• The Centre has been operating without top leadership for close to two years.
• This tends to undermine the work of the institution.
• Appointing a board will allow for recruitment of the FIC Director which is a very important and strategic position

Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD) has called on government to appoint the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) board.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Council Executive Director Leah Mitaba said the Centre has been operating without top leadership for close to two years and this tends to undermine the work of the institution.
Ms. Mitaba noted that appointing a board will allow for recruitment of the FIC Director which is a very important and strategic position.
“We call on government to ensure that it acts upon the appointment of an FIC Board, I think this is close to two years now the Centre has had no board. This lamentation that is revealed in their report is something that is on record and I think CSOs including ZCSD have been calling on the government to ensure that a board for the IFC is appointed because doing so will also allow that board to recruit a Director.”
“The Centre to date is still operating under an Acting Executive Director because there is no board to recruit for that position. So this is a very important and strategic position, we hope that the Board can quickly be appointed and that a relevant person is appointed in that position. FIC is a very sensitive institution and I think it going without leadership for a long time tends to undermine the work of the institution,” Ms. Mitaba stated.
Meanwhile, Ms. Mitaba called on relevant law enforcement agencies to ensure that suspicious transactions that have been revealed in the 2022 FIC report are fully investigated and those found wanting are prosecuted.
She said there is need for the law enforcement agencies to take up the matter with the seriousness it deserves to help deter would be offenders.
Ms. Mitaba notes that a lot of Zambians are grappling with ravages of poverty and failing to take their children to universities, hence if well utilized, the resources, could be used to increase bursary support and also procure medicines that are required in health institutions.
She said it is worrying that the country has continued to record incidences of corruption as those charged with the responsibility to take care of public funds are abusing the resources.
“These are resources if you look at the country right now, we have a lot of people that are suffering, grappling with ravages of poverty, some people have children who have made it to grade 10 and others to university but you find that due to inability to financially support their children, these children are denied an opportunity to go to school.”
“And these resources if well utilized, could be used to support an increased number of bursary support, but also procuring relevant medicines that are required in the health institutions,” she stated.
Meanwhile, Alliance for Accountability Advocates Zambia says the revelations are worrying because everyone in the country has been trying to put in so much effort in the fight against bribe, corruption, financial mismanagement and fraudulent activities.
Alliance Executive Director Luchembe Chilufya stated that public institutions are supposed to be transparent and accountable, hence having bank accounts frozen from such institutions is very disturbing.
“That is a very sad revelation coming from the FIC, everyone in the country has been trying to put so much effort in the fight against bribe, corruption and financial mismanagement and fraudulent activities, so such revelations are worrying and you get concerned with the institutions that are involved.”
“If FIC has revealed that these transactions are happening at such institutions, then it makes a very bad reading. These investigations should be done as soon as possible,” Mr. Chilufya stated.
Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) analyzed 155 suspicious transactions in 2022 worth K6.1 billion, out of which 129 cases worth K5.8 billion were disseminated to law enforcement agencies, representing a 38.92 percent increase from 2021.
According to the report, the lack of an FIC Board remained a challenge to the Centre.