Chronicle Editor
Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
THE Asset Forfeiture Unit at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has recovered assets worth US$25 million from high-profile individuals who reportedly accumulated vast assets worth over US$50 million through proceeds of crime.
President Mnangagwa in his inaugural speech in November 2017 declared war against corruption in all its facets.
To demonstrate his commitment to that statement, Government enacted various legislation which include the Corporate Governance Act, established the Anti-Corruption Courts, and has and is still strengthening the agencies that are involved in the fight against corruption policy-wise, materially and financially.
At an institutional level, the NPA established the Asset Forfeiture Unit which is currently being beefed up with manpower and other necessities.
Officially opening a two-day workshop on anti-corruption being attended by prosecutors, police and Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) officers at Changamire Conference Centre at the Village Lodge in Gweru yesterday, the deputy Prosecutor-General Mr Nelson Mutsonziwa said the NPA under the Second Republic was winning the war on corruption.
“NPA is currently seized with cases involving ill-gotten assets to the tune of US$50 million dollars and already assets valued to the tune of US$25 million have been acquired and handed over to the Asset Management Unit which is housed under the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe for further management in term of Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act,” he said.
Mr Mutsonziwa said anti-corruption courts and prosecution teams were established to fight the scourge.
“As we speak, we are seized with high profile cases in both our lower and superior courts,” he said.
NPA, Mr Mutsonziwa said recruited 291 prosecutors to augment its manpower capacity adding that the new recruits are already working in the courts, after thorough induction courses.
“To further sharpen their skills, the majority of them are present in this workshop whose theme is so relevant to them too.
Training is at the core of the needs of our organisation, as it enables us to acquire new skills and sharpen the old ones for the very purpose of prosecuting corruption cases.
Even though it is a daunting task to get rid of corruption, nevertheless it is not an impossible task, hence this training is meant to galvanise our skills so that the scourge is annihilated,” he said.
Mr Mutsonziwa said the corruption index that Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) pegged the country at will be drastically reduced as NPA vigorously prosecutes corruption cases.
Though some people may hold a different view, he said most corruption cases, especially high profile ones emanated from the past and as a result of stringent Second Republic measures, in terms of policy and legislation and the prosecution of corruption cases, the incidence of such cases occurring has significantly reduced.
“This is as a result of a collective effort between the State and its various institutions involved in this fight and of course the NPA being critical in this endeavour.
I remember a few years back the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe reported that illicit- financial flows which used to be at US$1,8 billion were reduced to US$1 billion and I would like to believe that the trend is that it is still going down.
So this is another indication that we will succeed if we work together with other agencies.
Of course the acquisition of ill-gotten will be intensified as the procedure is meant to deprive individuals of ill-gotten wealth irrespective of whether one is facing a criminal charge or not, the procedure is civil in nature but the conduct of the individual must be associated with criminality,” said Mr Mutsonziwa.
He said the NPA shall continue to increase its contributions to the achievement of the National Development Strategy (NDS1) goals through the successful prosecutions of corruption cases and the recovery of ill-gotten wealth.
TIZ executive director Mr Tafadzwa Chikumbu said since the adoption of anti-corruption fighting strategies by the Government, there are some positives being recorded in fighting corruption in Zimbabwe.
“As a country in 2020 June, the Government of Zimbabwe adopted its maiden national corruption strategy championed by Zaac in which it recognises the different roles and responsibilities of both state and non-State actors in the fight against corruption. So this is something that is positive for us.
That strategy gives us a roadmap on what the Government intends to do in fighting the scourge.
We have also seen the Government setting up anti-corruption courts across the country where they are dedicating certain courts to the fight against corruption in which the role of public prosecutors becomes very important,” he said.
Mr Chikumbu said TIZ is coming into support in capacity building like workshops with the NPA, the police and Zacc so that there is solidity in dealing with corruption matters.
“Here in Gweru we have a workshop aimed at building the capacity of public prosecutors for them to effectively prosecute on issues of corruption.
Our understanding is that corruption is a very sophisticated and complex crime in which it requires specific skills from investigation to prosecution and all the other facets required in adjudicating corruption issues.
So we have decided to focus on NPA and of course there have been challenges in co-ordination but we are happy that we have Zacc co-participating in this training.
We have the police which are also an important stakeholder in the fight against corruption.
We are still doing badly according to the corruption perception index but we are happy that there are quite a number of initiatives being carried out to curb corruption in the country,” he said.
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