Graft fight not vindictive – HH
By NATION REPORTER
THE new dawn administration’s fight against corruption is not vindictive and not meant to punish political opponents or silence critics, President Hakainde Hichilema has said.
President Hichilema said the corruption fight now was to safeguard the resources of the country and leave a legacy of transparent and accountable leadership that would be a beacon to Africa and the world.
He urged law enforcement agencies to ensure that where corruption rears its head, “it is crushed immediately and emphatically.”
President Hichilema said this at the commemoration of the International Anti-Corruption Day being commemorated under the theme: “your right, your role; say no to corruption.”
“Citizens, do your part too, by reporting suspected misconduct in management and distribution of resources to law enforcement agencies,” he said.
President Hichilema said the government would ensure that what was stolen from Zambians was returned and put to use in uplifting the lives of people.
He said the process of recovering stolen assets was already underway, and good progress was being made by law enforcement agencies.
President Hichilema said government had increased the budgetary allocation to the Anti-Corruption Commission in the 2022 national budget, to ensure that they were fully supported to carry out their mandate.
He also urged that processes in the National Anti-Corruption Policy aimed at providing national guidance on strategies and programmes that would deal with the problem of corruption, be speeded up and ensure the review was concluded as soon as possible.
And ACC acting director-general, Silumesi Muchula said they appreciated the political stance that the new dawn government had continued to take since taking office.
Mr Muchula said the move to denounce corruption and all other related crimes was a clear indication of how high the fight against corruption was placed on the government’s agenda.
He said the ACC was looking forward to the implementation of various mechanisms that would effectively contribute towards a reduction in the levels of corruption as well as saving public resources.