Corruption is a symptom of political, economic problems
Corruption is a symptom of political, economic problems - NalumangoBy Nomusa Michelo
Monday March 05, 2007 [02:00]
Corruption is a symptom of serious political and economic problems, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Mutale Nalumango has said. Opening a workshop on anti-corruption for members of parliament on Friday in Lusaka, Nalumango said corruption was one of the greatest challenges facing the world today. She said corruption prevailed when there was lack of political will to combat it and economic opportunities for it prevailed.
"In a way, corruption is a symptom of fundamental economic and political problems," she said. "Addressing these problems, therefore, requires dealing with the underlying economic, political and institutional causes. This takes time because it is not only the systems which have to be changed, but the mindset of the people as well." Nalumango said it should be impressed upon the people's minds that corruption undermines good governance, fundamentally distorts public policy, leads to misallocation of resources, harms society as a whole and in particular, the poor.
She said individuals should realise that there were practical and ethical reasons for containing corruption. "In the fight against corruption, emphasis should be placed more on prevention and on reforming systems, not only exposing individual cases," she said. Nalumango also said it was important to ensure that the anti-corruption laws passed in the House were enforced.
She said corruption could only be controlled with the co-operation of a wide range of stakeholders including parliamentarians, the executive, civil society and the private sector. "There is a daunting task ahead of parliamentarians in the fight against corruption. Winning the fight against corruption is a process," she said.
Nalumango said the workshop programme was well packed and she was confident that parliamentarians would at the end of the day understand corruption. And PACT Zambia country director Matondo Yeta said corruption undermined the legitimacy of government. Yeta said members of parliament had an important role to play in holding government accountable.
Labels: CORRUPTION
posted by MrK @ 4:40 AM
1 Comments:
It are the systems that do not adequately monitor resources, that do not have clear mandates and directives, where opportunity for confusion, and therefore corruption, exist. *Systems* have to be tightened up. Ministers should not be able to transfer money from their ministerial account to their personal account (the Bulaya case). There should be specific penalties for specific transgressions. There should be many people monitoring government resources, and they should know every second of the day where what money is.
This goes well beyond personal or moral failings, like the words 'vice' or 'weakness' used in previous articles implied.
So I completely agree with the deputy speaker.
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