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By BARNABAS ZULU
THE Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is a toothless institution that is incapable of fighting corruption because it is under the supervision of a leader, President Hakainde Hichilema who has no desire to fight the scourge other then use it as a tool for political vengeance against his political foes, Harry Kalaba has said.
Mr Kalaba, the leader of Citizens First (CF) says it is not surprising that the ACC is refusing to name and shame corrupt Ministers in the UPND administration because the management at the institution is scared of losing their jobs.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, Mr Kalaba said the ACC had lost its credibility because it had opted to protect politically connected individuals instead of serving the interests of the public.
“The ACC is afraid of President Hakainde Hichilema. They cannot name the corrupt ministers because they know that if they do, they will be fired. They are just watching corruption happening in broad daylight,” he said.
Mr Kalaba, who served as Foreign Affairs Minister under the Patriotic Front administration before resigning on grounds of corruption in government, said it was ironic that an institution mandated to fight graft was now acting as a shield for suspected plunderers and looters.
He said the ACC’s failure to act decisively was undermining public confidence in the fight against corruption.
“How can we fight corruption when the people entrusted to lead that fight are compromised? We are losing billions of Kwacha through corrupt procurement deals and abuse of office, yet no one is being held accountable,” he said.
Mr Kalaba challenged the ACC to publish the names of ministers under investigation if it wanted to restore public trust.
Last year, the ACC revealed that several serving ministers in the UPND administration were under investigation but refused to name them, citing fears that doing so could compromise ongoing inquiries.
But Mr Kalaba has insisted that the failure by ACC to name and shame corrupt Ministers was just an excuse, saying Zambians deserve to know who is plundering public resources.
“This is taxpayers’ money. The people have a right to know who is stealing from th
em,” he said.
