The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has urged Parliament to come up with legislation to ensure the repatriation of externalised ill-gotten wealth.
ZACC’s chairperson, Justice Loice Matanda Moyo implored Parliament on Wednesday as the Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda revealed that the country had lost more than US$3 billion in illegal financial flows between 2015 and 2017. Matanda-Moyo said:
It is the role of Parliament to ensure corruption prevention measures are in place, to promote transparency and accountability, the criminalisation of corruption and the recovery of assets and, therefore, this will require APNAC to influence Parliament to enact favourable laws to assist Zacc to recover all assets siphoned within and outside the borders of Zimbabwe.
The commission has arrested MPs over allegations of corruption and in instances, some are under investigation.
She was speaking during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Parliament, Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) and the African Parliamentarians Network against Corruption (APNAC) where the organisations vowed to collaborate in fighting graft.
When President Emmerson Mnangagwa rose to power in 2017, he pledged to confront corruption “head-on” but observers say there is no concrete action to support the rhetoric as corruption cases are also being reported within his inner circle.
Zimbabwe is ranked among the most corrupt countries worldwide. Corruption is believed to be one of the leading factors choking the transformation of the Southern African country.
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