CORRUPTION AND ACC

THE arrest of Infrastructure and Housing Minister Ronald Chitotela for alleged corruption by the Anti- Corruption Commission has generated a lot of interest throughout the nation. Mr Chitotela is facing two counts of concealing property suspected of being proceeds of crime. There is a lot of talk doing the rounds, especially that Mr Chitotela is a serving Cabinet Minister. There have been insinuations that Mr Chitotela should be suspended from his ministerial position while investigations are being conducted. It is a fact that there have been a lot of corruption accusations against government officials, all without substantiated evidence. This has made it extremely difficult for President Lungu to take any action, and he has ended up being accused of shielding corrupt elements in Government. Yesterday, President Lungu was prompted to explain his dilemma and put into perspective the rule of law regarding a person accused of committing a crime. As the President said, a person is deemed innocent until convicted in a court of law. Yes, the ACC has laid charges against Mr Chitotela and the nation must expect it to take the case to its logical conclusion – trial and possible conviction. We understand the dilemma in which the President is placed when a public official, especially a cabinet minister is charged with corruption by the ACC. President Lungu explained how he suspended former Information and Broadcasting Minister Chishimba Kambwili over a year ago and to date, the ACC is yet to conclude its case. It is a mark of Statesmanship that Mr Lungu yesterday defended who many would describe as an enemy, that Mr Kambwili, as far as he was concerned, was innocent until convicted. Mr Lungu said he won’t suspend Mr Chitotela from his ministerial position on mere allegations as he does not want to lose him as he did Mr Kambwili. The President said calls from some sections of society to have Mr Chitotela fired, should wait for the law to take its course, as article 18 under the Bill of Rights states presumptions of innocence. Pressure should actually be on the ACC which we feel has been a big letdown in the fight against corruption. It is common knowledge that the ACC has failed to act on cases that have been highlighted not only by the media but other aggrieved citizens as well. A few examples abound. Why has it not acted over the Saturnia pension scam in which Zambians have lost their hard-earned pension contributions through crooked pension fund managers? These pension fund managers even had the audacity to stash the money in offshore accounts and claim they are successful businessmen? The privatisation of State-owned companies is full of questionable dealings in which some key figures ended up having substantial shares in the companies that were privatised. President Lungu, has been on record, and reiterated even yesterday that he will not interfere with the process, but let the ACC carry out their investigations thoroughly and independently. Mr Kambwili’s case is still pending in the courts and indications are that it will drag on till eternity. That is one route the President is not prepared to take by dismissing another minister without a conviction in a court of law. The buck must stop at the ACC offices. Let them be thorough in their investigations and win the confidence of the public by securing convictions in the cases that they are prosecuting. They should not expect the President to “secure convictions” for them through suspensions even before they have concluded their investigations. The ACC has the full backing of the government because like President Lungu said, “I will give them leeway to investigate, arrest and take the culprits to court and I will even fund them for smooth operations.” What more does the ACC want?