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SECRETARY to the Cabinet Rowland Msiska says there is need to maintain integrity in government institutions if the country is to achieve sustainable development.
Dr Msiska says integrity is at the centre of government’s efforts to transform the public service in Zambia.
“Let me bring your attention to the anatomy of corruption in Zambia, it starts to look at loopholes in the system so as to exploit those particular loopholes,” he said
Dr Msiska said in Chisamba yesterday, during a workshop for integrity committee members training, that integrity at system and policy levels should be predictable, constituent and transparent for all to ensure accountability.
He said that the fight against corruption cannot be left to Government alone.
“All the key sectors should be involved. This is why we can no longer afford to leave the fight against corruption to Government alone or the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC),” Dr Msiska said.
He said the vision of the Anti-Corruption policy is to have a nation and its people that have zero tolerance to the vice.
This, Dr Msiska said, can only be achieved once individuals take the fight against graft seriously and that there should be support and commitment from the leadership.
Dr Msiska said leaders should provide an enabling environment to show people that corruption is a hindrance to development.
He said for the integrity programme to succeed, there should be transformational leadership where both leaders and followers inspire each other to uphold levels of morality for the good of society.
“One of the basic tenets of Christianity is that we all give account for the use of service of others,” Dr Msiska said.
He said development can only be achieved through prudent utilisation of resources and that much leaves to be desired in the current management of resources.
Dr Msiska noted that local authorities have the ability to sustain themselves but that these cannot account for the revenue generated.
He said it is important to automate payments to councils so that it is easier to keep track of revenue and account for it.
“Lusaka City Council (LCC) should be the richest local authority because it has many sources of revenue. But where does the money go, who is collecting money from the markets and Intercity bus terminus? How many billboards do you have?” Dr Msiska asked.
And ACC director general RosewinWandi said integrity committees are important components in government institutions as they help reduce corruption.
Mrs Wandi said the training of Integrity committee members for the Lusaka City Council and the Road Development Agency will equip members with knowledge on the dynamics of corruption as a global phenomenon.
And LCC human resource director NamukoloKalufyanya said the local authority is working on reducing ghost workers that have continued to show on its payroll.
Mrs Kalufyanya said a staff audit will be conducted to clean the its payroll and ensure the correct figure of employees is maintained.
The integrity workshop was the 13th that the ACC has conducted since the inception of the government integrity development programme in 2006.
