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Herald Reporter
Over 60 officials from various local authorities in Manicaland have signed integrity pledges during an Integrity Committees training by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).
Six rural district councils (RDCs) in Manicaland and Rusape Town Council set up Integrity Committees sometime in 2023 and have engaged ZACC for capacity building exercise to operationalise the committees.
Integrity pledges are non-binding social contracts through which individuals make commitments to act against corruption.
The Integrity Pledges were signed by officials from Rusape Town Council as well as Mutare, Makoni, Nyanga, Buhera, Mutasa and Chimanimani RDCs.
The officials included the chief executive officers for the RDCs, a town clerk, the heads of various departments within the local authorities and members of the Integrity Committees.
Commissioner Jessie Majome presided over the signing of the Integrity Pledges. She commended the voluntary commitment by Manicaland local authorities to be trained on how to minimise risks of corruption in their institutions.
Integrity, Commissioner Majome said, was a crucial for achievement of the goals of the National Development Strategy (NDS1). She called for active citizen and societal participation in preventing corruption.
The training, which is ongoing in Mutare, was officially opened by the Permanent Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Manicaland, Mr Abiot Maronge, who implored the local authorities to go beyond the symbolic meaning of the Integrity Pledges and establishment of Integrity Committees by ensuring that the impact of the strategies was realised.
Mr Maronge said Manicaland Province stood ready to cooperate and collaborate with ZACC in the fight against graft, adding that corruption free Manicaland was crucial in ensuring the success of the devolution agenda.
Integrity Committees are established within organisations to serve as internal mechanisms for combating corruption within their sphere of influence.
ZACC is training Integrity Committees on corruption risk assessment and development of action plans.
The Integrity Committees are expected to submit quarterly reports to ZACC and report cases of corruption to relevant enforcement authorities like the Commission itself, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
The establishment of Integrity Committees is in line with the implementation of United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) strategies to prevent corruption and the strategy seeks to promote integrity, transparency, and accountability in governance by involving citizens and society in the fight.
Online Reporter