IMPUNITY of politically connected people, a volatile economy that is contributing to weak institutional frameworks, political interference and negative public perception are key factors hindering the fight against corruption.
Addressing a national anti-corruption indaba in Harare yesterday, Transparency International Zimbabwe (TI-Z) board chairperson Isheanesu Chirisa said the factors were militating against the anti-graft fight.
The indaba was co-hosted by the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc).
Several other organisations such as the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Women and Law in Southern Africa Zimbabwe (WLSA) and Accountability Lab, among others, were in attendance.
“High-ranking officials and influential individuals implicated in corruption can sometimes escape accountability due to political connections,” Chirisa said.
“This creates a culture of resignation and apathy among the public, who may feel that corruption is a way of life and that anti-corruption efforts are futile.”
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There have been public calls to have tenderpreneur, Wicknell Chivayo, arrested over the murky Zimbabwe Electoral Commission tender, believed to have cost the taxpayers US$100 million.
Only Mike Chimombe and Mpofu, Chivayo’s partners in the deal, have been arrested, but over a different case, the Presidential Goat scheme.
Before that, several politically connected people implicated in corruption cases have either been arrested and released or ignored at all.
A recent Transparency International Corruption Perception Index ranks Zimbabwe among the countries struggling with high levels of corruption.
Chirisa, who is also the director for the WLSA, said corruption remains one of the most significant impediments to Zimbabwe's socio-economic development.
Giving a keynote address on behalf of the Prosecutor-General Loyce Matanda-Moyo (pictured), her deputy, Justin Uladi, said NPAZ was taking the corruption fight seriously.
“To show seriousness, we have even prosecuted our own (I will not give names), (and) he has been sentenced to 10 years in jail,” Uladi said.
Public prosecutor Pardon Dziva was sentenced to 10 years in jail for demanding a US$20 000 bribe from Henrietta Rushwaya, who had been convicted of gold smuggling.
“We also have three prosecutors who were arrested in Bulawayo this year for bribery. One of the three was arrested the day before yesterday and he appeared in court yesterday. He was recorded on the phone allegedly demanding a bribe,” Uladi said.
Zacc commissioner Ndakaripa Hungwe underscored the commitment to eradicate corruption in both the public and private sectors.
“Our records indicate shocking levels of corruption in the public sector. Over the years, fraud and criminal abuse of duty account for the majority of cases handled by the commission,” she said.
She underscored the need to fast-track the Whistleblower Bill to encourage people to report corrupt cases before a Justice ministry representative, Lloyd Kabara, explained sections of the Bill.
Zacc legal manager Spiwe ChafungaMoyo said the commissioner’s work would be easier and more successful if people know they have protection.
Lawmaker Tsitsi Zhou, who is also the deputy chair of African Parliamentarians Network on Corruption Zimbabwe chapter, said having the Whistleblowers Protection Bill would go a long way in combating corruption.
Nqobani Tshabangu, from TI-Z, said: “We are concerned people are victimised by being transferred by their employers for exposing corruption.”