Act swiftly on Chishimba, ZRP tells ACC

Mon, 27 Feb 2017 08:10:32 +0000

By CHARLES MUSONDA

THE Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) should act swiftly on United Progressive Party (UPP) leader Saviour Chishimba corruption charges, says New Revolution Party (NRP) president Cozmo Mumba.

Dr. Mumba said the ACC took too much time to act on Dr. Chishimba but that this time round it should be quick to deal with the matter.

In an interview in Lusaka, Dr. Mumba said his party was happy that the ACC had finally warned and cautioned Dr. Chishimba over corruption allegations leveled against him, adding that the Commission must go further and take decisive action against the UPP leader.

“We have seen situations in this country where the warn and caution statement remains a mere academic exercise. Our appeal is that the Zambian people are watching the manoeuvres that the ACC is making on Dr. Saviour Chishimba because the money he is alleged to have embezzled belongs to the Zambian people and they have to know what is happening to their money,” Dr. Mumba said.

And the NRP leader said it would be political suicide for the PF Government to rush in removing vendors from the streets before finding alternative trading places for them.

He said it was important for the Government to realise that the majority of street vendors were young people who have found themselves on the streets due to inevitable circumstances.

“A lot of youths that had voted are benefiting from street vending and not only are they benefiting but also the shop owners. I would like to appeal to the Republican President Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu to stop mayors of all cities from chasing vendors from the streets before finding alternative places for them.

“We are very much aware that enemies of the Patriotic Front want to gain political mileage from the issue of street vendors. I would like to call upon the PF to conduct a survey on the impact of chasing vendors from the streets,” Dr. Mumba said.

He said removing street vendors would only spur high crime rates and the best Government could do was to create more business opportunities for street vendors not only in the central business district but in communities as well.