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| Timothy Moono |
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has cleared Sports Minister Chishimba Kambwili, PF Pambashe Member of Parliament Ronald Chitotela and North Western Province Permanent Secretary Amos Malupenga of corruption allegations.
But the cases involving PF Mwansabombwe Member of Parliament Rodgers Mwewa and his spouse, the former Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary Anna Mwitwa Mwewa have been referred to the National Prosecution Authority for possible prosecution.
Meanwhile, the ACC is still analysing evidence in cases where former Tourism Minister Sylvia Masebo is being accused of corruption in the way she cancelled hunting concessions and feting traditional leaders using public funds.
Below is a full press statement read by ACC Public Relations Manager Timothy Moono during the commission's third quarter media briefing this morning at the commission's headquarters in Lusaka.
THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION IN ZAMBIA
3rd QUARTER
MEDIA BRIEFING
Members
of the Press,
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
Allow
me to once again welcome you all to the 3rd Quarter Media Briefing on the
activities of the Commission undertaken in the quarter of the year 2014.
Let
me once again echo the Commission’s desire to have a Zambian citizenry engaged
in the fight against corruption. As a Commission we believe that curtailing
corruption is not just about punishing the corrupt. Indeed prosecution of
corrupt individuals is necessary to demonstrate that corruption cannot be
tolerated and does not pay. This will continue to be done without fear or
favour.
However,
a holistic approach to addressing corruption goes further than criminalization
and prosecution. It involves preventing the scourge of corruption by building
transparent and accountable systems of governance. Additionally, it also
involves improving public integrity, strengthening the personal ethics of
public and private officials as well as challenging social norms that encourage
the practice of corruption.
It
is in this light that the Anti-Corruption Commission will continue to
effectively combat corruption using various avenues as mandated under the Anti-Corruption
Act No. 3 of 2012.
As
we celebrate our Golden Jubilee this month, the Commission wishes to urge all
citizens to make a renewed stand against corruption and reflect on ways in
which each one can contribute to the fight against corruption.
Ladies
and Gentlemen
Allow
me now to give you an update on the Commission’s activities for the 3rd
quarter of this year.
Corruption Prevention
Members
of the Press, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In
the 3rd quarter under review, the Commission carried out a number of corruption
prevention programmes aimed at evaluating the practices, policies and
procedures of public and private institutions, with a view to advancing
comprehensive and effective systems for preventing opportunities for corruption. The activities include the following:
1.
Corruption
Vulnerability Assessments (CVAs).
The Commission has
continued to conduct Corruption Vulnerability Assessments (CVAs) in various
public institutions. In the last quarter, CVAs were initiated and are being
conducted in the following institutions: Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA),
Ministry of Education, the Judiciary,
Zambia Police Service, Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS), Electoral Commission
of Zambia (ECZ), National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), National
Road Fund Agency (NRFA), Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water Development. The
CVAs are a very important exercise as they allow employees in any given
institution to identify corruption hotspots and come up with recommendations
for sealing identified loopholes in order to prevent corruption.
2.
Integrity
Committees:
The Integrity
Initiative is an on-going programme in Zambia. The Chief Executive Officers
(CEOs) Forum for the Integrity Committee institutions was held in Lusaka on 7th
August 2014 at which Twenty One (21) CEOs attended the Forum. The objective of
the CEOs Forum was to review the performance of the Integrity Committee
programme by discussing the successes, challenges and coming up with
resolutions to enhance the performance of the Integrity Committee
programme.
The Commission is encouraged
with the commitment exhibited by the Chief Executive Officers of Public and
Private institutions in supporting this Government Integrity Programme. This is
a real opportunity to significantly reduce corruption and enhance service
delivery.
An evaluation of the performance
of Institutions with Integrity Committees in the last quarter indicate that a
number of them continued to implement programmes aimed at curbing corruption.
These include the following:
a) The Auditor General’s Office developed a
Gift and Benefits Policy and it is awaiting approval from their Management. It
is hoped that this will enhance transparency in the handling of gifts.
b) The Zambia Bureau of standards developed
the Gift and Benefits Policy, Whistle Blower Policy, Service Charter and Code
of Ethics which documents have since been approved by their Management. The documents are aimed at promoting
professionalism, transparency, accountability and fairness in the operations of
the institution.
c) The Judiciary developed a Service Charter
for the Local Courts entitled “Promoting Transparency in Local Court Operations
– A guide to avoid corruption at Local Courts.
