THAT Government has given an amnesty to people to return what they allegedly stole from the State during the Patriotic Front administration is a step in the right direction.
It is a move that is both assuring to the affected as well as to those who have warned against the recovery effort being turned into a witch-hunt directed against officials from the former regime.
What is important is for the government to say how the amnesty will be applied, and that it should not be used to score political points or settle scores.
Our worry is that the amnesty, announced by Vice President Mutale Nalumango in Parliament yesterday might come to naught if the negative narrative from the new dawn administration does not change.
It is common knowledge that President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration regards the previous regime as a gang of thieves who looted state resources with impunity.
While this is expected as the new administration has entered the government promising a zero-tolerance towards corruption, they need to handle with care how the amnesty is carried out.
The so-called thieves ought to be given an assurance that even as they surrendered what was looted from the State, that their privacy be respected.
Vice President Mutale Nalumango said in Parliament yesterday that individuals who stole from Zambians during the previous administration must come forward and surrender the loot to avoid being prosecuted or jailed.
Ms Nalumango, speaking during the Vice President’s question time in Parliament said the recovery of stolen government assets and resources will continue as provided for by the laws of Zambia and cautioned individuals who could have stolen to own up and avoid lengthy court processes.
“Let those who stole to quickly declare the assets and money they got and should also be willing to forfeit what they acquired illegally back to the state,” Ms Nalumango said.
We think the amnesty route is a better alternative to the government’s efforts to recover looted assets as opposed to setting up fast track courts.
As has been pointed out, fast track courts would not help in recovering stolen assets as court cases tend to drag for years.
Moreover, the investigations could be quite tedious, meaning that the fast courts, by their very nature, might not be that effective.
If anything, Zambians are quite apprehensive with the suggestion to set up fast track courts when they remember what happened during the late President Levy Mwanawasa’s regime as it tried to fight corruption from the previous administration of President Frederick Chiluba.
President Mwanawasa came up with the infamous Taskforce on Corruption that resulted into President Chiluba facing charges from which he was acquitted.
To date, the government has not returned the property that it confiscated from Dr Chiluba to his family.
The Taskforce on Corruption ended up being an expensive venture that enriched the private lawyers hired to prosecute the cases against Dr Chiluba.
This time round, we hope the new dawn administration will go about the amnesty as enshrined in the country’s laws and ensure a win-win situation for all.
Ends.
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