Transparency International Zambia (TI-Z) and the Anti-Corruption Commission of Zambia (ACC) have committed to strengthening their existing partnership in curbing corruption in Zambia.
Anti-Corruption Commission Director-General Gilbert Phiri and Transparency International Zambia Chapter President Kalungu Sampa made the pledge during an engagement meeting held at the Anti-Corruption Commission on 4th October 2022.
The two organizations have worked together from time immemorial, and the partnership has continued to yield tangible results towards tackling the corruption scourge in Zambia. Some notable areas of collaborations the two institutions have had include the following:
- Publication of the Zambia Bribe Payer’s Index (ZBPI), a countrywide household corruption study which seeks to provide empirical evidence on the state of bribery in selected government ministries, departments and agencies. Since 2012, the two organizations have been working together to design and implement appropriate anti-corruption interventions using empirical anti-corruption data from the ZBPI.
- Public Institutional Capacity Strengthening, through the establishment and training of integrity committees, and the development and dissemination of integrity tools, among other things. Examples of institutions that have benefited from this include the Judiciary, Zambia Police and Road Traffic and Safety Agency.
- Tackling of Electoral Corruption through sensitization of members of the public and state bodies on electoral malpractices.
- Corruption Complaint Handling. While the Commission is the lead institution in dealing with corruption, Transparency International Zambia has established a Case Referral System known as the Advocacy and Legal Advice for Citizens (ALAC) desk, which works as a redress mechanism offering practical assistance to victims and witnesses of corruption. TI-Z refers these cases to the ACC for possible investigation and prosecution.
Both institutions agree that the fight against corruption requires concerted efforts from different stakeholders, and are committed to providing and utilizing different opportunities and platforms for achieving that widespread collaboration. Despite the challenges that exist in the quest to fight corruption, there remains great resolve in both institutions to face the challenges head on in order to protect public resources, and to ultimately rid Zambia of corruption.
