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By Joyce Mukucha
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has hailed whistleblowers that include different parastatals and citizens for their concerted efforts in revealing cases of corruption in the country.
In her end-of-year statement, ZACC chairperson, Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo said the support from citizens has played a pivotal role in exposing corruption by keeping it in check as well as reporting corruption misdoings and crimes.
She stressed the need to continue protecting whistle-blowers to ensure that the country succeeds in as much as fighting corruption is concerned.
“Fellow Zimbabweans, I would like to express my gratitude for your continued support in exposing cases of corruption. We received an overwhelming number of reports from the public which we followed up with telling results. There is significant progress as far as the enactment of a robust whistleblower protection legislative framework is concerned. This overdue piece of legislation should offer maximum protection to our valuable witnesses and whistleblowers,” she said.
Justice Matanda-Moyo issued a strong warning to those bent on harassing and victimizing witnesses that the long arm of the law will descend on them without fear or favour.
Meanwhile, in a quest to fight the vice, the chairperson pointed out that the Commission hosted key personnel from strategic departments in the public and private sectors under the auspices of the ZACC Roundtables.
“These included Internal Auditors and Procurement Management Units from government ministries and departments and local authorities. The Commission also engaged the private sector and the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe at the Financial Crimes Indaba in November which was attended by executives from all the local banks and the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Dr. John Mangudya. Key resolutions at these meetings are being implemented.”
She also announced that following the introduction of Integrity Committees this year, several parastatals including Printflow, ZINWA, ZUPCO, ZINARA, Health Services Board, CMED, TELONE, ZBC, ZIMDEF, CAAZ, Zimpost, and Natpharm, inter alia have set up these committees.
“It is our hope that these entities will uphold the letter and spirit of the Integrity Committees and reduce the worrying corruption trends we have witnessed yearly from the Auditor General’s reports.”
She highlighted that the Commission also commenced gathering the views of Zimbabwean citizens in order to come up with a home-grown Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
“While we do not entirely dispute the Transparency International CPI, we are convinced that gathering views of our citizens across the board will go a long way in helping us come up with more informed strategies in the fight against corruption.”
Regarding the regional and international front, Justice Matanda-Moyo said the Commission made significant strides in strengthening collaboration with key stakeholders indicating that in 2022 ZACC will continue to work tirelessly in encouraging citizens to curb corruption.
“ZACC is one of the inaugural members of the Globe Network, a multi-state initiative meant to increase cooperation in the international anti-corruption fight. Having achieved these significant milestones, the year 2022 promises to be even more exciting as we continue to rally citizens to fight the vice.”