Mnangagwas corruption busters short-listed

Parliament will meet tomorrow to finalise shortlisted candidates that will undergo public interviews for appointment to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc).

One hundred and thirty-three candidates applied to be Zacc commissioners but only 10 will be appointed.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration is currently re-jigging institutions and bodies that are pivotal in prosecuting the fight against corruption, which has become increasingly pervasive in both the public and private sector.

Clerk of Parliament Mr Kennedy Chokuda told The Sunday Mail that the vetting process for those eligible for public interviews was almost complete.

"We have been conducting a very rigorous vetting exercise of the applicants. As you may be aware, we closed the window for members of the public to raise objections against the candidates on March 26. So since then, we have been doing a thorough screening. The vetting is now almost complete," said Mr Chokuda.

"We are almost done, and from as early as next week (this week), we will be good to go, I do not want to be specific on the date, just in case there may be any delays."

Some candidates have since dropped out, while others have failed to meet the grade.

"Out of the 133, there are some who failed to make the grade, but I am not at liberty to release their names."

A source, who is a member of Parliament's Committee on Standing Rules and Orders (CSRO), said the legislature's policy-making body will meet tomorrow to finalise the candidates.

"We are meeting on Monday to tie up the shortlist of candidates. After the shortlist, we will then be able to publish the names that have been successfully selected to take part in the public interviews . . .

"There are many who failed the vetting process because of their previous records.There are also others who voluntarily withdrew. It is likely that those who withdrew had been nominated by other people in the first place, rather than out of their own volition."

It is believed that the CSRO has been conducting a gruelling and rigorous vetting process for the past six weeks.

However, when the window for objections was opened, several red flags were raised on some of the applicants.

Notably, some Zacc commissioners controversially flagged 16 aspirants as unsuitable to be considered for the onerous job.

Former commissioners of the Mr Job Wabhira-led commission left office in January.

The Constitution stipulates that Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) members "must be chosen for their integrity and their knowledge of and experience in administration".

Once the public interviews are done, the remaining candidates will be whittled to 12 names which will be forwarded to President Mnangagwa for consideration.

In a special Independence Day interview with the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) recently, President Mnangagwa pledged to untiringly fight corruption as the vice was "deep-rooted".

"I now realise that corruption is deep-rooted. I thought that by pronouncing that let's fight corruption those who are corrupt will fear and stop; it's not like that. It's so rooted that you have to fight it from A to Z. (In) most systems, structures and institutions, there is an element of corruption," said the Head of State.

Fighting corruption is considered to be integral to the country's march to attain an upper middle-income economy by 2030.