16 November 2009
editorial
GOING by the explanation by Justice Deputy minister Todd Chilembo, it is clear that a staggering K62 billion was spent on the Taskforce on Corruption to cover legal fees and investigations.
It is also clear that part of the money went to pay legal fees for local and foreign lawyers and it is therefore surprising that the amount of money expended has become a contentious issue.
Surely, former Taskforce chairperson Max Nkole should be the last person to dispute the amount of money spent since he was the head of the organisation.
The presumption is that as head of an organisation, he has knowledge of aspects of the operations including payments made.
It is expected that Mr Nkole has full knowledge of financial activities of the Taskforce and should not engage in public dispute over the matter since the transactions are documented.
Even if he was not the only chairperson of the Taskforce, his predecessors must have left sufficient and accurate records of how much money the taskforce received both from the Government and donors.
For the sake of public record and information, Mr Nkole must endeavour to give as much accurate information as possible and he may not know what happened before he took over reigns. It is best that he keeps quiet rather than appear to be misinforming the public.
Issues of whether money was misapplied should now be left to the findings of the Auditor-General's office, which will conduct a thorough audit and should not be a matter of speculation.
As for the recoveries and whether the Taskforce executed its mandate as expected, that is a matter for the constituting authority to decide and should not be turned into a political theater.
It must also be understood that the Taskforce was an adhoc institution, which naturally had a lifespan dependent on the Government plans and decisions.
As has been said before, whatever funds will be or is available should go to strengthen the crime fighting agencies such as the Anti-corruption commission (ACC) and the Drug enforcement commission (DEC).
This means training and re-training of staff, provision of transport, equipment and other necessary measures to enhance the institutions that fight organised crime, which is sometimes linked to international syndicates.
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