Story by Tapiwa Machemedze

LOCAL authorities in Mashonaland Central Province have pledged to fight corruption after the setting up of integrity committees led by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission(ZACC).

ZACC is increasing the fight against corruption through these integrity committees to promote fairness in local institutions.

ZACC Commissioner Gabriel Chaibva said every institution in the country must have an integrity committee to mitigate corruption.

“The UN Convention on Anticorruption requires all member states to include all people in fighting corruption and our approach is in sync with His Excellency the President when he talks of leaving no one and no place behind and we want to involve everyone in the fight against corruption. Today we are gathered with over 120 people from various local authorities to establish integrity committees within local authorities. These integrity committees are to be a watchdog and preventative measure of corruption as it occurs in local authorities,” he said.

Chairperson of the Mashonaland Central Chapter for Council Chief Executive Officers Mr Claudius Majaya said councils have embraced the integrity committee by signing pledges to be honest in their duties.

“We hope that when we return to our duties prevention of corruption will be a key issue in the operation of local authorities. The integrity committees are being made so that we are proactive in closing the gaps and opportunities to prevent corruption. Some areas are prone to corruption such as recruitment in local authorities and land allocation,” he said.

Corruption has been a major setback to socio-economic development and is estimated to cost the African continent 50 billion United States dollars annually.