Co-ordination in fight against corruption critical to National Anti-Corruption Strategy’s success

Binga District Development Co-ordinator (DDC) Mr Land Siansole Kabome has acknowledged that the recently established integrity committees as part of measures to combat corruption at public institutions such as the Binga Rural District Council (RDC) is beneficial.

In an interview with Chronicle recently, Mr Kabome said Binga District is pleased with the new development also indicating that RDC workers had already received training and signed integrity pledges.

“We intend to closely implement this; for example, if a worker here is unhappy with the way things are done, they can use the whistle-blower element.
“People are now aware of how to file complaints. Even in terms of accountability, it’s a deterrent factor because people now know they’re being watched and we’re happy and thankful to the Second Republic for this,” he said.

“Our colleagues at council received training under the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc). I’m happy that in our previous full council meeting, it went to committee stage first and it went to full council and we endorsed the issue of the whistle-blower, the issue of accountability, so everyone was happy, the councillors were happy and the community is also happy,” he added.

Zacc has advised public institutions to form integrity committees as one of the most effective tools for avoiding corruption and establishing good corporate governance at the grassroots level as part of its efforts to eradicate corruption in Zimbabwe.

This action is consistent with the nation’s first-ever National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS), which was established on July 11, 2020. The NACS aims to address, among other things, the coordination of anti-corruption activities by diverse stakeholders.

According to Zacc, the NACS is the main framework for organising anti-corruption activities in Zimbabwe at the moment and the anti-corruption agency is tasked with creating a National Anti-Corruption Strategy Steering Committee (NACSSC), which will be made up of various stakeholders, to oversee NACS implementation and make sure that regular meetings are held and frequent reports are made public.

Zacc spokesperson Commissioner Thandiwe Mlobane indicated that her organisation is required to promote honesty, financial responsibility, and transparency by Sections 255 (c) and (h) of the Zimbabwe Constitution and Amendment 20, Act of 2013.

Zacc is also required to make recommendations to the Government and other parties on how to strengthen integrity and accountability, prevent improper conduct, and foster accountability in the public and private sectors.

Commissioner Mlobane said Zacc has since worked with 157 organisations, including parastatals, colleges, rural district councils, banks, and other enterprises, to inform them of the benefits of establishing integrity committees as a means of battling corruption from within.

“Accordingly, Zacc is bringing the anti-corruption fight into institutions both in the public and private sectors through the introduction of integrity committees. Strong, effective, accountable and inclusive institutions are the backbone for the achievement of Vision 2030 and the Agenda for Sustainable Development,” she said.

Commissioner Mlobane said integrity committees should guarantee that each public organisation has a strong complaints handling policy in place to ensure that all complaints from consumers, clients, and residents are handled swiftly and effectively within a fair time limit.

“In addition, the integrity committee should ensure that there is a whistle blower protection policy for staff grievances and reports. This will also reduce the level of complaints coming to Zacc. Only cases of criminality will be referred to Zacc and service delivery complaints dealt with internally.
“According to Section 255 (d) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Zacc has to receive and consider complaints from the public and to take such action in regard to the complaints as it considers appropriate,” Commissioner Mlobane added.

Zacc handled corruption cases totalling US$23 million in assets in 2022, and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) issued forfeiture orders for the properties.
The NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) had, by the first week of last month, seized assets acquired through proceeds of financial crimes valued at more than US$11,6 million since January last year. The unit is now pursuing seizure orders for additional properties worth US$20 million. This is in tune with the Second Republic’s zero tolerance for corruption.

Commissioner Mlobane also indicated that individuals wishing to report instances of corruption in the country must follow designated channels such as walk-ins to the Zacc offices or use dedicated WhatsApp numbers and email.
The efficient coordination of anti-corruption agencies and stakeholders is a key factor in the effectiveness of anti-corruption initiatives in the anti-corruption campaign.

However, it is incredibly challenging for these institutions to coordinate their efforts due to the diversity of institutions, intersecting mandates, opposing agendas, lack of institutional clarity, and various levels of independence.

Ms Thubelihle Ncube, Transparency International Zimbabwe Research and Legal Officer, said ensuring the public has access to publicly available, timely, and useful information, including on public expenditures and resource allocation, is crucial in Zimbabwe’s anti-corruption campaign.
As a result, Ms Ncube said her organisation distributes newsletters detailing how they would have assisted various people with various corruption issues.

“We publish a quarterly newsletter, the idea is just for us to document our work, and also to make ourselves more visible so that people know about us and the work that we do, and how we assist different people with different corruption issues.

“Our Corruption Watch Newsletter documents everything that we do. We have another one that also focused on Land Administration and Corruption Issues. We then publish the books so that whenever we are doing community meetings we also distribute them to individuals so that those who don’t access our website get to read the books,” she said.