President Hakainde Hichilema has urged law enforcement agencies to promptly investigate the suspicious transactions highlighted in the 9th Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Trends Report for 2023, released by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC).
The report, which catalogs various suspicious transactions, has drawn the President’s attention. He emphasized the New Dawn government’s unwavering resolve and commitment to zero tolerance for corruption. President Hichilema expects the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), and other relevant agencies to thoroughly investigate all issues raised in the report.
“Illicit transactions undermine a country’s development agenda,” President Hichilema stated, underscoring the importance of addressing these financial irregularities. He reiterated the government’s determination to uphold transparency and accountability, ensuring that all allegations of financial misconduct are rigorously scrutinized and addressed.
The Police and other LEAs investigates and arrest people. It’s when these people go to Court, that’s where the Nation Prosecution Authority and Judges do imingalato. People are acquitted because the NPA somehow “can’t prove” that they are guilty when in-fact the Police gave them the evidence. The Police does a thorough investigation and arrest them then the corruption begins with NPA and the Judges. What follows are Noelles, missing evidence, failure to provide evidence, and failure to convict and criminals go back to do the same thing over again.
Please don’t give the police a pass, because that’s where corruption begins.
Man there’s only one cut but many ways of killing. The prosecutor is key either way. He can waffle so that he loses the case or he can be clear and win the case.
HH has immediately reacted to the report by saying that he expects DEC, ACC and “other agencies” to investigate the suspicious transactions. That’s a world of difference from what was happening when Edgar Lungu was President of Zambia as FIC officers were even being threatened. Heads of the “other agencies” will have to identify themselves. HH is saying, ” show your relevance to this government’s agenda or else there will be consequences”. So who are the “other agencies”?
@Gunna in Zambia – In short he is simply telling them to do their jobs? Benchmarking HH to Edgar Lungu is a thing of the past. Benchmark HH with best practice. Yes, they are suspicious transactions, but FIC likely reported these to DEC, ACC. A reaction can be a follow through and making changes at these institutions. In the meantime, there is silence about more pressing matters like the increase in crime due to load-shedding.
@Gunner but I do remember Lungu urging for the investigation of his cabinet Minister Dr Chilufya and going on to fire him
The letter is written and signed by Hamasaka…. just to show us something is being done about it just like gold scam where certain people were told YOU ARE ON YOUR ON … but privately they were assured YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE.
@Deja Vu, very well written. UPND simply got the template from PF about how to loot funds and are using the same playbook. Players change but the game remains the same.
Let the investigative wings swing into action
And recover what is lost.I doubt much will be
Recovered as most has been taken offshore.
Our system is very porous and weak as we
See FIC reporting these cases every year even
In previous government.
We are just too corrupt as a nation to carry out any decent investigations. You may as well as ask the Kenyans to do it for you.
The fish rots from the head first, as a nation we are chronically corrupt period!!! Even this guy hh is corrupt.. let em do due diligence investigations on how he got his wealth.
upnd portrays as if they are SHEEP and yet are wolves, they are stealing big time & forget that no once stays in power forever….. NEVER EVER trust any politician
Talk is cheap.
We all know nothing will come out of this because the beneficiaries are in positions of power and are connected to the powers that be.
One of HH’s problems is that the Government lacks experienced prosecutors of financial crime. It’s not like what they normally do. A prosecutor of financial crime has to spend long hours with investigators so that the winding road this form of crime takes is clearly explained. In court, it’s the prosecutors who have to put the case to the court in a way that persuades the presiding judicial officer from the way they present documentary evidence, lead witnesses and neutralise arguments of defence lawyers.
Right now they are sifting through the list and only the “vulnerable ones” will face the music. And if there are no vulnerable ones, the case will just die “its natural death”
When you analyze HH’s presidency, you conclude that he has a misconception that tightening compliance is mutually exclusive with economic success and improving the standard of living in Zambia. The ordinary Zambians are hurt by the cost of living and stagnated wages. There has been little movement in increasing output and productivity while more emphasis is placed on compliance. Bank of Zambia has nearly exhausted all its policy tools and is now mulling exchange controls. In the meantime, uninformed citizens celebrate ZRA’s tax collection targets being met without noting that this is mostly from PAYE from struggling citizens. Mines continue to enjoy VAT claims when they do not pay VAT by design. HH is the last of this political class, Zambia needs new ideas and real solutions.
HH should be in Min Of Finance or ACC
not the president as he is not handling it well
We expect too much from Hakainde. His interest is to please his masters and the grouping that he belongs to. Coupled with his incompetence the Zambians can brace themselves for harder times unless his masters intervene by pumping money into the economy. Hakainde knows his line of communication with all those accountable to monitor money laundering etc.He should not make noise on things he is talking to them privately as he always does.
1. Sell all the VXs vehicles bought under my watch 2. We shall raze all the illegal houses in forest 27 3. We spoke he carried calendars in the middle of the month 4. I cannot fly the Gulfstream when begging for cash 5. I will not tax the mines until they are profitable 6. You are on own 7. No minister for central affairs
Talk is cheap mate! Start firing some of your colleagues in leadership positions, ministers, permanent secretaries, district Commissioners, etc. The leadership must be responsible and accountable for all the shenanigans the lower ranked officials do. They needed to demand evidence of how public money is being spent.
Also please start arresting those that aid these thefts or those who are complacent, including bank officials. Someone, somewhere ought to know what’s going on when these financial crimes are being committed.
Only way to stop misuse of public funds is to stiffen the law. talk is cheap, let us change the law and we see who has the guts to steal from public coffers