It is hoped that this will enhance professionalism and consequently
improve the delivery of justice in the local courts.
d) The National Council for Construction
designed and produced T-Shirts with Anti-Corruption messages for distribution
to their members of staff and clients in order to promote integrity awareness
among the members of staff and the stakeholders.
e) The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) held staff
integrity sensitizations meetings in various Districts across the country. Some
of the meetings were held at Kenneth Kaunda
International Airport, Lusaka Customs Port and at Chipata.
f)
The National
Road Fund Agency, Road Transport and Safety Agency and Road Development Agency
attended a training workshop on ‘Corruption Prevention, Ethics and
Accountability,’ in Malaysia.
g) The Road Development Agency carried out sensitization
meetings jointly with the ACC at their regional offices in order to raise
awareness on their Code of Conduct and Whistle Blower Policy.
3.
Workshops
The Commission
conducted a training workshop for Integrity Committee Members from the
following institutions: Road Development Agency, Ministry of Health and
Kalulushi Municipal Council. This is part of the Integrity Program which aims
at involving institutions in designing and implementing anti-corruption
measures as provided in the National Anti-Corruption Policy. A similar training
workshop was also held in Livingstone and Sesheke and the following
institutions were trained; Zambia Revenue Authority, Immigration Department and
Zambia Police Service. The aim was to increase awareness on integrity issues
among members of staff, and also increase collaboration with other partner IC
institutions.
In
addition, the Commission conducted two Induction Training Workshops for
Integrity Committee members, Secretariat and Focal Point Officers in Lusaka and
Choma. The objective of this Induction
Training is to equip Integrity Committee Members with skills which will enable
them to implement the IC Activities and Programmes in their Institutions. A total of 62 participants were trained from
the following institutions:
-
Ministry
of Health;
-
Choma
Municipal Council;
-
Mazabuka
Municipal Council;
-
Livingstone
City Council;
-
Zambia
Bureau of Standards;
4.
Other corruption prevention activities
conducted during the quarter include the following;
i.
The Commission has
commissioned an evaluation of some Integrity Committees in order to assess the
effectiveness of the programme. The findings will be used to improve performance
where necessary
ii.
The Commission also
conducted sensitization of employees and Civic Leaders on the Council Code of
Ethics at Kitwe City Council.
The Commission would
like to encourage the media to take keen interest in the corruption prevention
programmes being implemented by the ACC and other institutions in order to
sensitise the public on them.
Community Education
The
Commission has stepped up outreach programmes with a view to break down
entrenched mind-sets that corruption is a norm and thus acceptable.
The
following activities were undertaken during the last quarter:
1.
Rural
Sensitizaion
During
the last quarter, the Commission
extended its outreach to parts of North-Western Province through a Rural
Sensitization exercise where approximately 3,
100 people received the anti- corruption message. Districts covered during
this exercise include: Zambezi, Solwezi, Kabompo, Manyinga and Chavuma. The
target groups reached during the exercise included traditional leaders and
their subjects, teachers, pupils, civic leaders, Police Officers, and Heads of
Government Departments.
2.
Networking
with Civil Society Organisations
In
the last quarter, the Commission through partnership with CSOs reached out to over 1,567,446
people with the anti- corruption
messages countrywide. On the other hand, under Phase IV of the Fund for
Anti-Corruption Campaign, a total of 144
project proposals from all provinces were received by the Commission and a Preliminary Evaluation of the 144 proposals was
finalised. A total of 69 CSOs were
selected for the final evaluation. A
total of K750,000 has set aside to fund the CSOs for anti-corruption activities
to be conducted in this last quarter of the year.
3.
Anti-Corruption
Clubs
During
the quarter under review, the Commission continued to engage pupils in various
schools through the Anti-Corruption Clubs countrywide. The Commission conducted
lectures and educational talks in 12
schools in different parts of the country. The Anti-corruption clubs conducted
various activities including joint meetings and visitations amongst themselves.
