THREE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) commissioners were recently in Beitbridge on an awareness campaign targeting different stakeholders, including travellers between South Africa and Zimbabwe.The commissioners were also in Beitbridge to clean Zaac’s name after some impostors masquerading as officials from the anti-graft agency were stopping traffic on national highways. Their visit was triggered by complaints by travellers over being returned to the border by people claiming to be Zacc officials.“Zacc does not mount roadblocks. We do not search people on highways. We do not make people pay. Our cars are registered and identifiable. We investigate and arrest without asking for any money,” said commissioner Chido Madiwa leading the team.The other two commissioners are Kindness Paradza and Obson Matunja.The team, supported by administration staff, has been engaging the public and interviewing travellers at the border post to gather intelligence on developments related to their work.“We went to the Beitbridge Border Post, where we spoke with travellers and bus crews. We highlighted the importance of compliance with border requirements and that people must not engage in corruption. We also explained what corruption is and its effects on the country,” Madiwa said.She said several concerns were raised by travellers, adding that top among them being steep duties and cumbersome border processes where different departments do not have one-stop search points. On Monday this week, the organisation held a public workshop where different stakeholders, including government departments, mostly deployed on the border, outlined their roles and their position against corruption.Transport and passenger representative organisations were also given the platform to express their views and highlight the issues they felt affected smooth operations at the border post and promoted corruption. Apart from public engagements, Madiwa was on local radio station where she engaged listeners in a phone-in programme to explain the role of Zacc in the fight against corruption. Zacc spokesperson Simiso Mlevu said her organisation embarked on the awareness drive in response to corruption at Zimbabwe's border posts, which manifested through bribery.Zacc will engage communities at all border posts and Beitbridge has been chosen on the initial launch due to its activities which make it the busiest in sub-Saharan Africa, she said.During the workshop, officials from different organisations signed declarations of integrity before Zacc officials.
