Govt official admits corruption failure

via Govt official admits corruption failure – NewZimbabwe 26/10/2015

THE government has not done enough to stamp out corruption which is rampant all sectors of the country’s crippled economy, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Ambassador Stuart Comberbach, has said.

Comberbach made the admission as he represented Deputy Chief Secretary to the president and cabinet, Justin Mupamhanga, at a Transparency International Anti-Corruption Strategy Dialogue in Harare last week.

“Yes there is poor governance and high level of corruption (and) we, as government, have not done enough to handle the issue,” Comberbach said.

He said the absence of a fully constituted Anti-Corruption Commission had made it difficult to pursue graft cases which involve high level executives in both the public and private sectors.

Comberbach however, said commissioners for the anti-graft body would soon be appointed as interviews of candidates have already been completed.

“A new kind of wind is blowing and the people of Zimbabwe should expect transparency in the way corruption issues will be tackled in future towards rebuilding a corrupt free nation,” he said.

“The government has to take the lead in addressing corruption. We do not want to see anti-corruption officials being harassed or arrested when they carry out their duties as has happened before with main culprits being ignored.”

Asked about the government’s position on Public Service Medical Aid Service’s (PSMAS) officials who squandered public funds, Comberbach said the government is dealing with the issue.

According to the Reserve Bank Governor’s Report (2005), 75 % of the Zimbabwe’s problems are linked to corruption which is prevalent in parastatals as government executives use these entities as feed troughs.

At last Friday’s meeting, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) was identified as the only government department with the strongest anti-corruption strategies in the country.