via Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission ‘toothless’ bulldog March 4, 2014 by Mthandazo Nyoni NewsDay
THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) is a “toothless bulldog” that would never be able to deal with rampant corruption which has severely shredded the country’s moral fabric to an irretrievable level.
Speaking at a public lecture organised by Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) last week, Zimbabwe Open University lecturer Tobias Guzura said corruption in Zimbabwe needed a collaborative approach from civil society, the government and private sector.
“Corruption, being a deeply ingrained societal vice, requires the collective efforts of both governmental and non-State actors in fighting it,” Guzura said.
“Corruption is a crime which usually occurs with the knowledge and complicity of public officials; the same group of individuals required to tackle the phenomenon.Undoubtedly, participation by the private sector, media and civil society is indispensable as a tool not only in preventing corruption, but also in ensuring that the crime is adequately exposed and monitored after it is committed.”
Guzura added that ZACC should be independent from political interferences and should have security of tenure.
“The anti-corruption agency should be independent and should have security of tenure, but ours is not like that. They are answerable to a minister and that is a problem. We cannot have a commission of that nature answerable to an individual. What if that individual is corrupt?
“What do they do? They cannot do anything because it says he who pays the piper plays the tune. How can they have that security of tenure yet they are answerable to a minister? They have to submit annual reports to the Justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa,” Guzura said.
He also said out of 147 corruption cases reviewed by ZACC in 2006, only four were completed.
Zimbabwe was ranked 163 out of 176 countries in the 2012 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be.
The country has a long history of corruption in the post-colonial era with prominent examples including the Willowgate, the VVIP Housing Scheme, the War Victims Compensation Fund scandals and recently Salarygate scam, among others.
COMMENTS
Corruption in Zimbabwe if the authorities are serious(which I have my reservations)in my opinion would have to be dealt with using planned strategies on where to start. The place to start is by those that are supposed to be the guardians of the laws in the country. This would be the Police, the Courts and the Ministry involved.If the authorities are serious the one way to go about it would be to second people that were in the forced and served with distinctive service to be drafted into an independent unit that answer to a parliamentary group made up of MP’s from different parties and other interest groups i.e chosen members of other parties who contested the elections. An Ombudsman type scenario where a person from a foreign country with a law background could assist in an advisory role. The unit would first have to work vigorously to identify the rotten apples in the police and the court system. The way to start is to check peoples standard of living and have them account as to how they manage to sustain lifestyles that do not synchronize with their wages. This is called corruption by design. (misconduct designed to obtain financial gain).
You then have the courts and the police operating normally. You now can have those that are “corrupt by choice” ie greedy politicians with no one to cover for them. When the Police and the Courts are deemed clean those that do so by choice are exposed.
The third group which are the ordinary people who are “corrupt by necessity” i.e paying bribes to the police and carrying out corrupt activities e.g paying bribes to jump queues for passports and other daily necessities will no longer find it easy to carry out these activities and will slowly disappear into normal lives.
All I am saying is that as long as the Police and the courts operate the way they do we are going nowhere.
And if the anti-corruption “police” are corrupt, as they no doubt are, then what happens ? …… status quo …. nothing A!
Mikeh my brother we have to start somewhere. If you allow Zanu to put you in the mindset you are in about this subject, we might as well stop contributing to this forum. All of us that take a peek at this website do so because we love the country. Some ex countrymen have moved on and do not even read on this forum. That is why POVO does not necessarily refer to the masses but to what it means, PEOPLE OF VARIOUS OPINIONS and my brother you are one of them. Funny enough Murimi is as well(don’t know if he would like to be referred to as that)
WHY IS IT THAT all PARASTATALS ARE HEADED BY MASHONAS!