No Sacred Cows In Fight Against Corruption, Says ZACC

The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) says there are no sacred cows in the fight against corruption and any individual engaging in corrupt activities will be arrested despite their station in life or political affiliation.

In an interview with The Herald on Thursday, ZACC spokesperson John Makamure revealed that ZACC’s target in 2022 is to investigate and complete 75 per cent of the cases received. He said:

The policy of the Government is zero tolerance for any form of corruption. The National Anti-Corruption Strategy (2020-2024), launched by His Excellency President Mnangagwa on 11 July 2020, is the main strategy in the fight against corruption.

In individual cases of corruption, every case will be investigated and punished in accordance with the dictates of our laws. There should be no sacred cows.

The government will have zero tolerance for corruption and this has already begun. We are not looking at political affiliation in making arrests.

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ZACC is on track to meet its targets set for this year. In the area of investigations, the Commission’s target is to investigate and complete 75 per cent of the cases received.

Of the received and investigated cases, 65 per cent will be submitted to the National Prosecuting Authority as completed dockets.

Makamure said to date, 70 dockets have been referred to the NPA and the majority of the cases are high profile. He added:

The anti-corruption fight has two pillars: investigations for prosecution and asset recovery and prevention of corruption.

The Commission is attaching equal importance to prevention this year. One of the key interventions to prevent corruption is through systems review and compliance spot checks and the rollout of integrity pledges and the establishment of integrity committees in public and private institutions.

So far 27 public institutions have established integrity committees with ZACC assistance.

In 2021, ZACC received a total of 1,354 reports with criminal abuse of duty cases standing at 697, fraud at 427, theft of trust property standing at 58, theft 34, bribery 25, Violation of Mines and Minerals Act 7 and money laundering and proceeds of crime 13.

The Asset Recovery and Forfeiture Unit recovered assets worth US$7.8 million in 2021.

ZACC has, however, been accused of pursuing a “catch and release” strategy on high-profile, politically connected individuals who are arrested on corruption allegations involving tens of millions of dollars in public funds but are never convicted.