ACC CHALLENGES M’MEMBE
…bring a case of current corruption quickly
Kombe Chimpinde Mataka
THE Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC)
has challenged Socialist Party president Fred M’membe to report the State House aides he accuses of being corrupt.
In an interview on Thursday, then ACC director general Gilbert Phiri told The Mast that he had a problem with Dr M’membe’s claims that the ACC was not up to the challenge of investigating corruption at State House because he had not cited any single case.
Phiri has since been appointed Director of Public Prosecutions pending ratification by the National Assembly. He replaces Lillian Siyunyi.
“You see the problem, the Socialist Party president did not cite a single case of corruption. Everyone who says we are unable to fight against corruption cannot report a single case. I am waiting and I am challenging them to bring a case of current corruption quickly. Bring it to the Anti-Corruption Commission and you announce that you have brought a case of corruption and that we have not done anything. I am challenging him to do that because sometimes imagining that there is corruption is not the same as there being actual corruption. Because you could be imagining things that don’t exist because it is your perception that ‘oh there is corruption’ when it does not exist ,” Phiri said. “So people that are saying we are unable to fight current corruption, report. State House corruption? Have you reported it? Tell us, what is it? If you tell us we will do the usual investigation and prosecution. There is no constraint on us to investigate and prosecute, no. Of course it is a perception, a position and a narrative that he wants to perpetuate. Not that he does not have a right to ask. My challenge to him is report if you perceive there is corruption which we are not investigating and attacking. So far your guess is as good as mine. No one has reported anything.”
And Phiri said current corruption would be more clear when the 2022 Auditor General’s report is published.
“But to put it in contest, sometimes it takes time for corrupt activities during the reign of a government to come to the fore and manifest. You see one of the outlets is the Auditor General’s Report. So the current report is as at…2021. So the next Auditor General’s report will cover the reign of the United Party for National Development government. So emanating there from will be wrongdoing or corruption and it is these that you action. But that does not mean between now and the next Auditor General’s report we are not going to act. We will act but again, what is important to note is when we are investigating matters, we do not come out and announce that today, we started investigating ABC so that people that peddle a narrative can know,” said Phiri. “We cannot do that because of the sensitivity around investigations and of course we cannot prejudice the people involved. So
investigation is a process. We cannot stand on an anti-hill and say that is what we are doing.”
Recently, Dr M’membe alleged corruption involving some of the presidential aides at State House.
“Can the current ACC director general [Gilbert Phiri] sanction the investigation of Maurice Jangulo’s company in relation to the procurement of fertiliser when Maurice has strong ties to the appointing authority, with whom the DG has very close client-patron ties stemming from their time in opposition? Is it any wonder that the ACC has never found any single case of corruption in this government? We know of the corruption involving some of the presidential aides at State House. If the ACC does not know, then they are simply not up to the challenge,” said Dr M’membe.
“If they know, how come they have not summoned those involved for interrogation? The only time the ACC should be taken seriously is when they start to touch members of the inner circle of this government. Look at the contradictions coming from the Attorney General’s office on the honeybee scandal! Why isn’t the ACC getting involved in this matter? Isn’t it because some of the culprits involved in the behind the scenes negotiations pertaining to honeybee are their colleagues at State House, even though some praise singers will falsely claim that it is actually State House that blocked the payment to honeybee?”