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Tinashe Makichi : Business Reporter

“There is need to embrace technology in all the transactions that we will be doing at institutional level to reduce the interaction of people.” INDUSTRY has called for the automation of all business payments systems and a review of business related processes as a measure to stem out corruption in both the private and public sector.Speaking at a Business Breakfast Dialogue Session in Harare yesterday, Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce Harare chairman Mike Juru told industrialists that there is need for a holistic approach towards automation of all business payments systems to minimise corruption.

The dialogue session was organised by the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, ZNCC and the Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Zimbabwe.

Mr Juru said automation of all payment systems is a panacea to minimising corruption as hard cash remains tempting in most business transactions.

“There is need to embrace technology in all the transactions that we will be doing at institutional level to reduce the interaction of people.

“We must promote the use of plastic money rather than using hard cash in business transactions as this has led to the payment of bribes and other corrupt activities,” said Mr Juru.

He said private sector organisations should be encouraged and get assistance in implementing sound internal compliance mechanisms.

Mr Jiri said most private sector players find it difficult to undertake various business processes and to be fully compliant due to the tedious processes they are subjected to mostly in state licensing institutions.

“Even simple transactions typically take an inordinate amount of time, this negatively impacts on the productivity of business ,” said Mr Juru.

Transparency International Zimbabwe senior researcher Farai Mutondoro said prosecution and appropriate judgments should be handed down to the perpetrators of corruption , including those involved at the highest level in Government.

“Whistle blower policies where they exist need to be better advertised and implementation needs to be improved, including assured protection of informants. There must be a whistle blower protection Act,” said Mr Mutondoro.

At the dialogue session a business transactional corruption survey of Zimbabwe was presented which showed that the level of corruption in the country increased substantially since 2013.

The survey captured sentiments of the private sector on how they perceived the corruption profile of Government agencies such as the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the State Procurement Board and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority among others.

The survey indicated that corruption at the border posts appears to be rampant, with importers and exporters often stating that no clearance of goods is possible without paying officials; often multiple officials exist at every stage of the process.

It also highlighted that there is little faith by the business community that Government follows rules when it comes to tenders or that bids are kept confidential.

The general sentiment is that there is no real competition when it comes to Government tenders and the same suppliers are often awarded contracts time and again.