Online Reporter
Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
THE protection of whistleblowers and witnesses is an important step in the country’s fight against corruption, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and Transparency International Zimbabwe have said.
The two organisations said this in their comments on the Whistleblowers and Protection of Witnesses Bill, which is currently before Parliament.
In a statement to The Herald, ZACC said the Bill was a welcome development in the country’s efforts to eradicate corruption.
“The Bill is a welcome development. It addresses an important weakness in the existing anti-corruption framework, namely the vulnerability of persons who report corruption and witnesses whose cooperation is necessary for successful investigation and prosecution,” ZACC said in the statement.
“The Bill is particularly significant because it recognises that corruption is often concealed and that persons who possess relevant information may be unwilling to disclose it because of fear of retaliation, victimisation, intimidation, occupational detriment or other adverse consequences.
“The Bill’s definition of “public interest disclosure” is sufficiently broad to cover bribery, fraud, corruption, gross mismanagement, wastage and misuse of public funds or assets, unlawful conduct and deliberate concealment of such conduct.”
ZACC added that the enactment of the Bill will be fairly sufficient to eliminate or substantially reduce corruption but also said its effectiveness will also depend upon implementation, adequate resources, effective investigation and prosecution, asset recovery, inter-agency cooperation and public confidence in the anti-corruption system.
“Zimbabwe already possesses a substantial legal framework dealing with corruption,” it said. “The Constitution establishes ZACC, while the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act contains offences relating to bribery and corruption.
“The Prevention of Corruption Act also contains provisions criminalising the victimisation or intimidation of persons who provide information concerning corrupt practices.
“The principal value of the proposed Bill is therefore that it can consolidate and strengthen protection for whistle-blowers and witnesses and create greater confidence in reporting corruption.”
TIZ executive director, Mr Tafadzwa Chikumbu, echoed similar sentiments, saying protection of whistle-blowers and witnesses was key in fighting graft.
“The proposed Whistleblowers and Witness Protection Bill is extremely important to Zimbabwe’s fight against corruption,” he said.
“At TIZ we view whistleblowers as an essential component of the country’s anti-corruption architecture because they are often the people who have first-hand information about wrongdoing that would otherwise remain concealed.”
Mr Chikumbu added that corruption was rarely committed in the open and was often hidden through complex transactions, abuse of office, procurement manipulation, conflicts of interest, falsification of records, misuse of public resources and networks of intermediaries.
“Employees, contractors, suppliers, consultants, journalists, civil society actors and ordinary citizens can therefore possess information that is critical to exposing corruption and enabling investigations and prosecutions,” he said.
Mr Chikumbu added that the importance of the proposed law must also be understood against Zimbabwe’s international and regional obligations.
“Article 33 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) calls on States Parties to consider appropriate measures to protect persons who report, in good faith and on reasonable grounds, offences established under the Convention against unjustified treatment,” he said.
“UNCAC also protects witnesses under Article 32, including measures relating to physical protection, relocation and protection of identity.
“At the continental level, the African union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC) requires States Parties to adopt legislative and other measures to protect informants and witnesses in corruption-related offences, including protection of their identities and to enable citizens to report corruption without fear of consequent reprisals.
“The SADC Protocol Against Corruption similarly seeks to strengthen mechanisms for preventing, detecting, punishing and eradicating corruption in both the public and private sectors and to harmonise anti-corruption policies and domestic legislation among Member States.”
Mr Chikumbu said the proposed law was therefore not simply a new piece of legislation but represents an opportunity to close an important gap in Zimbabwe’s anti-corruption and accountability architecture and give practical effect to commitments that Zimbabwe has already made at international, continental and regional levels.
