‘Govt not taking fight against corruption seriously’

via ‘Govt not taking fight against corruption seriously’ – NewsDay Zimbabwe December 12, 2015

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe’s failure to appoint members of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) for the past two years has come under attack by anti-corruption activists who say this does not inspire confidence that his government is serious in dealing with the vice.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

Zero Tolerance Wise Consultancy managing director Dumisani Mthombeni called on Mugabe to swear in Zacc commissioners so that they can carry out their constitutional mandate.

He was addressing journalists to mark United Nations International Anti-Corruption Day that is commemorated on December 9.
“We humbly implore the President to urgently swear in commissioners to Zacc so that it becomes functional. The very fact that
we have not had a functional Zacc in the last two years defies every averment that we are very committed to the fight against corruption as a country,” said Mthombeni.

A former prosecutor, Mthombeni said the country had good laws which could be used to deal with corruption, but were not being applied effectively because of laxity in systems and, therefore, the need for bold moves to nip corruption which had now become rampant.

The opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which also attended the Press conference slammed the Zanu PF-led government and Zacc for not recognising the International Anti-Corruption Day commemorations saying it showed lack of commitment in fighting the scourge.

PDP spokesperson Jacob Mafume said government should have taken advantage of the commemorations to highlight the issues of corruption in government and other sectors.

He went on to scrutinise the mega deals which have been signed between Zimbabwe and China saying the secrecy surrounding the deals and sums of money involved raised questions about corruption.

“The mega deals from China, we have a power station that is going to cost us $1,2 billion to produce 600 megawatts of power, but if you go on the open market and if you look around, those things will cost just $600 million.

“We hear that they also want to construct a Parliament building for $120 million and you wonder where those figures are coming from.”

This year’s event is being celebrated under the theme Breaking The Chains of Corruption.

Zacc and the Judiciary Service Commission did not attend the Press conference saying the invitation was on short notice.