Source: Anti-graft war goes a gear up. . . as special court opens in Mutare | The Herald May 28, 2019
Prosecutor-General Mr Kumbirai Hodzi Nyore Madzianike Manicaland Bureau
THE National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will descend heavily on cases of corruption to restore public trust in the justice delivery system, and the legitimacy of political, economic and Government institutions. This was said by Prosecutor-General Mr Kumbirai Hodzi in Mutare last Friday during the commissioning of the specialised anti-corruption court at Mutare Magistrates’ Courts.He said corruption was threatening people’s livelihoods and choking economic revival efforts. “Everyone is agreed that corruption in Zimbabwe has reached alarming levels and is affecting service delivery, foreign direct investment, the economic turnaround and social order,” said Mr Hodzi.
Mutare’s specialised anti-corruption court, which came almost a year after the Mutare High Court was opened, is the third to be commissioned in the country after Harare and Bulawayo.
Mr Hodzi said corruption was denying the country development opportunities and robbing the young generation of a bright future, over and above distorting income distribution and public expenditure decisions.
Mr Hodzi called for use of sophisticated means to combat corruption, which tends to be committed by complicated members of society.
He added that it has become imperative that those leading the fight against corruption to be capacitated, particularly with continuous skills development and improvement in conditions of service.
“. . . we need every actor to be adequately resourced in order to enable everybody and every department involved to deal with these matters professionally and swiftly to restore public confidence in the system.
“As the National Prosecuting Authority, we have ensured that there is a deliberate shift of policy to enable us to make meaningful inroads to fight corruption and to restore respect to the profession, to foster a more robust, more focused, more accountable and transparent results-oriented prosecutorial service,” he said.
Mr Hodzi said the NPA was currently in dialogue with other ministries to align the conditions of service and remuneration of prosecutors and non-prosecuting members of staff, with other players in the justice delivery system.
He also called upon citizens to play their part in combating corruption by reporting suspected cases to relevant authorities.
The public can use suggestion boxes to report cases of corruption, said Mr Hodzi.Secretary for Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Mrs Virginia Mabiza said plans to establish two similar courts in Gweru and Masvingo were at an advanced stage.
She called on everyone in the fight against corruption to play their respective roles in a manner that would see the vice being defeated.
“I am glad that five of our 10 provinces will benefit from this initiative and make it necessary to fight corruption. As a ministry, our mandate is to provide an efficient justice delivery.
“And it gives heart-warming pleasure to see the Judicial Service Commission honouring its promise by providing facilities tailor-made to fight against corruption.
“The commissioning of the court comes at a time when His Excellency, Cde E. D. Mnangagwa, has made it very clear that corruption, in all its facets has no place in this Second Republic,” said Mrs Mabiza.
She said it was everyone’s duty to ensure that justice is not only done, but also seen to be done.
Mrs Mabiza believes the creation of anti-corruption courts will boost investor confidence as they guaranteed that related matters would be dealt with expeditiously.The Justice ministry has a vision of ensuring “world-class” justice is accessed by all from next year.
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