Zimbabweans are now more willing to turn in the corrupt.
The commission has received 88 reports now under
investigation via the recently launched digitalised whistleblower platform and
is seeking legal changes that will offer more protection for whistleblowers and
keep their identity secret.
In a weekend report, ZACC says it has to date received a
total of 88 reports via the digitalised whistleblower platform application.
In pursuit of this strategy, the commission is developing a
comprehensive whistleblower and witness protection legislative framework
through the amendment of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act to ensure maximum
protection of witnesses and whistleblowers.
“From January 2021, ZACC has referred 76 cases to the
National Prosecuting Authority for criminal prosecution. ZACC also referred 12
case files valued at US$5,9m to the National Prosecuting Authority for asset
confiscation and unexplained wealth applications.
“The commission is lobbying Government and Parliament to be
considered as an Enforcement Authority for Unexplained Wealth Orders under the
Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act,” said ZACC at the weekend.
The commission was conducting two reviews of systems to
plug loopholes for corruption and fraud in the Ministry of Industry and
International Trade and the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development.
The commission had also conducted six compliance checks in
the procurement processes of local authorities and parastatals.
The local authorities included Mutoko Rural District
Council, Norton Town Council, Umzingwane RDC and Umguza RDC. The implementation matrices for the rural
district councils were already in place.
“Going forward, ZACC will be conducting a national baseline
survey to develop a national corruption perception index which is currently at
preparatory stage. The purpose of the survey is to assess the understanding of
the public on corruption, to examine public perception of corruption in both
the public and private sectors and assess the impact of the current national
policies and legislation on anti-corruption.
“The commission is conducting capacity building exercises
in specialised areas on combating corruption. To ensure visibility, the
commission is decentralising its operations to all provinces and so far
six provinces are covered,” ZACC added.
In September last year, ZACC launched an anti-corruption
whistleblowing platform to make it easier to report any suspected cases of
high-level corruption.
By then, ZACC had received over 400 reports on suspected
corruption, almost double the number received during the same months in 2019.
This demonstrated improved public confidence in the work of the commission. Several high profile arrests had been made while asset recovery of proceeds of corruption was being accelerated.
Whistleblowing is a term used when a person passes on
information concerning corrupt practices such as fraud, bribery and abuse of
power.
Speaking during the virtual launch of the application, ZACC
chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo said since 2019, the commission had been
facing challenges, which included the lack of a whistleblower protection
framework.
“As much as we want the public to report cases of
corruption, we, as the commission, have to ensure that we provide a platform
that ensures the non-disclosure of the identity of whistleblowers and security
of the information given.
“Zimbabwe is a signatory to the United Nations Convention
against Corruption, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating
Corruption and the SADC Protocol Against Corruption, which all speak towards a
corrupt-free world characterised by values of good governance, respect for
human rights, justice, the rule of law, and countering illicit financial flows
and counter-financing of terrorism,” she said.
All the conventions call for the protection of reporting
persons and expect State parties to incorporate into their domestic legal
system, appropriate measures to provide protection against any unjustified
treatment for any person who reports in good faith and on reasonable grounds to
the competent authorities, any facts concerning offences related to corruption
and money laundering. Herald
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