The Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) has asked President Hakainde Hichilema to publicly declare his assets and liabilities, in the spirit of transparency and exemplary leadership, “even though there may not be such a law compelling him to do so.”
The bishops have advised Hichilema to suspend from office any public leader being investigated to prevent them from interfering with the process.
The men of the cloth have alleged that the government is not demonstrating a similar commitment to fighting current corruption as it does to alleged corruption under the previous regime.
“Reports of improved performance of Zambia on the Corruption Perception Index are encouraging and commendable. Further, we commend the government for its efforts towards fighting alleged corruption of officials under the previous administration. However, we urge the government to show similar commitment to fighting current corruption.”
They highlighted that successive Financial Intelligence Center reports and those of other official bodies show that “corruption in government is on the increase but senior government officials seem to be shielded from prosecution.”
To strengthen the corruption fight, they have suggested amending the corruption laws, including extending the jail sentences, the board of directors appointing the Director General, instead of the President, and the job-holders being ratified by two-thirds of the members of the National Assembly.
The Conference has also called for amendments to the Judicial Code of Conduct Act provisions related to the appointment of members of the Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC), claiming the “continued dismissals of judges, sometimes under very controversial circumstances” is gravely concerning.
The bishops further allege that the judiciary’s conduct in handling intra-party differences, especially those pertaining to the leadership of the Patriotic Front. “We urged the judiciary to adjudicate such matters in an impartial, decisive, and timely manner…Cases that were filed a long time ago remain undetermined.”
They have urged the Chief Justice to “put the important institution he leads in order” by expediting cases.
The ZCCB also thinks that members of the JCC must possess qualifications and competencies beyond a mere ability to hold or have held high judicial office and should be confirmed by a two-thirds majority of members of parliament instead of the current simple majority.
