Zimbabwe: anti-corruption body unable to keep up

The head of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), John Makamure, has admitted the body is too understaffed and inundated with cases to tackle the extraordinary levels of corruption in the country.

Speaking at a Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) workshop in Bulawayo on Monday, Mr Makamure said “There is no way ZACC can investigate many cases with the current staff that we have”. 

The Commission currently employs 89 members of staff, including 38 investigators. 

According to Commissioner Makamure, ZACC presently has 700 cases that need dealing with, 73 of which are high profile. 42 of the cases are still pending in court. 

“We need to investigate, arrest and convict more of this who do corruption in order to send a message out there that Zimbabwe says no tolerance to corruption”, the commissioner said. 

He also stated that ZACC was keen on strengthening and restructuring its Assets and Money Recovery Unit, which currently only has four lawyers and one investigator. Mr Mukamure said he would be working closely with the police Financial Intelligence Unit, the Auditor General’s Office, and Transparency International Zimbabwe to strengthen ZACC’s approach to financial misconduct. 

 In the past, ZACC has arrested several public figures for abuse of office, including former cabinet minister Prisca Mupfumira for fraud and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s wife Marry, who is currently facing charges of money laundering, as well as the attempted murder of her husband. 

Photo: The Zimbabwe Herald