By Felix Matasva
Manicaland Correspondent
The Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission (ZACC) has given a chilling warning to smuggling cartels in Manicaland province, saying their days are numbered as the Commission has recently decentralized its operations to the province.
Speaking on the sidelines of Strategic Review Planning workshop organised by the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, ZACC Chairperson Justice Loice Matanda Moyo hinted that the Commission is already handling over 100 cases involving corruption specifically for this province.
Matanda Moyo reiterated that opening an office in the eastern border city of the country a move in time as smuggling of second hand clothes and precious minerals had become rife in Mutare due to the porous border areas.
“Smuggling is rife in this eastern border town. So we want our officers to arrest that problem soonest. Coupled with that we have problems of precious minerals being smuggled. There are a lot of illegal buyers, buying the minerals from the mines around the town, so those are the type of cases that our officers here in Manicaland are tasked with on top of other corruption related cases,” highlighted Justice Moyo.
Mutare is richly endowed with gold and diamond deposits have seen the Government deploying security personnel to scare away illegal miners who had flocked the Chiadzwa diamond rich field in Marange.
Some overzealous smuggling cartels of second hand clothes from Mozambique have dared the Government by hiring earthmoving equipment and constructing illegal smuggling routes of second hand bales which are later sold in Harare.
These cartels have been playing cat and mouse games with security agents but to no avail.
“On smuggling we will also be looking at issues to do with under invoicing of goods brought into the country via Forbes Border Post. Most of these cartels do not want to declare their goods correctly thereby inflicing the Government of the much wanted revenue. As you know, Government depends on taxes this smuggling has never been a good thing,” she added.
The anti- corruption body boss implored the public to be conscientised on the dangers of smuggling, tax evasion and under declaring goods. She assured the nation that her organisation was working around the clock to curb the smuggling menace that has become a daily routine in Manicaland province.
Meanwhile Justice Moyo took a swipe on schools in Manicaland province that were charging in United States dollars without giving the parents the opportunity to pay in local currency. She said some arrests in some schools dotted in the province had already been done although she could not be drawn to disclose the names of the schools.
The Strategic Planning Review Workshop was also an opportune time for the Ministry of Justice’s move to decentralize various departments, including the Attorney General’s Office become a statutory body. This to some extent will affect the operations of the Ministry as it leaves the Ministry with a number of Statutory and Independent Commission whose legal frameworks are administered by the Minister of Justice.