THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) is calling
for urgent legislative reforms to give it more power to combat the scourge of
corruption in the country.
Zacc wants to be allowed to arrest and prosecute suspects
implicated in corruption. The commission said while the Constitution allowed it
to investigate crimes such money-laundering, fraud, corruption and commercial
crimes, it did not have arresting powers nor prosecuting authority and relies
on other government departments.
Zacc chairperson Job Whabira said there was need for the
immediate overhauling of the enabling legislation to give them more powers.
“Zacc needs to have arresting powers, special prosecuting
authority and we need to have a whistleblower protection law to make our work
easier,” he said.
“The legislative framework, as it is, impinges Zacc’s
work.”
In other jurisdictions like South Africa and Zambia, the
agencies that deal with combating corruption are empowered to make search and
seizures, arrest suspects and have special prosecuting authority integrated
within the agencies.
Zacc’s arresting powers are currently being contested in
the Constitutional Court, after the commission last year “arrested” Higher and
Tertiary Education minister Jonathan Moyo on allegations of fraud.
Meanwhile, the commission’s chief investigating officer,
Alex Masiye, told the Defence and Security Parliamentary Portfolio Committee
that it did not have enough qualified staff to conduct investigations across
the country.
“I am a bitter man for having to lead a small team,” he
said.
“The investigations department has got 36 officers to do
all the work.
“Of the 36, 21 are seconded officers from police and other security
agencies. “Of the 21 seconded officers, only eight have experience in
investigating economic crimes and the rest are undergoing training.”
The commission is currently negotiating with Treasury to be
allowed to employ more staff.
Presently, Zacc has 204 approved vacancies, but it is
seeking 33 more. Newsday
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