PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has urged the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to accelerate the prosecution reforms, adding that the prosecution cases should not take longer than expected.
President Hichilema has also called on the office of the DPP to ensure cases should not take longer than expected and that no arrest should be effected before investigations.
The Head of State said this during the swearing in ceremony of nine senior government officials at State House yesterday.
Among them are Mr Gilbert Phiri as Director General of Public Prosecution (DPP) while Mr Patrick Kangwa was also sworn in as Secretary to Cabinet and his deputy, Oliver Kalabo and Ministry of Sports and Arts Permanent Secretary Chama Fumba, popularly known as Pilato.
Others are Ms Mwangala Zaloumis who was sworn in as Chairperson at the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and her deputy, Mr Ali Simwiinga, while Mr McDonald Chipenzi was sworn in as Commissioner at ECZ.
Mr Tobias Mulimbika was sworn in as Zambia’s ambassador to Japan.
President Hichilema called on the newly sworn in officials to always put the interest of the people first.
Mr Hichilema observed that some people have a tendency of forgetting their role, once they are put in respective offices, a thing that should not be the case.
“I want to see fairness and accountability in the way the ACC is operating and this should be done within the confines of the law. Arrests should not be affected if there are no investigations that have been done,” Mr Hichilema said.
Mr Hichilema also urged the newly appointed Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports and Arts to ensure that he accelerates the arts industry to contribute to the economic development of the country.
“I call upon you, Pilato, to ensure that the Arts industry starts functioning and contributes to the development of the country. Leave the sports issues to the other PS and concentrate on the music, and arts industry,” he said.
Meanwhile, speaking after being sworn in, Mr Kangwa said he will ensure that sanity and efficiency is upheld in the civil service without fail.
And Mr Phiri said he will work with all stakeholders and ensure that all issues relating to prosecutions and crime are addressed in the quickest possible time. – ZANIS.
