Commonwealth trains Zambian staff on management and corruption mitigation measures
Patricia Scotland
By Angela Kolongo Communications Officer, Communications Division
More than 20 senior leadership and management staff from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Zambia have completed a four-day workshop aimed at equipping them with skills to successfully lead anti-corruption agencies and mitigate corruption both within the organisation and externally.
Convened by the Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration with the Anti-Corruption Commission of Zambia, the management and leadership training programme was the first of a series of three, which will see more than 70 personnel from different departments and levels of management benefit from a range of skills including strengthening their technical know-how as well as leadership and managerial skills, as part of efforts towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 16.
The 11 – 14 April, 2022 ACC Senior Leadership and Management workshop in Lusaka, was officially opened by ACC acting Director-General, Silumesi Michula, while the Secretariat’s award-winning Adviser and Head of Public Sector Governance, Dr Roger Koranteng, conducted the training.
“Corruption, the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, is the single greatest obstacle to economic and social development around the world. To ensure the smooth and effective management of Anti-Corruption Agencies, effective leadership is key to producing greater intervention-based results…and the management staff of Anti-Corruption Agencies must become prudent to influence, involve, and gain support from those they are leading.
The Commonwealth Secretariat has supported the Anti-Corruption Commission in Zambia over the years and will continue to do so. This training programme is the first of three batches that the Commonwealth Secretariat is sponsoring in Zambia, and I trust the management and staff of the Zambian Anti-Corruption Commission will take full advantage of these training programmes to refresh, upgrade and acquire new knowledge and skills for making your Commission effective and efficient,” said Dr. Koranteng.
Participants described the four-day workshop highly informative and hands-on experience, allowing them to be better leaders and effectively implement anti-corruption measures to achieve transparency and accountability within the Commission as well as externally with stakeholders.
“It will induce excellency and integrity to end up with good and effective managers and leaders. The conflict management skills will help to resolve the day-to-day interpersonal challenges, which in turn builds teamwork for the common goal and objectives of the organisation,” one participant said.
The workshops successfully held in Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, and most recently, in Trinidad and Tobago for the Secretariat’s recently launched anti-corruption framework, form part of the Secretariat’s ongoing mission to equip member countries to combat systemic corruption and enhance good governance by sharing best practices, training, and policy research.
