114 State companies set up integrity committees
ONE-HUNDRED-AND-FOURTEEN Stateowned companies and agencies have set up internal teams to identify and assess in-house corruption risks, as well as develop and implement anti-graft policies and procedures.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) plans to assist 200 public entities in setting up integrity committees by end of this year to help combat graft.
In addition, 1 800 public officials have signed “integrity pledges” with ZACC. These are a set of commitments to uphold integrity and fight corruption.
An integrity committee is a team appointed within an organisation to promote a culture of integrity and prevent corruption.
ZACC chairperson Justice Loyce Matanda-Moyo told The Sunday Mail that the committees are key to fighting corruption.
“The establishment of integrity committees and the signing of integrity pledges in Zimbabwe was rolled out at the end of 2022,” she said.
“The commission had targeted to facilitate the establishment of 200 integrity committees.
“To date, the commission has facilitated the establishment of 114 integrity committees, while a total of 1 800 out of the targeted 4 000 public officers have signed integrity pledges.
“The commission has also set a target of 20 institutions that would have signed corporate pledges by year-end.”
The committees, she said, were submitting progress reports to ZACC, which are used to monitor compliance with anti-corruption policies and regulations.
“The reports have been analysed and where administrative issues such as non-compliance with internal policies are involved, ZACC engages the institution to ensure compliance,” added Justice Matanda-Moyo.
“Where the content of the report is criminal, ZACC investigates such allegations.
“Out of a total of 100 trained institutions, 40 have submitted their reports, while others are pending.
“Follow-ups are being made to ensure that submissions come through.”
ZACC, she added, was engaging 15 private companies through the Institute of Directors Zimbabwe, “who expressed their interest to establish integrity committees and have their employees sign integrity pledges”.
It is believed the committees were a “proactive” approach to fighting graft.
“It is a measure to strengthen systems of an organisation by ensuring that corruption is fought from within,” she continued.
“It comes up with institutionalised corruption-prevention mechanisms to reduce opportunities for corruption.
“The committee is an important tool to suffocate corruption before it spreads in the organisations . . . An integrity pledge is a social contract through which a participant announces his or her commitment to act against corruption . . .”