ANTI-CORRUPTION watchdog, Accountability Lab Zimbabwe (ALZ), yesterday held a roadshow in Mashonaland East’s Goromonzi area to lobby legislation to protect whistleblowers who are risking their lives exposing corruption.
The roadshow was meant to celebrate the African Union Anti-Corruption Day, which is commemorated annually on July 11.
The 2024 African Anti-Corruption Day was commemorated under the theme "Effective Whistle-blowers Protection Mechanism: A Critical Tool in the Fight Against Corruption."
ALZ said the theme underscores the crucial role that whistleblowers play in exposing and combating corruption, and the importance of providing them with robust protection mechanisms.
Accountability Lab Zimbabwe’s Civic Action Teams (CivActs) said the roadshow sought to amplify the voices of anticorruption champions and whistle-blowers.
Tinotenda Chishiri, a CivActs officer at ALZ, said whistleblowers faced physical harm and death threats and needed protection.
"Currently, there is no legislation on whistle-blower protection, but there are principles by the Cabinet,” Chishiri said.
“There is an urgent need for the law to safeguard members of the public who expose corruption, because you can't fight corruption when you don't have mechanisms to protect them.”
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Chishiri said whistleblowers must be protected at all costs.
“Effective anonymous reporting systems are crucial to combating corruption,” Chishiri said.
“Citizens must support whistleblowers to promote the fight against corruption.”
There is no whistleblowing legislation currently in the statutes in Zimbabwe, much less any protection specifically aimed at guaranteeing the protection of reporters of corruption.
Samuel Takawira, an integrity icons project officer at ALZ, underscored the need to cultivate a culture of transparency and accountability in fighting corruption.
“An end to corruption is the beginning of integrity,” said Takawira.
“By commemorating Anti-Corruption Day, the project reaffirms its dedication to promoting integrity at personal, interpersonal, and community levels, paving the way for a more just and prosperous future for all.”
Zimbabwe ranks 149 out of 180 countries on the 2024 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa promised to fight graft when he assumed office in November in a coup.
However, Zimbabweans have witnessed grand theft of the country’s natural resources by his allies, the elites and other politically connected persons.
Two Zanu PF-linked businessmen Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu are currently in remand prison for allegedly abusing millions they received under the presidential goat scheme.
Convicted fraudster and controversial businessman Wicknell Chivhayo, who claims that Mnangagwa calls him his son, grabbed headlines recently over the murky US$40 million tender to supply election materials for the August 2023 polls.
