Speaking at a belated event to commemorate the African
Anti-Corruption Day in Harare, Ziyambi said the sanctions imposed by Western
countries on Zimbabwe taught the country to be self-reliant.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) event was
held under the theme Strategies and Mechanisms for the Transparent Management
of COVID-19 Funds.
“In the case of Zimbabwe, the illegal sanctions and other
regime change agendas against our country have taught us the need to purposely
reduce dependency on contemporary projects under the tutelage of hegemonic
Western countries. These entities often promise to improve the economic and
governmental conditions of our countries, but they perpetuate conditions that
foster an environment of scarcity under which corruption breeds,” Ziyambi said.
“Government is scaling up the roll-out of legal frameworks
for the recovery of assets acquired through the proceeds of crime, combating
money laundering, and carrying out lifestyle audits of public officials,” he
added.
Officials from the European Union and the British embassy
said they would respond to the issues raised by Ziyambi today.
Zacc chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo said there was
need for the review of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act [Chapter 9:22] so
that it includes comprehensive corruption offences and protection of
whistle-blowers and witnesses.
“There is need to strengthen the legislation and ensure
full compliance to the provisions of the African Union Convention for Combating
and Preventing Corruption. The lack of adequate whistle-blower and witness
protection provisions have gravely affected cases at Zacc as whistle-blowers
and witnesses have been victimised, fired and transferred while some are nearly
killed for giving information to Zacc. The Acting Prosecutor-General also
informed me that he was having problems with witnesses in court as they are
frightened to testify,” Matanda-Moyo said.
She said since 2020 the commission was seized with a
cumulative figure of nine immovable properties including one property in South
Africa and a total of 38 motor vehicles, and a request for mutual legal assistance
has been made for further seizure of two properties in South Africa from
proceeds of corruption.
“To date, 35 cases filed for asset confiscation and
unexplained wealth orders have been referred to the National Prosecuting
Authority (NPA) since 2019 to 2021. Zacc has referred over 300 dockets to the
NPA,” she said.
Rwandese ambassador to Zimbabwe James Musoni said: “Several
reports have indicated that global corruption is now costing the globe US$1
trillion annually and this has severe effects on the lives of people. This cost
is very high and continues to weaken the resilience of our communities.”
African Parliamentarians Network against Corruption
Zimbabwe chapter chairperson Temba Mliswa said: “It’s not a secret that
corruption has taken over in terms of sanctions that have made us more
disciplined to account for our resources. There is no good governance which
protects the resources we have, and we are endowed with resources. The deals
which are structured favour the investor and not the foreign person. We want
transparency and accountability.” Newsday
0 comments:
Post a Comment