President Edgar Lungu says the Zambia Police Service should move in and arrest civil servants found stealing public funds.
Answering questions from Journalists regarding the misappropriation of funds as revealed in the latest Auditor General’s Office, President Lungu said the police and other law enforcement agencies are free to do their work.
He was speaking at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport shortly before he left for Antananarivo, Madagascar for the COMESA summit for Heads of State and Government.
“If there is misappropriation and it is a crime, obviously the police must move in and arrest, if is an act of abuse of office, then the Anti-Corruption Commission should move in, is it the President really? The law is there, the framework is there, the funding is given to these institutions to act,” President Lungu said.
He added, “Gone are the days when the President would direct institutions on who to arrest because the culture of abusing the police such as who to arrest, who to release, I don’t do that and I shall not do that. I will not stop the police from arresting so if the crime has been arrested by anyone, the police should move in, the Anti-Corruption should move in, the Drug Enforcement Commission should move in.”
President Lungu also ruled out any possibilities of releasing UPND members who are being held in prison for politically linked offences.
“Why should they write to the President. I don’t tell the Police what to do? Even those that are saying release these people, I don’t release people, the courts of law releases people, I can pardon after you are convicted, yes.”
And speaking about his trip to the Madagascar for the Heads of State summit, President Lungu said he is looking forward to the event.
And speaking about his trip to the Madagascar for the Heads of State summit, President Lungu said he is looking forward to the event.
“I am going there for the first time, it is my maiden meeting, so I am going there to tell them our commitments to cooperation in terms of trade and we want to do much more about regional groupings COMESA has a tripartite with other regional groupings and the African Union where we can benefit in terms of trade, commerce and industry, so that is all there is to it,” President Lungu said.
