Maravi

Lifuka urges Levy to lead corruption fight

Lifuka urges Levy to lead corruption fight
By Noel Sichalwe
Thursday January 10, 2008 [03:01]

TRANSPARENCY International Zambia (TIZ) president Reuben Lifuka yesterday said President Levy Mwanawasa should not just be complaining about corrupt civil servants because the buck stops with him in the fight against corruption. And Caritas Zambia executive director Sam Mulafulafu has said President Mwanawasa could not keep lamenting about corruption in government without taking punitive measures.

The duo was commenting on President Mwanawasa's continued complaints about corrupt public officers.

Lifuka said as an appointing authority, President Mwanawasa had the power to appoint and dismiss Cabinet ministers and permanent secretaries.

"The buck really stops at President Mwanawasa's desk," Lifuka said. "For example, if you have controlling officers whose ministry keep coming up in the Auditor General's report, then there is a problem with the President. He should be the final person to take leadership.

The President is in a privileged position to fight corruption and take leadership. So he cannot, therefore, complain of the high levels of corruption in government because he is the head of government to do something about it."

Lifuka said President Mwanawasa needed to come up with a comprehensive action plan in the fight against corruption. He said if President Mwanawasa would continue complaining about corruption in the government six years after he started, it would mean that he had failed.

He said President Mwanawasa appeared to have failed to inspire the public domain to fight with him because of his inconsistency over the years.

Lifuka said President Mwanawasa's fight against corruption now appeared to be mere political rhetoric without substantive action. And Mulafulafu said President Mwanawasa has been complaining for a long time about corrupt civil servants without concrete sanctions against such erring individuals.

He said it was not just enough to complain against corrupt government officials but that the government needed to take punitive action to save public resources from being stolen.

"It is not just enough to keep lamenting about corrupt officials but action should be taken against such individuals. He (President Mwanawasa) needs to impose punitive measures," Mulafulafu said.

"What I am basically saying is that the fight against corruption should go beyond lamenting. There has been more lamentation but very little action except where we have seen public outcry. We want to see real action."

Labels: MWANAWASA, RUEBEN LIFUKA, SAM MULAFULAFU, TIZ

posted by MrK @ 1:35 PM