‘Zacc officers vulnerable to bribes’

Source: ‘Zacc officers vulnerable to bribes’ – DailyNews Live

Blessings Mashaya      22 January 2018

HARARE – Poor salaries are making officers at the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption
Commission (Zacc) susceptible to bribes, Parliamentary has heard.

Presenting a report in the National Assembly during debate on the national
budget, Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services portfolio committee
chairperson, Tshinga Dube, said salaries for Zacc employees must be
improved urgently.

He said improving Zacc salaries would ensure staff is paid in line with
other anti-corruption commissions in the Southern African Development
Community region.

Dube said this will also enable Zacc to attract, retain and effectively
utilise specialist skills with ideal qualifications to investigate complex
corruption cases.

“Temptation to accept bribes from corrupt criminals by the commission’s
officers is reduced and rather the commission’s officers will be motivated
to discharge their duties,” he said.

Zacc was restricted by Treasury to an expenditure target of $2 469 million
during the 2018 budget consultations.

This allocation disregarded the commission’s huge but achievable
expenditure targets earmarked for the current year.

“The final allocation of the commission for its 2018 budget was $3,351
million including employment costs.

“This allocation is 0,07 percent of the total national budget and is far
below the international best practices of allocating at least five percent
of the national budget to the anti-corruption agencies to cater for
recurrent and capital expenditures.

“The commission bided for $17,4 million excluding employment costs,” reads
part of the report.

Dube recommended that the government must de-centralise Zacc by setting
sub offices in different provinces.

“We recommend that Zacc should be allocated adequate funds so that it
fills in all the 141 vacancies so that effective structures and systems
are set up and operationalised as soon as possible. Sub offices in
Midlands, Bulawayo, Masvingo and Manicaland will be set up, manned and
operationalised.

“The commission’s Budget should be increased up to the amount that was
bided. This means that Treasury should allocate Zacc its required $17,4
million to cater for all its operational costs for 2018.

“It should be noted that the Zacc is the lead institution in fighting
corruption in Zimbabwe in this new dispensation.

“Therefore, the commission should be fully funded so that it sets all the
necessary structures and systems required and effectively deliver on its
mandate to curb Zimbabwe’s number one enemy – corruption.”

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