Zimpapers Logo

Lloyd Gumbo Senior Reporter—

Zimbabwe has put various mechanisms in place to fight corruption as a way of enhancing development in the country, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission has said.ZACC chairperson, Dr Job Wabhira, said corruption was a major threat to development including the Sustainable Development Goals that have been adopted by the United Nations.

He said this in his message commemorating the United Nations Anti-Corruption Day that is celebrated on December 9 every year since 2005.

It is a day set aside to raise public awareness on corruption and how the public can enhance the fight to eradicate the scourge.

“Against this background, it has been globally agreed that corruption has become a threat to the subsequent attainment of the SDGs,” said Dr Wabhira.

“Therefore, this has culminated in the UN 2016 theme ‘corruption an impediment to sustainable development goals’ which in turn guides our commemorations.

“This event is a symbol of the Republic of Zimbabwe’s commitment to ‘Zero tolerance to corruption’.

“Today’ statement shows the commitment from the Government of Zimbabwe to fight against corruption in order to assist all sectors in pursuing developmental success.”

Dr Wabhira said the reason the world commemorated the Anti-Corruption Day was because poor governance and entrenched systems of corruption remained a major challenge for sustainable development.

He said globally, the cost of corruption was worth more than five percent of global Gross Domestic Product.

“Almost $1 trillion is paid in bribes each year according to the World Bank.

“To improve public service delivery, the Government introduced open Government tools that have revolutionised the way citizens and Government interact.

“It has also introduced integrity assessment tools that have been replicated by public and private sector organisations,” said Dr Wabhira.