Source: Graft commission man makes govt squirm – NewZimbabwe 08/06/2016
AZIMBABWE Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) official has rattled senior government officials with his clampdown against graft in the Zanu PF administration and now faces accusations of working with the opposition.
Servious Kufandada, a senior ZACC investigating officer, is in latest eye of the storm after signing affidavits in which permanent secretaries are being investigated for corrupt activities in several parastatals.
The investigations have drawn the wrath of information ministry permanent secretary George Charamba who accused ZACC officials of “impugning government systems in their efforts to probe the alleged crimes.”
Charamba has further charged Kufandada – a former state prosecutor – with having a tainted past, accusing him of working with opposition political parties in the run up to the 2013 elections.
However, a source in Zacc said in an interview that the guns are pointed at Kufandada over his role in exposing how ZACC commissioners, the then Attorney General, Johannes Tomana and other senior government benefited from a corrut deal.
The officials were said to have illegally bought luxury vehicles and houses from a $5 million facility that had been released by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to improve the commission’s capacity in fighting corruption.
“Kufandada is falsely accused of being a member of the opposition simply because he has been courageous in investigating and exposing corruption in government,” the source said.
Pay back over RBZ revelation
The source said, in the first investigation, Kufandada took the dossier to the Office of the President and Cabinet and then Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai.
“When the Prime Minister’s Office raised the issue in government, Kufandada and other ZACC officials were accused of being opposition activists,” said the source.
The dossier was later used by 26 ZACC officials, including Kufandada, after they took the anti-graft commission to the Labour Court and the High Court over non-payment of about $1,5million in salaries.
The source said, after they won their case, the Sheriff of the High Court refused to comply with a court order compelling to attach ZACC’s property.
“This shows that the Sheriff was working on political directives,” the source said.
Efforts to get a comment from Kufandada were fruitless Wednesday.
Permanent secretaries being investigated by ZACC include Willard Manungo (finance), George Mlilo (local government), Grace Mutandiro (lands), Sam Kundishora (ICT), Munesu Munodawafa (transport) and Evelyn Ndlovu (small and medium enterprises).
Charamba has since ordered Kufandada’s team not to behave like a “rattlesnake” that makes noise first before biting.
“These threats are proof that the government is panicking that if the latest investigations went ahead, it will open a can of worms,” the source said.
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