The Commission is encouraged with the commitment of these young people to make
a strong stand against corruption.
4.
Education
Curriculum
In
an effort to inculcate values of honesty, integrity, responsibility and ethical
conduct among school going children, the Commission commenced the process of
drafting supplementary reading materials for the revised Civic Education
Curriculum. You may recall that the Government in 2013 through the
Anti-Corruption Commission and the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational
Training and Early Education facilitated the inclusion of anti-corruption
topics in the school curriculum from primary to senior secondary levels. These
supplementary reading materials will be used by learners and teachers who are
teaching civic education subjects where specific anti-corruption messages have
been included.
5.
Letures
/ Talks
The
Commission conducted 27
lectures/talks on corruption with various private and public institutions. Some
of these institutions reached out include the Road Development Agency (RDA),
Africa Life Assurance in Chipata, Petauke and Lundazi, Ministry of Agriculture
and National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA). A total of 1,118 people were reached through this activity.
6.
Shows
and Exhibitions
During
the period under review, the Commission participated in various shows including
the 88th Zambia Agriculture and Commercial Show and traditional ceremonies
around the country and over 1000
people were reached during these exercises.
7.
IEC
Materials
The
Commission also continued with the production and distribution of various
Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials. It is estimated that
over 20,000 people were reached
through distribution of these educational materials.
8.
Engagement
with Traditional Leaders
In
a bid to reach out to traditional leaders on their role in the fight against
corruption the Commission held a workshop for 9 chiefs in Southern Province.
The Chiefs were drawn from Choma, Kazungula, Gwembe, Zimba, and Kalomo
Districts. The aim of the workshop was to identify traditional practices that
foster corruption and find avenues of how to address the challenges. These
traditional leaders showed keen interest in continuing to support the fight
against corruption.
Investigations and
Prosecutions
During
the quarter under review, a total of 298
reports of suspected cases of corruption were received.
Out
of these cases the Commission instituted investigations on 56 cases. These are cases that contained elements of corrupt
practices and which were pursuable under its mandate. 31 reports did not fall under the jurisdiction of the ACC and they
were consequently referred to relevant institutions for administrative
action. 211 reports did not have elements of corruption and complainants
were advised on other avenues of dealing with their complaints.
In
the last quarter, the Commission recorded 8
arrests bringing the total arrest so far recorded to 31 country-wide while 3
convictions and 2 acquittals were
also recorded. By close of this quarter, the Commission had instituted
investigations in 236 cases while 125 cases had been concluded.
I
also wish to inform the public that 12
cases were referred for to relevant institutions with recommendations administrative
action. The Commission wishes to take this opportunity to inform the Chief
Executive Officers of various public and private institutions that the
Anti-Corruption Act provides that recommendations made to them by the ACC need
to be complied with, failure to which an offence would have been committed. The
fight against corruption requires that any remedial or preventive measures be
taken seriously by relevant authorities.
Allow
me to also give you a brief status of some of the cases which some of you
inquired on earlier.
1. Henry
Kapoko’s acquittal
Following
the acquittal of former Ministry of Health Human Resource Manager Henry Kapoko
on 26th September, 2014, the Commission communicated that it was not
satisfied with the judgment of the Subordinate Court and will appeal to the
High Court. The Commission has since filed the Notice of Appeal.
The
Commission would also like to take this opportunity to inform members of the
public that even though Mr Kapoko and his accomplices were acquitted recently
by one of the courts, he is still appearing for trial before four (4) other
different courts. These matters are all related to the alleged theft of over K10million
public funds at the Ministry of Health exposed in 2009. The other cases are as
follows:
i.
Before Hon. E. Zulu, Mr Kapoko is facing twenty (20) Counts
of theft involving over K6.8 million and forty nine (49) counts of money
laundering and possession of property reasonably suspected to have been stolen
or unlawfully obtained. The matter is scheduled for continued trial from 13th
to 23rd October, 2014.
ii.
Before Hon. Aridah Chulu, Mr
Kapoko is facing two (2) counts of abuse of authority of office, one (1) count
of theft by public servant involving K1.29 million and three (3) counts of
money laundering involving (2) real estate properties. This matter is scheduled for continued trial on
27th October 2014.
iii.
