Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) chairperson Justice Loyce Matanda-Moyo has warned Cabinet ministers against involvement in procurement in parastatals under their purview.

She said the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act prohibits ministers from participating in tendering processes.

“Ministers must distance themselves from procurement because once they are involved junior officers will be forced to overlook the right procedures. Everyone must stick to their job,” said the anti-graft boss.

Justice Matanda-Moyo indicated that plans were underway to host seminars to educate senior Government officials, ministers included, on the legal provisions related to procurement.

The ZACC chair said the recently launched National Anti-Corruption Strategy would ensure there are no catch and release games, as law enforcement agents put all hands on deck to fight corruption.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which works closely with ZACC, also contributed to the anti-corruption document, thus more prosecutors are expected to be assigned to deal with corruption cases.

“We are working together to plug all the loopholes to make sure that once a suspected corruption official is arrested, he cannot walk scot-free. We have enhanced co-operation among various anti-corruption bodies,” said Justice Matanda-Moyo.

As part of efforts to tighten the anti-graft fight, ZACC has established six committees responsible for implementation of anti-corruption initiatives.

Prevention

ZACC, Justice Matanda-Moyo said, was also focusing on prevention of corruption through empowerment of organisations to detect vice through integrity committees.

A ZACC contact person will be availed to monitor the systems to plug any leeway for corruption.

“Citizens must refuse and resist corruption, they must understand the dangers,” said the ZACC chair.

Problematic areas to be dealt with include bribery and tax evasion which cost the economy US$2 billion annually.

“Tax evasion and smuggling are prejudicing the economy of a lot of money. Some unscrupulous citizens under-declare goods or opt to pay reduced tax after offering bribes to revenue officials,” said Justice Matanda-Moyo.

She recommended that the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) should digitise to improve transparency and efficiency.

“People don’t want to spend a lot of time in queues hence they opt to pay bribes. This calls for improved service delivery at our ports of entry,” Justice Matanda-Moyo said.

Presenting his mid-term budget review statement last week, Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said Zimra should introduce patrol drones to fight smuggling, which is rampant at porous borders.

Zimra has been increasing surveillance and anti-smuggling activities resulting in the arrest of scores of people while over 30 trucks were impounded in recent months.

Zimbabwe is a viable transit route for countries north of the Zambezi River, including Zambia, Malawi, DRC, Tanzania and Angola.