The Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa (ACT-SA) applauds the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) for launching the digital Anti-Corruption whistleblowing platform which seeks to protect the public and ensure their identity remains anonymous when reporting cases of corruption. This is a very important milestone toward protecting whistleblowers and ensuring non-disclosure when reporting cases of corruption.
Again ACT-SA noted that this feeds into progress towards implementing provisions of anti-corruption treaties which Zimbabwe signed and ratified such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption and the SADC Protocol Against Corruption.
However, Mr. David Jamali the Chairperson of ACT-SA urged ZACC to strongly push for a law to protect whistleblowers.
“What ZACC has done is very important. But as ACT-SA, we are urging ZACC to use its influence and push for a law that makes it mandatory to protect whistleblowers. We are saddened to hear of unending stories of reprisals against whistleblowers. Our anti-corruption heroes such as Hopewell Chin’ono continue to be persecuted for exposing corruption. ZACC and likeminds should demand that the charges against him be unconditionally dropped.” he says
Zimbabwe has no legal and policy framework to protect whistleblowers from reprisals regardless of having signed the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption and the SADC Protocol Against Corruption. These instruments call upon state parties to protect whistleblowers and reporting persons.
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Sure a law to protect whistleblowers should be one of the priorities for Zimbabwe