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The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority has intensified lifestyle audits of its employees as part of measures to fight corruption. According to the Zimra board secretary and director for Legal and Corporate Services, Ms Florence Jambwa, the audits are carried out on a regular and continuous basis in order to identify any cases of unjust enrichment and corruption.
She said the revenue authority which has zero tolerance to corruption, employs several measures to curb the vice. Ms Jambwa said staff lifestyle audits are based on asset declarations which members of staff make on periodic basis, and other sources of information. “Disciplinary action is taken against members of staff who engage in corrupt activities in accordance with the Authority’s Code of Conduct,” she said.
During the audits, the Authority checks on bank accounts, mobile money transfers and deeds office records to establish properties registered in its employees’ names or their families.
Employees are then asked to justify any suspicious bank deposits, mobile money transfer transactions and the source of funds they used to buy properties in their names, spouses or children’s names. Ms Jambwa said the lifestyle audits were an ongoing process during the employment period of Zimra employees.
She said anti-corruption hotlines and other reporting platforms have since been put in place for members of the public to expose corrupt employees. Measures that have been put in place at Zimra to fight corruption should be replicated at all parastatals and other public offices. Those that have chosen to occupy public offices should be prepared to be put under the scrutiny of the public eye all the time.
Many executives that have been appointed to run state enterprises have become filthy rich overnight and are mainly to blame for the poor performance of these enterprises. Government has dismissed many of these but in most cases the corrective action is taken too late.
It is against this background that we call upon Government to put in place mechanisms such as what is happening at Zimra whereby lifestyle audits for workers are conducted regularly so that corruption can be nipped in the bud. It has become the norm in Zimbabwe to see executives of state enterprises building mansions that cost millions of dollars after working for just a few years.
It is obvious the money to build such mansions comes from ill-gotten wealth and by the time Government takes action, the damage has already been done. Asset declaration is therefore very crucial especially for company executives if the war against graft is to be won. We want to commend Zimra for taking measures to fight corruption given its critical role of collecting revenue on behalf of Government.
It is our hope that other state enterprises will learn from Zimra and put in place mechanisms to regularly check on the lifestyles of their employees as part of measures to fight corruption. Those who work for state enterprises should be men and women of integrity whose conduct both at work and away is beyond reproach.
It is such men and women who should remain when all the bad apples have been weeded out by several measures put in place by Government enterprises to curb corruption. We want to once again implore Government to move with speed to ensure lifestyle audits of all employees at state enterprises are conducted regularly.
Online Reporter