Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Chanda Kasolo says government is frustrated that time and money is being wasted on prosecuting corruption cases when no one has been found guilty recently.
And Kasolo has mockingly asked out-going British High Commissioner Fergus Cochrane-Dyet to invite Zambian security wings to London so that they can be trained by Scotland Yard on how to detect and prosecute corruption cases.
Speaking during a press briefing Thursday, Kasolo said it was frustrating for government to start a case on somebody and find them innocent.
“Here Ministers get arrested and get tried. How many other countries around us do that? And apart from that we also have institutions that are ingrained in fighting corruptions such as the Anti-Corruption Commission, (ACC) Drug Enforcement Commission ( DEC) and so on. Perhaps, one thing that I actually request from the High Commissioner is that : he could go and campaign for us for further training for our security staff. It will be welcome for us to send them to Scotland Yard to go and get more training on detection, [actually] prosecuting cases, we need that,”Kasolo said.
“As government we get very frustrated when we start a case and then somebody is found not guilty. Why do we get frustrated? Because we are wasting a lot of funds! That money could have gone to providing medical care for our people. Better food nutrition for our people but we have to spend it on time wasting cases. Not a single corruption has been proven in recent days.”
And Kasolo wondered why High Commissioner Cochrane-Dyet kept all his observations about bad governance in Zambia to himself and only spoke out when he was going back to his country.
“First and Foremost I lived in the UK for 30 years so I do know where the High Commissioner is coming from. Its a last throw of the dice. I appreciate that he made an effort because for me I like people to say what they feel truthfully. The pity is that he didn’t say it a long time ago. Because if he said it a long time ago, when he was still High Commissioner, then we would have a chance to engage him. Now what is the use of engaging him? He has departed! exclaimed Kasolo.
“We will engage the one that is coming. What I can assure you is that, what I said is very true. We all have corruption. There’s not a single country in the world where there is in no corruption. Even China where they are so strict with corruption, they are just some rotten apples in the barrel. But the greatest thing we must propound is that, Zambia is actually doing everything about corruption.”