Don’t just issue blanket apologies, itemise wrongs, TIZ tells PF

24th March 2022

Local

Transparency International Zambia executive director Maurice Nyambe speaks at the Zambia Anti-Corruption Conference at Mika Valley Exotic Hotel in Lusaka – December 8, 2020 – Picture by Tenson Mkhala

Local

Transparency International Zambia executive director Maurice Nyambe speaks at the Zambia Anti-Corruption Conference at Mika Valley Exotic Hotel in Lusaka – December 8, 2020 – Picture by Tenson Mkhala

TRANSPARENCY International Zambia (TIZ) says it would be interesting to hear from PF what wrongs they think they committed against Zambians to warrant apologies.

PF National Youth Chairman Christopher Kang’ombe recently apologised to Zambians for all the shortcomings of his party when it was in power.

But in a write-up, TIZ executive director Maurice Nyambe said the apology from the PF was a blanket one.

“Your story in today’s edition about Hon. Christopher Kang’ombe, the PF National Youth Chairman taking it upon himself to apologise, on behalf of his party, for “all the wrongs” they committed while in power makes interesting reading. It would be interesting to hear from the PF themselves what wrongs they think they committed against the Zambian people. We are of the view that this will help people to appreciate the genuineness of this blanket apology,” he stated.

“From our point of view, among the many wrongs committed by the PF was to allow corruption to become rooted in Zambia, without taking any real measures to address it. Over the last few weeks, we have seen law enforcement agencies going in to hold some PF leaders who were in government accountable for some of this corruption. But the overwhelming response from the PF as a party has been to cry foul and portray this as political persecution.”

He said despite the apology, the PF should be made to account for the wrongs they committed.

“What wrongs then are the PF asking Zambians to forgive them for if efforts to hold them accountable for some of those wrongs are being termed as political persecution? It is this contradiction that causes us to doubt the genuineness of the PF’s apology as given by Hon. Kang’ombe. But assuming that the apology is indeed genuine, we hope that the PF realise that Zambians forgiving them for the wrongs will not mean that they will not be held accountable for those wrongs. Whether forgiven or not, they must be made to account for the wrongs that they committed and should not take being forgiven as an amnesty of sorts for those wrongs,” said Nyambe.