Stop Paying Bribes To End Corruption, Says Kazembe

Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe said that the most effective way to deal with corruption is for members of the public to stop paying bribes.

Speaking in the Senate on Thursday, Kazembe admitted that corruption was pervasive within the Zimbabwe Republic Police but unwittingly blamed the public for abetting corruption in the police force by paying bribes. Said Kazembe:

Yes, corruption is indeed a scourge and it’s totally unacceptable. I do admit that we do have some rogue cops amongst the police.

Not every cop is corrupt but definitely yes, that issue is there and it’s a challenge.

It’s illegal and it should be dealt with. There is no way one person can be corrupt by themselves, it takes two or more to corrupt.

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This then points to citizens – we are aiding corruption; police cannot corrupt themselves.

If they are corrupt, it’s because they are being paid by us. If we all take collective action and say we don’t want corruption, it will end today. Nobody will offer a bribe to the police.

The latest Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) national bribe payers index study for 2021 ranked ZRP as the country’s most corrupt government department.

In December last year, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) named the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA), VID and ZRP as the most corrupt state departments.

According to ZACC chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo, some of the officers from the three departments reportedly pocket at least US$200 a day from their corrupt deals.

More: ZimLive