Maravi

Inspire young ones on corruption, justice Chileshe urges leaders

Inspire young ones on corruption, justice Chileshe urges leaders
By Christopher Miti in Chipata
Tuesday June 03, 2008 [04:00]

LEADERS need to ensure that young people are inspired by their exemplary conduct in the eyes of the public, Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) chairperson justice Valentine Chileshe has advised. And Eastern Province minister Charles Shawa said the government had endeavoured to fight corruption in order to achieve a significant reduction in its incidence.

During the official opening of the ACC Eastern Province Youth Festival at Chipata College of Education yesterday, justice Chileshe said young people needed direction if they were to uphold society values such as integrity.

"This festival whose theme is 'Young people against corruption' brings young people together, giving them an opportunity to express their feelings on the devastating evils of corruption. It is also an important occasion because it spells out the various roles that are supposed to be played by all of us in the fight against corruption. It is therefore incumbent upon us to instill such senses in them so that the country can have a better and corrupt-free future," justice Chileshe said.

He urged the young people to take advantage of the festival and become anti-corruption campaigns activists.

"It is from such festivals that the youth can gain as much knowledge as they can for the creation of a sober society free of corruption and other malpractices. The anti-corruption artworks also provide a basis on which the commission is able to assess the levels of understanding of corruption issues by the youth," justice Chileshe said.

ACC director general Nixon Banda said the commission had designed different programmes aimed at inculcating moral uprightness and integrity in the youths.

"This falls under one of the commission's statutory function of educating the community on the causes and evil effects of corruption and so solicit for support in fighting the scourge. From the previous festivals that we have held, we have been very impressed with the way youths think about corruption and its impact on society, and more so on how to curb the scourge," Banda said.

And Shawa, who was represented by Chipata district commissioner Nicholas Banda, said a lot of programmes aimed at fighting corruption had been put in place.
Shawa said the festival was one of the programmes aimed at equipping young Zambians with knowledge for them to avoid and report any form of corruption thereby helping to build a generation that would strive to be corrupt-free.

"This is a welcome initiative by the ACC in helping to shape the character of our youths so that they grow into responsible, caring, honest and accountable persons," Shawa said.
Eastern Province education officer Pilila Jere, who was represented by Chipata District Education Board Secretary Patrick Zulu, said the ministry was happy with the ACC because it was helping in moulding the character of the youths in issues of anti corruption and values such as integrity.

"The ministry has always been faced with serious challenges in this area due to pressures that the youths face in the midst of many social challenges out there. The school may do its best in instilling the moral attributes that are valuable to society but these are soon eroded because of the wider society," said Jere.

The event, which will run for a week, has attracted participants from 20 schools from Chipata, Katete and Chadiza districts.

Labels: ACC, CHARLES SHAWA, VALENTINE CHILESHE

posted by MrK @ 7:51 AM