. If you are a private person, you interface with the public and you get resources from the public, you have to be investigated because the law provides for it. We will not leave you behind just because you are a private person, everybody should be brought to book and should be brought to answer.”
And speaking on the same programme, Transparency International Zambia executive director Maurice Nyambe challenged the UPND government to come up with a comprehensive strategy for fighting corruption.
“I want to give a challenge to the UPND administration. The UPND really said a lot in terms of their manifesto when it comes to the fight against corruption and I think they have said many of the correct things. I think the time has come for us now to see action. So my challenge to them is let them be different, let this fight against corruption not be another political rhetoric that we have seen in the past. Let them develop and come up with a comprehensive country strategy for fighting corruption because I think that is what is going to help us going forward as a country,” said Nyambe
“Corruption is a very complex problem now and the complexity of corruption now demands that we become even better, for example using technology to deal with it because a lot of corruption that is happening now is actually happening in the digital space. The digital space has now become a key battleground for corruption and so the digital space is the new frontier when it comes to the fight against corruption. As Anti-Corruption activists, we need to find a way of also penetrating that space and beginning to function within that space in order to fight that corruption. Also, there is a need for us as anti-corruption activists and entities that are involved in this fight, we need to boost our research capabilities so that we can generate evidence that will be used in the fight against corruption.”