ZACC delays cripple corruption fight

The commissioners’ terms of office expired on August 31 last year, and their contracts have still not been renewed, nor have there been any new appointments.

Speaking to The Zimbabwean, the ZACC chair, Denford Chirindo revealed that, although the body was not properly constituted, it was receiving reports on corruption.

Said Chirindo: “There are cases that need to be addressed urgently and these are the cases that we hand over to the law enforcement agents for further investigations.

“Those that do not need to be addressed urgently, we are compiling and we will hand them over to the incoming investigating committee for further action.”

Established under Section 254 of the constitution, the ZACC’s primary function is to investigate and expose corruption in the private and public sectors. It has the mandate to combat corruption, theft, misappropriation, abuse of power and other improper conduct in the private and public sectors and to refer such matters to the National Prosecuting Authority.

The ZACC makes recommendations to government and related organisations on measures to enhance integrity and accountability and on how to prevent improper conduct.

Since the expiry of the commissioners’ term of office, the ZACC has not been visible, despite revelations of massive corruption at some of the country’s major parastatals, including Air Zimbabwe and the Grain Marketing Board, and public institutions such as Harare City Council.

Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition co-ordinator Nixon Nyikadzino described delays by the government as a reflection of a lack of commitment towards combating corruption in Zimbabwe.

Nyikadzino said it indicated that government was not ready to “walk the talk on corruption” and that the delays poured “cold water on efforts to fight corruption”.

Nyikadzino emphasised the importance of appointing the commissioners to ensure that justice prevailed.

“A lot of corruption cases are being reported and it is important that constitutionally mandated institutions such as ZACC are functional to enable the law to take its course,” he said.