THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has sent 50
dockets to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) since January, putting it
on track to reach its target of 80 prosecutions by year-end.
Most of the cases that have been sent for prosecution
include high-profile arrests over allegations of criminal abuse of office.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, ZACC spokesperson
Commissioner John Makamure said more high-profile arrests were imminent.
“We are not toothless. We are executing our mandate of
prevention and combating of corruption. Fifty dockets have already been
finalised and submitted to the NPA for prosecution. Our target is 80 by
December,” said Mr Makamure.
He said the whistle-blower initiative has contributed
immensely in doubling cases reported to ZACC. The recently launched
whistleblower mobile application, he said, would further encourage people to
report corruption cases to the anti-graft body.
It would also help to “facilitate easier tracking of the
progress of corruption cases being processed within the criminal justice
system”.
ZACC intends to recruit more staff to speed up the
processing of reported cases.
“ZACC is continuously strengthening its capacity to cope
with the increase in the volume of cases. More staff is being hired and
representations being made for additional resources. The Ministry of Finance
(and Economic Development) sits on the National Anti-Corruption Strategy
Steering Committee to ensure adequate funding of the anti-corruption fight,” he
said.
President Mnangagwa has reiterated that Government will
clamp down on corruption as it pursues Vision 2030, which entails making the
country an upper middle-income economy within the next 10 years.
The pledge has been followed through by arrests of high-profile
individuals such as former Minister of Energy and Power Development Samuel
Undenge, who has since been convicted; former principal director of State
Residences, Douglas Tapfuma; former Mayor of Harare, Herbert Gomba; and several
high-ranking police officers, chief executive officers and directors.
Last week, Harare Town Clerk Engineer Hosiah Chisango was
also arrested by ZACC over allegations of abuse of office involving allocation
of residential stands in the capital. Sunday Mail
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