ACC ABETTING CORRUPTION…
ACC risks becoming unprofessional says Katele Kalumba.
BOTH the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) are misdirecting their energies and therefore abetting serious corruption in the rank and file of the public service by selectively concentrating on politically exposed victims, former Finance minister Katele Kalumba has said.
It did not have to take the President to disclose massive procurement corruption which the ACC should have been aware of, Dr Kalumba said.
Dr Kalumba said both institutions know of junior officers in the Road Development Agency (RDA) and other procurement institutions, owning mansions and property beyond their means, but do not act, often due to tribal affiliation.
He complained that public perception is quickly mounting that the ACC has become unprofessional in the way they are discharging duties.
Both ACC and DEC have failed to stop dubious contract deals because of misdirecting their energy to chasing politicians who may not even be involved in corruption.
Dr Kalumba said instead of politicking, the institution should have been conducting due diligence on government contracts and prevent over pricing.
The former minister who also served at Home Affairs, said there was need for the ACC to be vigilant and ensure that government contracts and deals were above board.
Dr Kalumba who is also former Minister of Home Affairs said there were a lot of corruption especially in the way contracts were awarded which the Commission needed to concentrate on but were busy chasing politicians who were not even involved in corruption activities.
He said dubious deals such as over pricing of contracts were supposed to be stopped by the Commission to stop people from ripping the nation of its resources.
He however complained that the institution seemed to be busy politicking instead of playing its rightful role in the governance system.
The former minister said such conduct was unprofessional and needed to be stopped for the best interest of the nation.
In an interview yesterday, he said the ACC needed to invest much in probing serious matters and not merely wanting to de-campaign politicians who were innocent.
“I expect and pray that the ACC prioritise important issues. It is just shocking that they are concentrating on politicians when they do not even have much information.
“”They are busy following wrong trails, as a result they miss targeting those major areas of investigations.
“They waste a lot time on unnecessary issues which are not of interest of the nation I think they can do better in their duties because going by this they are being unprofessional. Those are mandated to look into serious issues in order for them to give a service to the people,” he said.
The ACC needed to stop politicising issues for them to do things right, stating as long as they continue politicising they will continue to be unprofessional.