IIn a move aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability, more than 100 government officials yesterday signed integrity pledges to reaffirm their commitment to fighting corruption as an essential element in achieving the goals of the nation’s Vision 2030.
The signing ceremony, which was held in Harare and supervised by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), saw senior managers and directors from various ministries pledge to play a role in preventing and combating corruption.
Integrity Pledges are social contracts through which individuals affirm their commitment to act against corruption.
Individuals are expected to act honestly and openly in all aspects, abide by the law and always uphold ethical principles.
In a speech read on her behalf by the Director-General of Talent Management, Ms Grace Machakire, Secretary of the Public Service Commission, Dr. Tsitsi Choroma, said senior managers and managers have been selected to lead the fight against corruption from the front.
“The Anti-Corruption Strategy Committee put forward the idea of the Integrity Pledge at the forefront of efforts to eliminate corruption in all sectors of the economy. We have kept in mind the urgent need to rid the public service of all forms of irregularities as its members are at the forefront of providing services to citizens and are therefore exposed to vice.
“We were obligated to sign the Integrity Pledge because the Zimbabwean government has declared zero tolerance for corruption which can only be achieved by taking bold behavioral and symbolic steps like the ones we are taking today,” she said.
Fighting corruption is a key pillar of Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030, which aims to transform the nation into an upper middle-income society.
Experts believe that by rooting out corruption, the government can create a more conducive environment for investment, economic growth and sustainable development.
Dr. Choroma said the first step in the Integrity Pledge cascade process will be the establishment of integrity committees in each ministry, which will lead the process of preventing corruption and related mismanagement within parastatals, state-owned enterprises, government departments, ministries and institutions. Agencies.
ZACC Commissioner Ndakariba Hungwe said integrity pledges are not a magic cure for corruption, but a starting point to ensure behavior change.
“We realized that we cannot fight corruption alone as the Anti-Corruption Commission, but we need to ensure that institutions are also part of that fight. We wanted to see how we can come up with programs to plug corruption and close all those loopholes that allow people to engage in corrupt practices.
“Integrity pledges have become one of the anti-corruption tools, it is an ongoing program when you are dealing with corruption. The preventive aspect is what we focus on because we say we cannot keep arresting people because that is not a deterrent.
“The real deterrent is for a person to sign an integrity pledge, which is a social contract with himself in which he says I want to do things differently, to serve my country, to serve my people, and to achieve the goals of the first National Development Strategy to ensure that the country is a developed country,” she said.
Ms Hongwe said corruption should not remain an obstacle to achieving national development goals and called on all citizens to actively avoid corruption for a better Zimbabwe for future generations.
To facilitate the achievement of zero tolerance for corruption, integrity pledges are viewed as one of the key anti-corruption measures by promoting high standards of ethical behavior and good corporate governance as they rely heavily on voluntary individual pledges.
Meanwhile, ZACC has partnered with universities to sign integrity pledges for the National Anti-Corruption Strategy as the fight against corruption intensifies.
Yesterday, the Zacc Committee and all local universities met at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare to sign integrity pledges.
The University of Zimbabwe itself, the University of the Midlands States, the Zimbabwe Open University and the Reformed Church University were present.
President Mnangagwa launched an anti-corruption strategy in 2020 to eradicate corruption.
In an interview, some university representatives said signing integrity pledges would help fight corruption.
MSU Registrar, Mr. Tinashe Zeshiri, said: “The Integrity Pledge is a combination of the training that has been taking place at the University of Zimbabwe. We talk about professionalism and with the size of the university, there are a lot of temptations for corruption, so we can only fight corruption if we have champions there.
“The members who were trained here became our ambassadors, our heroes, to fight corruption which is a scourge that has affected me, you and the nation.”
“I am very happy that I signed the Integrity Pledge because I know that from today onwards, I will try by all means to practice good integrity in my workplace and at home,” said Director of Research, Risk and Loss Control, Ms. Getrude Godeau. . I will try by all means, especially in the workplace, to educate and try to create awareness by all means for all stakeholders and other departments, especially people or staff present in the university.
Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences representative, Mr Jeff Chisvingo, said: “We will be doing above board operations. It is an eye opener. We will be managing this in different departments of the university to make sure that we reduce corruption. We want to reduce it to zero.”
ZACC Commissioner Fungai Jessie Magome said ZACC was mainly able to interact with public universities from the Western and Northern region, as well as private universities such as the Women’s University of Africa and the Reformed Church University.
“We are pleased that our higher education sector has embraced this way of doing things, and with that comes an opportunity for administrators themselves to personally, voluntarily and publicly take an integrity pledge pledging that they will conduct themselves in everything they do. Do with integrity,” she said.
“The Integrity Pledge helps in a real way, which is why we hope to see maybe more organizations in the public and private sectors taking the Integrity Pledge because it makes a difference from just talking about ending corruption to having a personal commitment and making a decision.” “Swear.”
Comm Mjome added that they want employers in Zimbabwe to feel comfortable that when they employ a graduate from a Zimbabwean university, they are certain that because those universities have committed to integrity and ingrained it in their outlook and in their culture, “we are certain that ‘our qualifications are correct and we We are sure that our graduates are marketable abroad as well.
“Of course we want them to work here but it will also be certain that we will be able to attract students and faculty from the best countries in the world so that they will also come to Zimbabwe which can only get better and better.
“And this is what we are doing here, and I have no doubt that in five years, because this is what we are doing here, it is like planting the seed of a tree. It will grow and reap the fruits, and in five years, or ten years, the seeds that were planted here will appear to bear fruit.” Its fruits are for Zimbabwe’s benefit in terms of giving Zimbabwe a real and practical opportunity to rid ourselves of corruption.
“So we are definitely on the right track in getting things back on track in terms of what is right and what is wrong so that integrity becomes the order of the day. The values that were turned upside down will be turned upside down and our country can achieve the outcomes of the National Development Strategy,” she said. Especially removing the barrier that could prevent us from reaching middle-income economy status by 2030.
It is expected to promote good governance by institutionalizing the fight against corruption.
These pledges are also expected to enable the implementation of an institutionally designed action plan to prevent corruption with a focus on interventions aimed at reducing opportunities for corruption. Announce
