USA Embassy in Staff Corruption Scandal
USA EMBASSY IN ZAMBIA FIGHTING INTERNAL AND SYSTEMATIC CORRUPTION!
STATEMENT FROM U.S. EMBASSY ZAMBIA:
Five months ago, the U.S. Embassy announced the discovery of a pattern of fraud, falsification of administrative records, and corruption within our organization. Based on the findings of this investigation, we took appropriate disciplinary action against those involved and we have now concluded this chapter of our history.
Since September, an impartial and systematic investigation revealed the scope and magnitude of these incidents and identified those individuals involved. Patterns revealed challenges similarly faced by businesses, organizations, and government institutions across many sectors and societies: falsified claims for allowances, coercion of colleagues to falsify records, and groups conspiring to defraud our institution for personal gain. The embassy took appropriate disciplinary action in response to each confirmed case, scrupulously applying the guidelines detailed in our employee handbook to respond equitably to individual case circumstances. We have introduced new training and reference materials to ensure our team better understands complicated regulations while strengthening management controls to better oversee the use of resources. Throughout this process, there was no evidence of fraud, corruption, or conflicts of interest related to any external activities such as issuance of visas, grants, or offers of employment.
The United States Embassy is not unique in facing the challenge of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement of resources by staff members; many large institutions face these challenges at some point. But, rather than deny or hide from our challenges, we are proud to be an organization that acknowledges our mistakes and learns from them. We hold our heads up high for being an organization that upholds accountability and impartially in real time. Most importantly, we remain proud of our Embassy staff as we continue to advance the values and objectives that the United States and Zambia share. Our tremendous impact on the lives of Zambians throughout this country would not be possible without the amazing work that U.S. Embassy personnel produce day-in and day-out.
At a Town Hall event this week, Ambassador Gonzales told the Embassy community, “know that with the conclusion of this investigation process, everyone who remains employed by the embassy today has my utmost respect, my appreciation, and most importantly my full confidence. I am proud to work beside each one of you, and humbled by the tremendous impacts we have made together to benefit the American and Zambian people.”
The U.S. Embassy urges all individuals and institutions to join us in building and enforcing a culture of shared accountability and responsibility. It is only by taking action – as individuals, institutions, or governments – that we can put an end to the scourge of corruption.