GRAFT PROBE CHEERS ACTIVIST

WE are happy that the AntiCorruption Commission (ACC) has finally instituted investigations into the revelations of the 2016 Auditor General’s report on mismanagement of public funds, Patriots for Economic Progress (PEP) President Sean Tembo has said.

Commenting on the announcement made by ACC last week that it would investigate 20 corruption cases from the Auditor General’s report, Mr Tembo said the investigations were very welcome as corruption deprived Zambians access to decent social services.

Mr Tembo said the PEP was particularly delighted that the ACC had started investigations to determine whether the specifications in the tender document for the fire trucks, correspond with the trucks that were supplied to the Zambian government.

He however said that the ACC should give the Zambian people a time frame in which investigations would be concluded.

“We have seen so many times the investigative wings dragging cases which many Zambians have interest in, but we do not want this to be the case for these particular cases, because these are huge sums of money which could have made a huge impact on the country’s economic growth,” Mr Tembo said. He said the government should however establish a fast track court to deal with delays in concluding corruption cases.

Mr Tembo said that corruption cases were taking too long to be heard by the courts and as a result they kept piling up and that affected efficiency.