PeP leader defends FIC

DIFFRENCES between the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) over the latter’s 2018 report shows lack of collaborative efforts among Government institutions, Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP) has said.

Commenting on DEC director general Alita Mbahwe’s misgivings over the 2018 FIC report, PeP president Sean Enock Tembo said the open differences by Government wings over the report was retrogressive.

Mr Tembo said Pep strongly believed that such attacks by one State institution against another was retrogressive to the standing of the nation in the eyes of the international community.

He said such attacks gave a perception that Government was disorganised and unable to coordinate its own state institutions.

“We took the time to examine the concerns that were raised by the DEC director general regarding the content of the FIC trends report, particularly the allegation that the level of detail in the report has the potential to jeopardize investigations.

“We have come to the conclusion that the trends reports published by the Zambian FIC are similar in detail and content to trends reports published by other countries in the region and overseas,” Mr. Tembo said.

He charged that DEC’s attacks on the FIC did not only lack merit but were probably laced with malice also.

“We are of the view that even if the DEC director general had genuine concerns against the operations of the Financial Intelligence Centre, she should have had the presence of mind to engage FIC in confidence and seek to iron out those concerns.

“The action of convening a press briefing just for the sole purpose of assaulting the integrity and standing of a fellow state institution can only come from a person that is either compromised by those mentioned in the FIC Report, or someone who lacks a sense of judgement requisite of a person holding a position as important as that of director general of the Drug Enforcement Commission.