ACC lacking on ‘dirty’ cops

THE Anti- Corruption Commission (ACC) has been challenged to tell the nation if ineptitude is what is causing it fail to act on corrupt police officers who have been exposed by several surveys as the most corrupt.

Golden Progressive Party (GPP) president Jackson Silavwe has questioned why police officers were not being prosecuted when they had been labeled to be the most corrupt in Zambia.

Mr Silavwe said ACC had turned a blind eye to the officers’ corrupt activities when its mandate is to guard against the vice.

“ACC rubs shoulders with police officers and is well aware of the deep rooted corruption in the Service. It has been labeled as the most corrupt institution in Zambia but most police officers are never prosecuted. ACC is watching the corrupt activities, is it the failure to act due to incompetence?” he said.

Mr. Silavwe advised the ACC to ensure there was no patronage when dealing with corruption in Zambia.

He said the ACC Act had given the commission enough power to deal with corruption regardless of the culprit.

Mr. Silavwe said police officers were not sacred cows for them to engage in corrupt activities with impunity without being prosecuted.

ACC should take interest in cases of police officers reported by members of the public for dubious acts.

And Mr Silavwe called for urgent reforms in the ACC to make it viable and root out corruption.

He said the first priority is to create an independent directorate within the commission to investigate maladministration and corruption among officers and it should only be answerable to Parliament.

Mr. Silavwe said the proposed system has worked well in South Africa where the independent wing can arrest even the top command without fear.

He said the Zambian system is not working well because officers who are expected to arrest corrupt police officers report to the same command.

Mr. Silavwe also said it was embarrassing that the police who supposed to deal with perpetrators of corruption were themselves the most corrupt.

ACC rubs shoulders with police officers and is well aware of the deep rooted corruption in the Service. It has been labeled as the most corrupt institution in Zambia but most police officers are never prosecuted. ACC is watching the corrupt activities, is it the failure to act due to incompetence?