Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Ministers Under Probe: Calls for Transparency Intensify

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“Ministers Under Probe: Calls for Transparency Intensify”

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has named several high-profile individuals under investigation, igniting calls for greater transparency and accountability. While the ACC has confirmed its probe into certain Cabinet Ministers, their identities remain undisclosed.

In a recent statement, ACC Acting Director General Monica Chipanta-Mwansa confirmed that Livingstone Mayor Ms. Constance Nalishebo Muleabai and former Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations Permanent Secretary Dr. Ronald Simwiinga are among those under investigation. Additionally, Solicitor General Marshal Muchende SC is also under advanced investigation, as confirmed last week.

Despite these disclosures, the ACC has refrained from naming the Cabinet Ministers currently under investigation. Vice President W.K. Mutale Nalumango affirmed in Parliament that the Commission would not be revealing the names of these Ministers. However, there is significant speculation regarding which Ministers have been summoned, interviewed, or are under “Warn & Caution” statements. These include:

– Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Reuben Mutolo
– Minister of Livestock and Fisheries (formerly Energy), Hon. Peter Kapala
– Minister of Lands (formerly Minister of Health), Hon. Silvia Masebo
– Minister of Science and Technology, Hon. Felix Mutati
– Copperbelt Minister, Hon. Elisha Matambo

In addition, several Permanent Secretaries and senior government officials have been summoned by the ACC and the Drug Enforcement Commission’s Anti-Money Laundering Unit. This includes high-ranking officials who are also under scrutiny, highlighting the breadth of the investigation.

Typically, law enforcement agencies withhold names until investigations reach an advanced stage, and they are prepared to issue “Warn and Caution” statements or make arrests. However, recent trends have seen these agencies publicly naming individuals of interest, particularly from previous administrations. The heightened scrutiny and media coverage of these individuals have fueled public demand for similar transparency regarding current investigations.

Advocates for transparency argue that the ACC must disclose the names of those it is pursuing to ensure fairness and prevent any potential interference with evidence. They emphasize that maintaining equal treatment under the law is crucial, asserting, “We cannot allow Law Enforcement Agencies to establish double standards where different categories of persons and Zambians are more equal than others or perceived as privileged before the law.”

The principle of equality before the law requires a systematic rule of law that observes due process to provide equal justice and ensures that no individual or group of individuals is privileged over others. “Fighting corruption is a serious matter and cannot be conducted in a casual, flippant and mischievous manner as the ACC is doing,” commented Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba, adding, “Ukutamfya Mumbwe ne nseko…nawo Mumbwe aleseka!”

As the nation grapples with issues of corruption, it is vital for the ACC to uphold principles of equality and transparency. The call for rigorous and unbiased enforcement of anti-corruption measures remains strong, reflecting a broader demand for accountability in the fight against corruption.

By Emmanuel Mwamba.

19 COMMENTS

  1. Am very disappointed with President Hakainde Hichilema…at some point i thought he was a genuine leader and ready to fight corruption but it turns he is just a script writer fooling gullible Zambians and pretending like he’s fighting corruption but he’s actually the enabler of corruption and to the look of things HH also is seriously involved in corruption thats why he can’t fire his corrupt Ministers

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  2. Chitotela, Esther Lungu, Lusambo, America 2, and many other PF were summoned to the ACC in broad day light. We were all seeing them on TV entering the ACC offices. Why are these being called in the night?

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    • There’s no minister being investigated….they that Zambians are not good at follow-up…. the story will just fly away.

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  3. Why not mention them,? Are you waiting for the HH to allow you mention them. As for Felix he’s doing a good job campaigning for himself during his tours. Pasopo

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    • Minister of Science and Technology, Hon. Felix Mutati has been leading me on for over a year on the matter of the Sustainable Fuelwood Agency. I want to see him step forward and clarify what is going on. To date, I have sent over 300,000.00 ZMW to him for the setting up of the Sustainable Fuelwood Agency and have seen no results. Where has the money gone?

    • @Garry Brooks you could have been scammed. One tried this one on me but I checked him out by asking the road where his elder brother in Lusaka stays. He never called back.

  4. Don’t be fooled…there’s NO Minister under investigation….in Zambia we joke too much…if someone is under investigation first thing you do is reveal their identity….how can you investigate someone secretly???…they investigating invisible Ministers…and if someone is under investigation you relieve them of their duties….but we have a government of deceit and deception….

    • But investigation has to be secret cos once the cat is out of the bag all the rats will flee and hide.

  5. Your ear is hit with a high powered assault rifle and its still intact….Modern day Politics of playing theatrical games just to fool gullible followers

  6. When we say Hakainde is a failed project for Zambia, some people doubt. If you take stock of the scandals, tribalism nepotism, grand corruption etc. etc. and outright incompetence that are taking place under Hakainde it is the first of its kind since independence. Hakainde is arguably going to be the first head of state to skip the country after losing an election. Consequently we need better safety nets for one to ascend to presidency.

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  7. The lessons learned under Hakainde are a good cause to re look at our constitution. It will take a long time for people to dissociated Hakainde’s type of rule from his tribe. The majority of Zambians are in a shock, we call upon his tribesmen to show cause in 2026 that they are not tribal by voting differently from what we have always witnessed. Other provinces have been voting democratically but not Southern province.

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  8. These are iron curtain behaviours of treating simple things like state secrets. These institutions must be able to put out their information for public consumption so people can be restrained from gossip. Silly things are like privileged information and it is very surprising in the 21st Century.

  9. In companies supervisors who sleep with their female subordinates always fail to take disciplinery action against them (female subordinates).

  10. I haven’t seen a useless and disparate politicians like PF. You were in power for 10 years and corruption was at its best. Giving cadres money. Taking government money in bus stops, markets and supplying fake tenders. Mwamba has no guts to voice out about corruption. where was Lungu? he even refused to declare his worth when he was a president of Zambia. C.K. said it all that Lungu was corrupt to the call. Now his family is in called to justify the wealth. He said he invested in his family when he was practicing law. Luckly, we know his that he was blacklist for steal from a poor widower. He led corruption by example.

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