LUSAKA, Dec. 9 — Zambia on Thursday joined the rest of the world in commemorating this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day with President Hakainde Hichilema urging all citizens to stand up against the vice.
The Zambian president said the theme for this year’s commemoration — Your Right, Your Role; Say No to Corruption — brings to the fore the individual responsibility for each citizen in ensuring that the scourge was removed from society.
“This theme is (a) challenge to all of us, the state, government officials, civil servants, law enforcement officers, the media, the private sector and civil society, the clergy, academia, the youth and indeed members of the public,” he said.
The Zambian leader said removing corruption was vital in order to hasten the country’s progress toward economic prosperity and improving the quality of life of people, stressing the fight against corruption should not be left to law enforcement agencies only but should be the duty of everyone.
The Zambian leader also said that corruption was a global problem which was one of the threats to the attainment of the global sustainable development goals and hindrance to prosperous and peaceful Africa.
Zambia has had a devastating experience with corruption, with the country losing colossal sums of money through corrupt deals, misappropriation of public funds and theft leaving the country’s treasury empty, said the Zambian president. He added his government has pledged to implement zero tolerance on corruption through the adoption of new strategies and recover all the resources stolen.
United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator Coumba Mar Gadio said the UN was happy with the current Zambian government commitment to strengthening accountability and transparency as well as fighting corruption, warning weak institutions and governance provide a conducive environment for corruption to thrive. – XINHUA
