THE Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) has commended government for its efforts in combating corruption, citing Zambia’s improved performance on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) as an encouraging development.
In their pastoral letter, the Bishops lauded government for pursuing corruption cases involving officials from the Patriotic Front (PF) administration.
The Catholic leaders recommended that the assets being forfeited to the State as a way of fighting corruption must be used in a transparent and accountable manner for the benefit of all Zambians.
ZCCB further called on government to amend the Anti Corruption Act as a way of strengthening the fight against corruption and proposed several changes to enhance its effectiveness.
The changes include increasing the length of prison sentences for corruption offenses, introducing stricter qualifications for the position of Director General of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and requiring a two-thirds parliamentary majority to ratify such appointments.
However, the Catholic Clergy expressed concern over reports from the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and other agencies indicating a rise in corruption within government ranks.
“Successive reports from the Financial Intelligence Unit and other official bodies show that corruption in government is on the increase, but senior government officials seem to be shielded from prosecution.”
“We ask the Republican President to suspend from office any public leader facing investigations in order to prevent them from interfering with the process,” read the letter.
They further urged President Hakainde Hichilema to publicly declare his assets and liabilities, even though there may not be such a law compelling him to do so.
Meanwhile, ZCCB applauded government for its large scale recruitment of teachers, health workers and security personnel across the country.
“These efforts will go a long way in alleviating poverty among our people,” read the letter.
The Bishops also welcomed the country’s recent debt restructuring deal with international creditors.
“Although the debt restructuring deal does not amount to debt cancellation, it reschedules the debt repayments to a later date, reduces interests on the debt, and frees funds for expenditure in social sectors. These efforts are commendable,” stated the Bishops.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, November 18, 2024
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