TIZ QUESTIONS QUICK CLEARANCE OF MINISTERS BY ACC
TRANSPARENCY International Zambia Executive Director Maurice Nyambe has questioned the sudden clearance of ministers previously under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission, stressing that the matter leaves the door open for speculation.
Nyambe says the Commission should have handled the investigations more transparently by issuing regular public updates on the allegations and the basis for clearing the ministers.
On Thursday, the Commission said it had concluded investigations into Copperbelt Minister Elisha Matambo and established that the high-value vehicles previously linked to him were not his but belonged to another person who used his parking yard.
ACC Director General Daphne Chabu further said no other Cabinet Minister was under investigation, adding that the Commission only investigated Matambo and Information Permanent Secretary Thabo Kawana, who have both been cleared.
Reacting to this in a write up, Friday, Nyambe said the Commission’s decision raises more questions than answers because investigations were conducted under a “blackout”.
“We find the statement to be rather strange and one that raises more questions than answers. We note that the initial confirmation of cabinet ministers being under investigation was made under the previous ACC leadership and despite calls from several stakeholders for the names of these ministers to be made public in the interest of facilitating unhindered investigations, the Commission stood firm in refusing to disclose. This is also against a background of the Commission having essentially effected a complete blackout of the investigations when they were going on, in the sense that there were no regular updates about them. Our call for the names to be revealed back then was premised on the realisation that it is common practice for anyone in a senior position facing investigations to be suspended pending the outcome of the investigations. Given that that information was never revealed to the public, the speculation that arose over the case was hardly surprising,” stated Nyambe.
“But the sudden and blanket clearance of all the ministers who were being investigated while officially closing the matter leaves the door open for speculations, especially since the public was not told what exactly the allegations being investigated were, and what processes or measures were followed in coming to the decision to clear the ministers. Going forward, we urge the ACC to be a lot more open with the public and not to find itself in situations that may cause its independence to be doubted. So, while we acknowledge the decision made to close the investigations and clear everyone, we are of the view that the Commission could have done things more openly by demonstrating accountability to the Zambian public through regular updates on what was going on in the process and what has ultimately led to this outcome”.
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