Nkulukusa says govt making steady progress with anti-corruption fight

Secretary to the Treasury, Felix Nkulukusa, claims the government has made huge strides in fighting corruption as evidenced by the various efforts and the enactment of legislation aimed to promote transparency.

Nkulukusa made the remarks in his keynote address titled “the fight against corruption in Zambia: insights on successes, challenges and opportunities going forward”, at the 14th Annual African, African American, and Diaspora (AAAD) Interdisciplinary Conference at James Madison University in Washington DC.

This is according to a statement made available to Zambia Monitor on Sunday by Zambian embassy in Washington First Secretary for Press and Public Relations, Charles Tembo .

Nkulukusa said the enactment of the Access to Information Act would aid in holding accountable public and private bodies by the civil society, the media and the public at large hence reducing corruption.

“We enacted the Access to Information Act to provide for the right to access information from public and private bodies.

“With this law, public and private bodies will be held accountable by civil society, the media and the public at large hence reducing corruption as corrupt officers face higher risks of exposure,”Nkulukusa said.

To complement the Anti-Corruption Commission, he said an Inter-Agency Coordination Framework comprising 21 law enforcement and other competent authorities, was established on January 10, 2023.

The Framework, spearheaded by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions operates based on existing domestic legal and institutional frameworks, institutional mandates, bilateral and multilateral agreements, recommending best practices in combating economic and financial crimes, illicit financial flows, and stolen asset recovery.

Nkulukusa acknowledged the negative impact of corruption on governance and economic development but emphasised the Zambian Government’s ongoing efforts to fight the vice for the benefit of the people.

He also observed that the contemporary global anti-corruption agenda has achieved a lot in terms of drawing attention to the problem.

Zambia’s Ambassador to the United States Chibamba Kanyama said decentralization had worked well in Zambia as the money goes directly to the people through the increased Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

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