Online Reporter
Trust Freddy
Herald Correspondent
THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has cited the conviction of two businessmen involved in the Presidential Goat Scheme fraud as definitive proof of its intensified anti-graft drive.
This comes after business partners, Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe, were on Wednesday convicted of defrauding the agriculture ministry of US$7 million in an US$87 million goat supply tender using a non-existent company.
Speaking earlier today on the sidelines of a ZACC enterprise risk management seminar being held in Harare, ZACC Commissioner Kindness Paradza said the successful prosecution signals that “there are no sacred cows” in the fight against corruption.
“This is a warning to all those who are doing things that are not within the law, that we are going to catch up with you,” he said.
“It is also a message to all those who are doing corrupt things that we will catch up with you, and it also sends a clear message that ZACC is a serious anti-corruption busting agent.”
Commissioner Paradza also expressed satisfaction with the judicial outcome, attributing the success to strong coordination between the anti-graft body and the justice system.
“We are so happy that at least the judiciary has found these people guilty, and we are happy with that result,” he said. “We are happy that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and we are coordinating very well in such matters.”
He also reiterated that the commission relies exclusively on tangible evidence, dismissing reliance on social media as a source of information.
“We don’t deal with social media, we deal with evidence,” he added.
“So whoever has evidence, please bring that evidence to us, so that we investigate and we send these dockets to the National Prosecuting Authority for prosecution.”
Peter Tanyanyiwa