UPND GOVERNMENT URGED TO SET UP CORRUPTION AMNESTY SO THAT STOLEN PUBLIC RESOURCES ARE HANDED BACK SWIFTLY

By OLIVER SAMBOKO
THE state must institute a corruption amnesty for those alleged to have stolen public resources if the money and assets are to be handed back swiftly, Movement for National Transformation (MNT) leader Daniel Shimunza has said.

Mr Shimunza said the amnesty should be a period when people could admit to crimes, hand in weapons or money, in the knowledge that they would not be prosecuted.

He said there was need for commitment to pardon, and forego prosecution by the State, if looters were also to commit to handing back money and property of graft.

“This is a win-win objective proposition for all. Time, say three months or more, can be allocated by the State, in which time handing back ‘stolen’ money, property, and assets to the State by those accused or convicted of graft,” Mr Shimunza said.
He warned that a vindictive approach, and revenge-driven impunity were not the criteria for fighting corruption.

Mr Shimunza explained that former President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, targeted his predecessor in the graft fight, but failed because the Task Force on Corruption was vindictive and manipulative.

CLICK TO READ MORE: INSTITUTING A CORRUPTION AMNESTY IS THE ANSWER

He said no case was won in any competent court. “This is not the path, to take today,” Mr Shimunza said.

He urged President Hakainde Hichilema to act decisively, but with caution and wisdom.
Mr Shimunza said an amnesty was the only possible way of solving corruption as a vindictive approach of prosecutions, and jailing people would not work.

“The voice of reason, must be heard, with sobriety in national matters, such as dealing with graft. The late former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, shocked the world, when he pardoned the brutal apartheid regime of crimes against humanity, by establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, headed by Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu.

“That is transformative leadership. Mandela, stands taller over his peers, because of his spirit of extraordinary leadership,” he said.

Mr Shimunza said President Hichilema must not do the ordinary thing of pursuing his political opponents, directly or indirectly.

He said the President must stand tall, on a higher moral ground of leadership and allow for an amnesty.

Mr Shimunza also urged law enforcement agencies to do thorough investigations, before arresting citizens wantonly, and vindictively.

He urged the Drug Enforcement Commission, Zambia Police, Financial Intelligence Center, and the Anti-Corruption Commission to refrain from being selective in the application of the law.