UPND’s fight against corruption: What a genuine fight looks like
NO matter how good your national plans, ‘corruption eats them for breakfast’. Unless we therefore get serious about fighting corruption, even the much touted Grow Zambia Agenda is dead on arrival.
UPND accused the Lungu regime of looting public coffers and got elected on the platform of ending corruption. Reforms to curb corruption were therefore inevitable. According to Transparency International Zambia (TIZ), however, fighting corruption will no longer be a priority for UPND. This could imply waving the white flag – surrendering to corruption or declaring victory in the fight. What evidence then is there that the Hichilema administration is committed to fighting corruption.
As President Hichilema prepares for his state of the nation address, I appraise UPND’s fight against corruption and highlight needed reforms.
Why we should all be concerned with corruption
Corruption affects and undermines everything. It’s a business issue – increases the cost of doing business; a legal issue – renders laws ineffective; a security issue – corrupt public officers compromise national security; and a productivity issue – creates a parallel economy in which effort and ingenuity ain’t rewarded. What is the point of a student putting in effort, a business investing in research and developing new products or a candidate persuading voters if a bribe will do the magic? Corruption is therefore everyone’s business.
Political party funding and politicians in business
The starting point in fighting corruption is addressing how state power is acquired. A party that attains power corruptly or is captured by some financier, lacks the conviction and moral authority to fight corruption and can’t deliver as its loyalty lies elsewhere. As previously argued in this column, needed electoral reforms include regulating political party funding, especially during campaigns, and repealing section 97 of the Electral Process Act.
Public procurement is another challenge. Those in influential positions can award or influence the award of tenders to businesses offering some inducement or in which they have an interest. The only ‘reform’ in this regard, however, has been the president’s call to buy at the right price, of the right quality and with timely delivery. We nonetheless need a law regulating the participation in government tenders of serving politicians and government workers or businesses linked to them.
Then there’s petty corruption such as bribes which mostly thrive on poorly designed laws that confer too much discretion, thereby creating opportunities for corruption. With regard to corruption on our roads, we need to minimise the human factor in enforcing traffic regulations – installing cameras, for example. The administration has nonetheless opted to occasionally ban check points.
Failure to probe human rights violations and past corruption
Given human rights violations during the Lungu era and President Hichilema’s repeated reference to those who lost their lives, some form of truth and reconciliation commission was also expected. However, it was left to individual victims to sue, following which the state selectively enters into consent judgements.
Similarly, the ‘massive looting’ would be handled through the normal channels – nothing akin to President Mwanawasa’s Task Force on Corruption. Meanwhile, Zambians still await answers on gassing, procurement of fire tenders, ambulances and the Presidential Gulfstream, theft of drugs and illegal mukula trade.
Opaque governance
Fighting corruption is synonymous with transparent government. Most critical, in this regard, are deals concerning our most valuable resource – copper. Whereas the enactment of The Access to Information Act is laudable, it has failed to deliver. Likewise, despite accusing President Lungu of ‘only speaking at airports’, promised quarterly media briefings never materialised. Even then, the country can’t wait for whenever a press briefing will be called to seek answers. The president should be accessible.
And despite UPND committing to lifestyle audits and accusing the Electral Commission of shielding late President Lungu when it refused to disclose asset declarations in 2021, asset declarations remain concealed. The argument that no law provides for publication is simply unsustainable as no law equally forbids voluntary disclosure. In fact, article 52(3) of the Constitution requires publication of asset declarations and the Constitutional Court directed the enactment of a law to actualise it.
Besides the ineffectual Access to Information Act, there have been no reforms to ensure transparent government.
Lack of institutional reform
The question of independence of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is perennial. It’s no wonder late George Mpombo accused ACC and DEC of “acting like drama queens only exciting public confidence and then crawl into the ground”, after ACC succumbed to public pressure and reopened investigations into the ‘48 mysterious houses’ after claiming the owner couldn’t be found and closing the case.
ACC hasn’t been reformed, however. The president still appoints both the board and the Director General (DG) and sets the DG’s conditions of service while the board serves at his pleasure. Calls for reform, following the fallout with the Musa Mwenye led board, were rejected. Neither has a mechanism been devised for the kind of vetting required for those leading the fight and, apart from the economic crimes court, no measures have been introduced to curb illicit outflow of billions of dollars. Not even a substantive Auditor General could be appointed for five years.
And contrary to UPND’s prior position, ministers and senior officials remain in office while being investigated, even when allegations are directly related to their offices. Interestingly, not a single minister or permanent secretary was charged, let alone prosecuted for corruption during the first five years of UPND’s rule.
The Director General should be appointed by the board and the board’s tenure secured while ministers and senior officials under investigation should automatically be suspended. Further, the Ministerial Code of Conduct Act should be amended and sanctionable offences broadened to include violation of the Constitution.
Compromised civil service and overbearing presidency
Corruption can not be fought with a compromised and partisan civil service. Likewise, an effective fight against corruption is incorpartible with an overbearing presidency. Historically, it has been almost impossible to hold individuals close to the presidency accountable. It may still be the case, for example, that ACC should inform the president before arresting a minister. ACC is effectively surbordinated to the presidency. Consequently, whether the country makes progress on corruption, has depended on the occupant of State House.
Under President Hichilema, the presidency would even appear to be involved in technical matters like negotiating investment deals. The presidency ought to provide oversight and direction; otherwise, who holds it accountable. If anything, it’s time the presidency was also reformed.
We are still operating under the condemned PF mould
If the magnitude of corruption under PF was as Zambians were told, then it needed extraordinary means to deal with it. The mismatch between rhetoric and action is mammoth. Apparently, we changed parties and personnel but kept structures, systems and methods of work.
The levels of corruption and illegal activities, as reported by Financial Intelligence Center (FIC), has continued unabated. It’s telling that several PF members who were accused of corruption have been embraced in UPND while champions of the corruption fight have mostly been ostracised.
Hopefully we will hear concrete measures against corruption as President Hichilema addresses Parliament.
The author is a lawyer and a citizen who wants the best for our country.
For comments and feedback: chris.mapani@gmail .com
