Lusaka:  The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has said the proposed amendment to the ACC Act which will protect whistle blowers will go a long way in enhancing the fight against corruption. ACC chief legal and prosecutions officer, Dennes Simwiinga said the protection of whistle blowers was important in fighting corruption in the country. Mr Simwiinga said this at the on-going State advocates workshop being held at Protea Hotel in Livingstone. He said the current Act was inadequate as it did not effectively address public interest disclosure.

He said for a long time whistle blowers in certain Government institutions and other private organisations were victimised and sometimes transferred to rural postings from urban centres and even faced demotion since there was an absence of any protection of whistle blowers.

Mr Simwiinga said in the absence of the Act for the protection of whistle blowers, it would have continued to be difficult to effectively fight corruption in Zambia. According to the Act, an employer shall not subject an employee to any occupational detriment on account of the employee having made a protected disclosure or public interest disclosure.

The Act also states that civil proceedings could be instituted against any person who took any detrimental action that was in reprisal for a person who made a protected disclosure to the ACC. It also warned investigating authorities and other public officers to whom protected disclosure was made not to disclose information that might identify or tend to identify a person who had made any protected disclosure.

"We are hoping that with the coming of the Act, more people will be encouraged to come up with information pertaining to corrupt activities as they will feel protected against reprisal or victimisation," he said. Mr Simwiinga reiterated the ACC's commitment to continue fighting corruption.