By Meditation Mposi

The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has noted rampant corruption in government departments, especially in procurement.
This came out during a Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) engagement meeting held in collaboration with TellZim News in Masvingo town on April 8.
Speaking at the event, ZACC Masvingo Investigations Officer, Langton Shayanewako said the commission had noted that cases of corruption were more prevalent in government departments especially in the procurement departments.
“Cases of corruption are common in government departments especially in procurement, mining claims and land distribution,” said Shayanowako.
He went on to say they were however facing challenges in politicization of cases as well as public perception on the commission.
“We have recorded several successes and we can say we manage to solve about 70 percent of cases that we deal with. In 2024 alone we recovered a total of 202 vehicles that were illegally brought in the country through abuse of the civil servant rebate system
“Some of the people managed to pay duty and got their vehicles, however some are still in courts,” said Shayanewako.
He however said despite recording such successes, the commission faced several challenges including politicization of cases as well as public perception.
“We have challenges like politicization of cases, public perception where people don’t trust us as a commission as well as victimization of whistle blowers and witnesses who end up reluctant to give evidence,” said Shayanowako.
He went on to say people were indicating that ZACC was failing to convict people or delay processes but the delay would have been from the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) whom they work with.
NPA representative at the engagement meeting Tarisai Muvengi said they failed to prosecute or secure convictions in several corruption cases because of lack of evidence.
He said corruption being a sophisticated crime, it was mainly done by people in higher offices and it was difficult to get evidence since in most cases it would have been destroyed.
“The reason why in most cases we fail to prosecute or secure convictions in most corruption case is lack of evidence, the crime is mainly done by people in higher offices and the time investigators try to get evidence, it would have already destroyed.
He also said another challenge was hostility from witnesses who decline to stand in court despite having reported the matter themselves.
“Another challenge we fail to prosecute is hostility from witnesses. They mend their relations during the course of investigations with the perpetrator and the time you invite them to witness, they refuse,” Muvengi said.

By Staff Reporter

The National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe NPAZ has called for decentralization of resources to promote efficiency in dealing with cases at local level.
Speaking during an engagement meeting organized by Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) in partnership with TellZim News in Masvingo, NPAZ representative Tarisai Muvengi said the centralization and lack of resources was affecting how they work.
He gave an example of forensics which he said were only done in Harare thereby making cases with forensics requirements take time.
“We have a challenge of limited resources and centralization of departments that we work with. Forensics are only done in Harare, so all cases that have forensic requirements take time to deal with because the evidence is send to Harare from across the country and it takes time for them to come back.
“So it is our hope that areas like that will be decentralized. If we have a forensic department here in Masvingo to deal with our cases, that would improve our efficiency,” said Muvengi.
He went on to say another challenge was lack of knowledge and information in the general citizenry which he said makes them not eager to come forward with evidence to help prosecute matters.
“There is lack of societal awareness. People do not know what is and what is not a crime and you find out that someone from town goes to Bhuka area there and discovers that village heads are corruptly selling land and reports.
“When investigations are done, it becomes difficult now to have a person from the area to testify, which means we will rely on information from a non-resident further complicating the matter,” said Muvengi.
He however said they were recording several successes in prosecution in corruption related matters saying the year 2023 had the highest number of corruption related matters which they dealt with.
“I don’t have the statistics at hand but I can confidently say we have success stories in ZACC related matters especially in the year 2023 when we recorded the highest number of convictions,” said Muvengi.
However, residents raised concerns on the treatment of witnesses after testifying where they are given transport reimbursement in local currency at bank rate despite them using US$.
Muvengi however said it was a challenge they were lobbying with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to address.

By Staff Reporter

Zaka District is breathing a sigh of relief as it welcomes a new District Development Coordinator (DDC) Gift Machukele.
Machukele who is not new to the district having served as assistant DDC to then substantive Tapson Chivanga before he was transferred to Chiredzi where he held the same post deputizing, was introduced to Zaka RDC during a full council meeting held on April 1.
The new DDC is expected to bring an end to the long-standing feud between the Council Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Majaura and the Council Chairperson Fungai Maregedze.
The rivalry has been fingered as one of the major issues that were hindering development in the area, and locals especially councilors said they were hopeful that the new DDC will bring some much-needed stability.
The previous DDC, Memory Dhliwayo, was demoted after only eight months on the job due to allegations of failing to meet security clearance requirements and poor performance. Her tenure was also marred by controversy, including accusations of corruption and meddling in council operations.
The new DDC will have their work cut out for them, as they’ll need to navigate the complex web of relationships between the CEO, Majaura, and other stakeholders. However, with a fresh perspective and a commitment to development, there’s hope that Zaka District can finally start moving forward.
One councilor who chose to be anonymous told TellZim News that they hoped that Machukele would be able to keep the two in their lines for the development of the district.
“Machukele has been here so he knows what the district needs, we are confident that he will defuse the situation between the CEO and the Chair that his predecessor failed,” said the councilor.
Ministry of Local Government and Public Works carried out an investigation on Zaka RDC and established that there were no trio meetings between the DDC, CEO and Council Chair.
“There were no trio meetings where the CEO, DDC and Council Chair met. Those three should regularly meet to discuss the running of the district. The DDC speaking on government position, chair on council business and council CEO on implementation,” reads part of the report.
The investigation also established a rippling knowledge gap among district leaders which was identified as the major obstacle to development, with the ministry recommending urgent training and reorientation for councilors, management, chiefs, and the District Development Coordinator (DDC), as they lack understanding of their roles.
Another role of the DDC is to put the traditional leaders in council in their place as it was revealed that they did not know their roles in full council meetings.
A classic example was during the full council meeting held on April 1 where Chief Bota born Tafirenyika Bwazvo appeared in the council chambers visibly drunk and caused a scene interjecting the meeting and refused to leave when assistant DDC Victor Zinanga tried to intervene.