By GIDEON NYENDWA
THERE is too much pettiness in the fight against corruption at the expense of more serious cases that are before the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Independent Nkana Member of Parliament (MP), Binwell Mpundu has said.
Mr Mpundu said it was not strange for a former Head of State and his family to own property.
Contributing to the debate on President Hakainde Hichilema speech to Parliament on the Application of National Values and Principles, Mr Mpundu said it was unfortunate that the fight against corruption seemed to be concentrated on the former Head of State and his family.
He said some cases that the investigative wings were pursuing did not make sense citing the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigating an individual who had served the country for many years simply because he owned property.
āYou cannot tell me that it is a fallacy or unheard of for someone who has served this country for years to build flats and for a former President to have property,ā Mr Mpundu said
He said it was unfortunate that ACC had ignored revelations by PAC on the Ministry of Health TFM Holdings Scandal and the cooked fertilizer that was supplied to Southern Province.
Mr Mpundu said the ACC should confine itself to investigating such pertinent issues instead of pettiness.
The lawmaker added that it was sad that anyone who built a house was suspected to be corrupt.
He said corruption was a cancer that everybody must join hands to fight and not the pettiness that was happening now.
Mr Mpundu said the country has been entertained to pettiness and alarming statements that taint the image of those accused without producing evidence to prove allegations of corruption.
āPeople build names over time and spend money on it so before alleging that someone is corrupt, you must substantiate and have evidence before aligning someone in the media that they committed a crime,ā he said.
