Don’t politicise ACB top job, urge CSOs
Civil society organisations (CSOs) in the country have warned authorities against letting politics to influence the hiring of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general.
The warning from a grouping of 17 CSOs comes ahead of the expiry of ACB DG Martha Chizuma’s contract on May 31 2024.
In a statement dated April 11 2024 and signed by National Advocacy Platform chairperson Benedicto Kondowe on behalf of the other CSOs, the rights groups expressed fear that the threat that the job could be politicised was looming large.
The statement said the appointment of the ACB chief and deputy should not be based on political ties, but on a clear commitment to fighting corruption rather than political affiliations.
Reads the statement in part: “The decision-making process regarding the renewal or replacement of the director general’s contract must be shielded from political interference.
“Politicisation undermines the credibility of anti-corruption institutions and erodes public trust. A politicised ACB risks becoming a tool for partisan agendas rather than a bastion of justice and accountability.”
Among other recommendations, the CSOs have suggested that there should be thorough scrutiny by the Public Appointments Committee (PAC) of Parliament in the identification of candidates for recommendation to the President.
However, in 2018 Parliament amended the Corrupt Practices Act (CPA) to provide that the ACB chief be recruited through a process starting with an advertisement of the job and interviews before the President finally appoints.
The process further entails that a panel submits names of three candidates to the Minister of Justice, who will forward the list to the President from which he or she will make the appointment.
The amendment repealed Section 6 of the CPA by inserting 6A, but maintained that the DG would be appointed by the President subject to confirmation by the Public Appointments Committee of Parliament.
In their statement, the CSOs also appreciated the strides made during Chizuma’s tenure, including completion of lifestyle audit guidelines and prosecuting high-profile cases.
Reflecting on her leadership for the past three years in a paper titled ‘The conundrum of independence’, which she has co-authored with Christopher Stone, professor of Practice of Public Integrity at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, Chizuma described her appointment at the helm of ACB as requiring intricate balance between independence and interdependence for leaders of institutions tasked with combating corruption.
President Lazarus Chakwera appointed Chizuma as ACB chief in April 2021 and the then popular Ombudsman reported for duties on June 1 the same year.
