This came out during the inaugural roundtable dialogue for
internal auditors, which was attended by representatives of Chapter 12
commissions and other State agencies in Harare yesterday.
Zacc spokesperson John Makamure said the commission had
come up with the proposal after running out of funds required to undertake the
asset forfeiture drive.
“We are proposing the recovery assets. We have been funded
by the Treasury, but it has not been enough to cater for the demands of the
full prevention or prosecution of corruption cases,” he said.
“Considering the depth and complexity of corruption issues
in Zimbabwe, Treasury funds have not been adequate to expedite bringing
culprits to book. Last year, we got $70 million from Treasury and we got an
increased funding of $110 million this year, but it has not been enough.”
Makamure also said the commission also needed cash to pay
specialists who included auditors and law experts which it contracted to
enhance efficiency in fighting corruption.
During the meeting, the commission also pledged to speed up
the enactment of the whistleblowers and witness protection law to promote more
reports and tip-offs on corruption cases.
Makamure said they had submitted their proposal to the
Attorney-General’s Office and they had requested an urgent response to stop
continued victimisation of sources by the culprits.
Since the commission was launched, several corruption cases
are still pending at the courts, with accused persons, including government
ministers have been released on bail at the courts
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum executive director Musa
Kika said the proposal to retain part of proceeds from the forfeited assets was
only applicable on completed cases where the suspects would have been
convicted.
Kika said: “That Zacc looks for other means to fund itself
is symptomatic of government failure. The proposal to retain 15% of the
recovered asset value does not absolve government’s responsibility to fund the
institution.” Newsday
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