Plunderers Are The Same As Armed Robbers

In 1991, the Second Republic ushered in multi-party politics but little did the Zambia public realize that the new political dispensation also brought unfathomable high levels of corruption. Almost 20 years after the advent of plural politics, corruption has grown unfettered in leaps and bounds. Civil servants, commissioned officers and politicians are all actively and rampantly involved in misappropriating public funds in one form or another. At the present moment instances of financial misconduct are so seriously alarming to the extent that the problem has degenerated into a scourge. Those who plunder public funds are not different from armed robbers who rob Banks, businesses and homes. Likewise, these plunderers should be referred to as robbers and also be given the same treatment and punishment as that meted out to armed robbers.

The Government has put in checks and balances in all government institutions to prevent civil servants and controlling officers from misappropriating funds. But how do they circumvent the system? There must be a lot of connivance in the system that now urgently requires complete overhaul to make the system secure and foolproof. It is been a yearly ritual for the Auditor General's Office to present reports of financial irregularities to the public. These reports have not amounted to anything let alone translate into prosecution of the people involved. The Auditor General's report must act as the point of departure for the government to institute legal proceedings against all the involved officials. 

The former Zambia Congress of Trade Union president, Fackson Shamenda, is right to demand that the truth about Mobile Hospitals be publicised as a matter of transparency. His request is in line with President Rupiah Banda's promise to the electorate that he would not abandon the fight against corruption. To this end, the Zambian public is eagerly awaiting for the President to come out in the open to explain what he knows about the plan to import Mobile Hospitals rural areas. For purposes of transparency and credibility building, the President must seize this opportunity to tell the nation with a high degree honesty about the plan to import Mobile Hospitals . The rate at which corruption is raging will require the President to demand the strengthening of the law to effectively deal with corruption. In addition, there is need to urgently change the law so that those accused of corruption will have the burden to prove their innocence. Also, prison sentences handed out to convicts are merely a slap on the wrist and therefore cannot deter them from stealing. Having said that, it will be critical to legislate stiffer laws and longer sentences that would eventually act as deterrent against perpetual thieves that misappropriate public funds with impunity.