OPPOSITION Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) lawmaker Maureen Kademaunga has called for legislation to protect whistleblowers to oil the fight against corruption.
Kademaunga made the call in Parliament on Tuesday saying exposing corruption, especially that involves the elite and other politically connected persons, was risky, hence the need for the protection of whistleblowers.
Zimbabwe currently does not have a comprehensive and standalone whistleblower protection legislation.
Rather, provisions relating to reporting persons are various fragmented pieces of legislation, including the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.
“I would like to emphasise that whistleblower protection is absolutely required to safeguard the public interest and to promote a culture of public accountability and integrity,” she said.
“The risk of corruption is significantly heightened in environments where the reporting of wrongdoing is not supported or protected.”
In 2022, Cabinet approved the Principles of the Witness Protection Bill meant to establish legislation to provide for witness protection in Zimbabwe.
“Most unfortunate, it [corruption] is hindering Zimbabwe’s efforts to lift her people out of poverty, to feed, educate and provide healthcare & other basic services to her citizens,” Kademaunga said.
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“I, therefore, urge this House and the government to reignite 2022/23 efforts towards the passing into law of a standalone whistle-blower legislation in keeping with the 2020 anti-corruption strategy.”
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, police, National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe and Accountability Lab Zimbabwe (ALZ) on Saturday launched an awareness campaign against the devastating effects of corruption.
Speaking during the event held in Goromonzi, Detective Inspector Rachelle Muteweri said corruption was cancerous.
“We want to denounce corruption in all its forms and encourage those who are willing to speak out against it to do so without fear of retaliation,” Muteweri said.
ALZ programmes manager, Beloved Chiweshe, said they wanted to decentralise anti-corruption efforts and promote whistleblowing and reporting.
“In civil society in general, we use more forceful, more abrasive and negative commentary on these issues of corruption, but Accountability Lab tries to use positive narratives,” he said.
