and investigation of money laundering in the financial system. The inspectors will have general investigating powers and may seize property and enter premises in connection with their enquiries, but they must refer their findings to the relevant law-enforcement authorities. • The Criminal Procedure and Evidence Amendment Act, passed in June 2004, gave police the power to detain suspects for 21 days without charge. Ostensibly part of a package of anti-corruption measures, the act targets the unlawful possession of precious metals or stones, money laundering, the contravention of exchange control regulations, and unlawful dealing in grain. The presumption of innocence is eliminated by the new law and judicial officers have been divested of their discretion to grant bail to those covered by the law. The provisions seem calculated to augment the provisions of the much-criticised Public Order and Security Act, and the potential for abuse by police, political officials, judges and others is enormous. When the bill first came before parliament on 22 June, a number of legislators from the ruling ZANU (PF) party walked out.1 At the time of writing the legislation was awaiting presidential assent. • The Anti-Corruption Commission Bill was introduced to parliament in April 2004 and passed in June. At the time of writing it was awaiting presidential approval. The bill provides for the establishment of an anti-corruption commission and confers upon it powers to investigate suspected cases of economic crime. Legislation on an independent anti-corruption commission has long been a priority advocacy issue for civil society and the private and public sectors in Zimbabwe. The constitution was amended as early as 1999 to provide for the creation of such a commission. • A new ministry of special affairs in the president’s office responsible for anti-corruption and anti-monopolies was created in February 2004 with a mandate to deal with issues of corruption and abuses of power. However, the creation of the new ministry was considered a non-event since adequate entities to fight corruption already existed within the executive. What was always missing was the political will to enforce the existing laws and provisions against corruption and other improprieties. • A Zimbabwean chapter of the African Parliamentarians’ Network Against Corruption was launched in November 2003. The chapter has already been instrumental in presenting anti-corruption strategies to parliament on behalf of civil society.
Anti-corruption drive? Zimbabwe’s economy has been persistently stripped of its assets by corruption in the private and public sectors. Over the past year this has been driven in large part by the chaotic land reform process that led to the virtual collapse of the agricultural economy. This in turn precipitated a chain reaction as Zimbabwe ran out of basic commodities such as fuel, foreign currency and foodstuffs. With an inadequate legal infrastructure to contain the problem within formal structures, the result has been a parallel, informal market that is a haven of corrupt
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practices. Substantial amounts of local and foreign currency have been externalised illegally. Observations on the ground suggest that corruption has drastically increased over the past year and it is being held officially responsible for the socio-economic conditions that have bedevilled Zimbabwe since the late 1990s. Hyperinflationary pressures, foreign exchange shortages, the proliferation of black markets for basic items and rising poverty levels are in part the symptoms of corrupt business practices, though both they and the corruption are largely the result of financial and political mismanagement.
Country reports
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