Catholic Church, ZACC join hands to fight corruption
THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has commended the Roman Catholic Church’s commitment to curb corruption within its schools.
The Roman Catholic Church partnered with ZACC to train its staff on the establishment of integrity committees for church-run schools in the city. The training was held at St Joseph’s Mission on Monday.
ZACC chairperson, Commissioner Michael Reza said the church has been instrumental in the fight against corruption in the country.
He said they are looking forward to the church’s continued participation in the next National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) that will be reviewed soon.
“In 2020, President Mnangagwa launched the Zimbabwe National Anti-Corruption Strategy (2020-2024), whose implementation was done satisfactorily, and brought on board all critical stakeholders in the fight against corruption, including churches like the Roman Catholic Church, which today has partnered with the Commission, and taken a bold step of establishing integrity committees within its educational institutions,” he said.
Commissioner Reza said due to the strategy, stakeholder collaboration has improved significantly resulting in the adoption of several policies.
“To tackle corruption successfully, ZACC works together with other law enforcement agencies, such as the police, National Prosecuting Authority, Auditor General, the private sector entities, public sector entities, civil society organisations, academia, parliamentarians, youth, the public and the church because no sole institution can tackle this vice. We, therefore, applaud the church for engaging us and taking part in the establishment of integrity committees,” he said.
He said ZACC has established three programmes to drive its strategy and realise the set targets and outcomes as enshrined in the
National Development Strategy (NDS1) and Government’s “zero tolerance to corruption” mantra.
“These are corporate affairs which supports the operations of ZACC, combating corruption which comprises of investigations, and asset recovery and prevention of corruption, which comprises of public education, systems and compliance and research.
“The commission’s strategy is to ramp up investigations for the prosecution of corruption cases, recovery of proceeds of crime and enhancement of the prevention of corruption and other malpractices, both in the public and private sectors. In addition, the Commission seeks to further increase the public’s access to ZACC services through establishing more offices in all provinces and expanding its social media presence; digitalisation of ZACC platforms and enhance public education and awareness by citizens and institutions on anti- corruption measures,” he said.
ZACC has held a total of 185 meetings with institutions, and there is need to evaluate and close the gaps that have seen the country being ranked 157 out of 180 countries in the World Corruption Index.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Mutare education secretary, Mr Lawrence Chibvuri emphasized the church’s unwavering dedication towards combating corruption.
Mr Chibvuri said their decision to collaborate with ZACC follows the church’s radical stance against the vice.
“This proactive approach stems from the church’s firm stance against corruption, acknowledging the importance of collective action in upholding integrity and justice within the educational sector and beyond. We have also brought in the special constituencies, including the priests stationed at the schools as well as other commissions within the church like Caritas and Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, among others. As a diocese, we feel empowered and enlightened from what we are being taught by ZACC,” he said.