President Michael Sata has put on a brave face to pledge his commitment to the fight against corruption amid serious allegations among his senior party members.
Launching the National Anti Corruption week, President Sata said the fight against corruption is high on the Patriotic Front (PF) government agenda and anybody found wanting will be severely dealt with. The anti-corruption day is commemorated on December 9.
However, there has been wrangling within the high government ranks with defence minister Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba commonly known as GBM and Justice minister Wynter Kabimba accusing each other of being corrupt.
The duo has since reported each other to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for the alleged corrupt activities.
While the ACC has been conducting investigations, there have been several calls for President Sata to remove the two ministers from their positions to pave way for a fair course of justice and avoid undue influence on the matter but to no avail. Other anti corruption activists have called on the two ministers to resign but the message has been spurned with impunity.
Kabimba even summoned the courage to give the ACC a seven day ultimatum to clear his name, a move that was viewed to be intimidating the investigating wing. Many civil society organisations have expressed concern over the sluggish pace at which the matter was being handled and are worried about possible interference to water down the matter.
President Sata’s fight against corruption was initially questioned when he offered a contract of K642 million to Apollo Enterprises, a company owned by finance minister Alexander Chikwanda who is his brother in marriage to rehabilitate Nkwazi House, the official residence of the president.
At his own admission, Vice-President Dr Guy Scott said Apollo Enterprises was single sourced and Chikwanda allegedly never even declared interest. Conversely, it was Presidnet Sata and his PF leaders that ferociously criticized former MMD transport minister Dora Siliya for single sourcing the radar at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.
President Sata went further to support the tribunal that was constituted to investigate Siliya’s allegations of single sourcing and this underpinned the PF election campaign to portray the MMD as a corrupt political party.
President Sata has now failed to identify the wrong in his own dealings and decided to gloss over it.
The transfer of the Road Development Agency (RDA) to State House has also created fears of perpetrating corruption from State House. Many stakeholders have expressed concern at President Sata’s decision to take RDA to State House as it is likely to breed corruption.
In addition, many concerns have been made over President Sata’s decision to appoint his party cadre Willie Nsanda to head the board of RDA. The civil society has condemned this move contending RDA will now be under pressure to offer road construction contracts to either PF cadres that are running construction companies or party sympathisers. They have highlighted this RDA move as a determinant of abuse of office and corruption in the PF government.
The manner in which these cases have handled by the PF government may as well give an indication of how the government has fared in curbing the vice. Whether the PF government fight against corruption is rhetoric or practical is a question that begs an answer.