Before Hon. Lameck Ng’ambi, Mr
Kapoko is facing two (2) counts of abuse of authority of office and corrupt
practices by public officer and the matter is coming up for a ruling on a case
to answer on 3rd November, 2014.
iv.
Before Hon. Joshua Banda, Mr
Kapoko is facing charges of theft by public servant involving K1.9 million.
This matter is scheduled for continued trial on 11th and 12th October, 2014.
2. Alleged
bribery of Hon Fackson Shamenda Minister of Labour and Social Security by a
Dangote Official
As
already indicated in the responses to several press queries, I wish to once
again state that after due consideration of the complaint received from the
Hon. Minister, the Commission did not institute any investigations into the
matter. In arriving at this decision, the Commission took into consideration,
among other issues, the circumstances and likelihood of any investigation
disclosing facts that would prove that an offence was committed under the Anti-
Corruption Act. In doing so, the Commission relied on the provisions of the
Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012.
Further,
even though the Commission noted that the report made to the Commission was made
outside the stipulated time provided for in the Act for Public Officials to
report cases of corruption, the Commission did not and has no intention of
prosecuting the Minister. In arriving at this decision, the Commission, once
agains, relied on the provisions of the law which provides that the failure to
report as required should be within reasonable cause to constitute an offence.
The Commission considered all the circumstances regarding the matter and
concluded that there was reasonable cause for the Hon. Minister not to make the
report within the stipulated 24hrs. As such the Commission will not take
further action in this matter.
3. Alleged Abuse of Authority of Office against
Youth and Sports Minister Mr Chishimba Kambwili.
The investigations into
allegations of abuse of authority office against the Minister of Youth and
Sports Mr. Chishimba Kambwili over congratulatory advertisements placed in the
print media regarding his acquisition of his degree from Copper Stone
University were concluded. After thorough analysis of the evidence collected,
the allegations were not proven and recommendations were made to the Ministry
for administrative action against some officials there as there was
insufficient evidence for prosecution.
4. Alleged
corruption against former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting Mr Amos Malupenga in the manner he is suspected to have
received a bribe from a company that was bidding for the Digital Migration
Tender.
I
wish to inform you that the investigations into this matter have now been
concluded and the allegations were not substantiated. The investigations have
since been closed.
5. Alleged
abuse of authority of office against former Minister of Tourism and Arts Hon
Sylvia Masebo in the manner she cancelled the hunting concessions awarded by
ZAWA.
Investigations
into this matter have reached an advanced stage and are nearing conclusion
6. Alleged
abuse of authority of office against former Minister of Tourism and Art Hon
Sylvia Masebo in the manner she is alleged to have feted some named traditional
leader using public funds during a civil matter in court against her.
The
investigations into this matter have been concluded and evidence is currently
being analysed.
7. Alleged
Abuse of Authority of Office against former Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary
for Administration Anna Mwitwa Mwewa.
The matter has now been
referred to the National Prosecutions Authority for possible consent to
prosecute.
8. Alleged
abuse of Authority of Office against Hon Chitotela and Hon Mwewa in the manner
Constituency Development Funds were utilized in their respective
constituencies.
I
wish to inform you that after thorough analysis of the evidence collected in
the matter regarding alleged corruption against Honourable Ronald Chitotela,
the allegations have not been substantiated and the matter has now been closed.
With
regard to allegations of corruption involving Honourable Rogers Mwewa, the
matters have now been referred to the
National Prosecutions Authority for possible consent to prosecute.
Conclusion
It
is the Commission’s desire that the public own the fight against corruption by
getting involved and making a strong stand against it and reporting all suspected corrupt practices directly
and in confidence to the Commission. As individuals, we need to influence
others to desist from engaging in corrupt practices. Public and private
officials should see corruption as an affront on socio-economic growth. It is a
cost to everyone and should not be tolerated.
As
we celebrate our country’s Golden Independence Jubilee, let us all reflect on
the sacrifices made for Zambia to attain independence. The sacrifices were
aimed at achieving political freedom and justice in our country that would be
free of corruption. A corruption-free Zambia will therefore ensure that the
sacrifices are not in vain.
Thank
you.
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