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Cde Simon Khaya Moyo

Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
THE country is overwhelmed by reported cases of corruption some of which are before the courts at a time the new administration is determined to end the vice and rebuild the country, a Cabinet Minister has said.

In a speech read on his behalf by the Chief Internal Auditor in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, Mrs Patricia Sikipa, at the anti-corruption conference which started in Victoria Falls yesterday, Energy and Power Development Minister Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo said everyone must support President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s fight against corruption.

The Minister challenged every citizen who may have evidence against any suspected cases of corruption to come forward.

“The tone from the executive has changed and high profile cases are being referred to the courts since the new government took charge. The courts are now more seized with hearing various corruption cases and this number has never been reached before,” said Ambassador Moyo.

He said Government is committed to establishing specialised anti-corruption courts to swiftly deal with cases of graft.

“A number of public officers have been suspended. It is yet to be seen how the current cases before the courts will be finalised but for swift prosecution to take place as pronounced by President Mnangagwa, efforts on the same by the legislature and judiciary need to be complemented by the public,” the Minister said.

Ambassador Moyo said it was every Zimbabwean’s duty to ensure a corrupt free environment and challenged leaders to be exemplary and accountable.

“The fight begins with you dealing with corruption by preventing, detecting and reporting it and providing evidence in courts. At the moment that is where we require significant improvement as perpetrators are now being arraigned before the courts and convictions have been rare and current ones are still to be heard,” he said.

Ambassador Moyo said some cases of corruption are dismissed by the courts because of lack of incriminating evidence yet corruption would have taken place.

“So let’s work together to fight corruption for a better Zimbabwe and for equitable and fair distribution of resources. Let’s build a culture of zero tolerance to corruption,” the Minister said.

He said Government was in the process of implementing measures to promote the ease of doing business.

The conference is being attended by officials from local authorities and the private sector and ends tomorrow.

The theme is: “Fighting corruption for economic recovery and good corporate governance for new governance.”

@ncubeleon