JCTR Demands Action On The 2018 FIC Report

In 2013, the Patriotic Government decided to enact the Financial Intelligence Centre Bill which was drafted in 2010 by the previous Government and establish the Financial Intelligence Centre. This was a progressive move in a bid to augment Government’s existing efforts to address public resource leakages and fight financial crimes. Given the enormous socio-economic developmental challenges that Zambia faces, it is crucial that national resources are safe-guarded and applied in accordance with the Government’s plans and priorities of poverty eradication and sustainable development. The role of FIC reports is therefore indispensable to economic and social development of the country. Given the importance of this role of the Centre, the FIC reports should not be viewed as an end in themselves, corrective actions needs to be taken on highlighted potential criminal activities if the intended benefits for which this institution was created are to be realized. Huge sums of money are being spent in investigating financial crimes, which resources could have been used on other developmental needs. This is why everything must be done to act on the reported cases and reverse the continued wastage of public resources