Transparency International Zambia (TI-Z) joins the rest of the nation in celebrating Zambia’s 57th independence day. As a country, we have come a long way over the last 57 years in spite of the political, economic and social challenges we continue to face. As TI-Z, we wish to pay glowing tribute to the many great sons and daughters of mother Zambia, whether still living or otherwise, who have sacrificed so much in the fight to maintain and improve our political, economic and social freedoms over the last 57 years. While those efforts may not always have yielded results, the desire and commitment to improve the country’s wellbeing deserves glowing tribute and will forever be etched in the annuls of Zambia’s history.
Over the last 57 years, the maturity of our democracy has been put to the test on a number of occasions, and the 2021 general elections were no exception in that regard. From TI-Z’s monitoring of the electoral process, it was clear that while there were a number of contextual factors that limited freedoms of association, assembly and speech during the build up to the elections, Zambia yet again provided Africa and the world with a glowing example that it was possible to attain a peaceful transition of power even in the midst of a range of obstacles.
Despite our best efforts over the last 57 years, Zambia has continued to be beset with several challenges in relation to governance and the management of public resources, which have made it very difficult to attain real economic emancipation. The rampant corruption the country has witnessed over the years is one such challenge that has continued to concern citizens and other stakeholders, owing to the resource leakages and inequalities it has led to. In fact, there is no doubt that Zambia’s development prospects over the years have been limited by the continued plunder of public resources by selfish individuals who choose to put their interests over those of the wider citizenry.
As we commemorate 57 years of independence as a country, the need to consolidate our efforts towards addressing the many bottlenecks to our economic emancipation remains critical.
TI-Z therefore calls upon the UPND government to use this year’s commemoration of independence to turn the tide in the fight against corruption, and free Zambia from the shackles of this scourge. Zambia has led by example in the demonstration of how peaceful transition of power can occur, and the time has come for us to lead by example in fighting corruption through implementing innovative measures to combat the scourge. We urge the UPND administration to take up this challenge in order to bring Zambia back on the right trajectory.
In this regard, we note that the UPND manifesto, which TI-Z analysed along with two other party manifestos prior to the 2021 elections, promises to actualize the declaration of assets and lifestyle audits on public officials. This promise is in line with Zambia’s Constitution, which provides for the declaration of assets and the development of a substantive law to actualize this provision.
TI-Z further calls upon the UPND government to strengthen law enforcement agencies such as the Anti-Corruption and Drug Enforcement Commissions in order to upscale the prosecution of cases involving corruption. The Zambian public continues to demonstrate keen interest in how such cases are handled, and their anticipation is that those who have plundered public resources will be made to account for their actions in a manner that will serve as a deterrent to any future abuse of public resources.
Finally, TI-Z calls upon all peace loving Zambians to continue demonstrating patriotism by reporting cases of corruption to law enforcement agencies. We are of the considered view that our quest as a country to make real progress in addressing the challenges we face will only succeed when citizens continue to not only take interest in how the affairs of the country are being run, but also to actively take part in those affairs at different levels.
We owe it to posterity to demonstrate that we are putting in our best in contributing to Zambia’s political, economic and social emancipation.
Maurice K. Nyambe
TI-Z Executive Director
