Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa-Mutare Bureau
THE fight against corruption has taken a new direction in Manicaland where ZACC is setting up community-based anti-corruption structures in rural areas.
Speaking during the establishment of the Mutare District Anti-Corruption Chapter in Mutare rural, ZACC Senior Public Education Officer, Charity Mudavanhu, said the move was aimed at extending oversight into rural areas.
She said the programme, which is being implemented across all districts in the province, is designed to place ordinary citizens at the centre of monitoring and reporting corruption at local level, particularly in areas where access to formal institutions remains limited.
“The initiative is intended to close the gap between communities and enforcement structures by building a network of locally based anti-corruption chapters that operate from district down to village level,” she said.
“The mandate of ZACC, as outlined in the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, is to raise awareness, implement preventive measures, investigate corruption cases and recover proceeds of crime.
“But we cannot achieve this mandate in isolation.
“Communities must become active participants in protecting public resources and reporting corruption where it happens,” she said.
She added:
“These structures are led by ordinary citizens so that awareness on anti-corruption is continuous and reaches people who may not be part of formal integrity programmes or institutional networks.
“At the heart of this initiative is inclusivity.
“We want every ward, every village and every district to have a functioning structure that speaks directly to integrity and accountability.”
She said that coordination will be done through District Development Coordinators, who will link community structures with ZACC’s provincial and national offices.
“The system is being integrated through existing administrative structures so that reporting channels are clear, functional and responsive.”
She said ZACC has already established anti-corruption chapters in Chipinge, Buhera, Chimanimani and Mutare, with expansion plans targeting all remaining districts in Manicaland as the Commission intensifies efforts to build a decentralised, community-driven anti-corruption network.
