Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) chairperson Justice Loice Matanda Moyo says corruption, if left unchecked enables human rights violations and this is detrimental to the country’s hopes of attaining sustainable development.
Speaking during a Roundtable Dialogue on the nexus between Corruption and Human Rights in Harare today, Matanda Moyo said if corruption is not dealt with authoritatively the country will not achieve its socio-economic objectives by 2030.
“Ladies and gentlemen if corruption is not dealt with decisively it will impact on Zimbabwe’s aspirations of Vision 2030 of a prosperous and empowered upper middle-income society. We will not be able to achieve this vision as a country,”
“Not only does corruption cause harm to the economy, but corruption also enables the violation of human rights. As the UN Global Africa Chief Ms. Makinwa rightfully stated, ‘when there is corruption human rights disappear.’ It is increasingly recognized that human rights are essential to achieve sustainable development. Hence human rights principles and standards are now strongly reflected in the global development framework, the 2030 agenda for sustainable development,” said Matanda Moyo
She said women, children and persons living with disabilities suffer the most from corruption as they have limited means to look for alternative goods and services.
“In this country it is the citizens that suffer disproportionately from corruption in particular women, children and the people living with disabilities. This is because they are often more reliant on public goods and services and have limited means to look for alternative private services. In addition, they also lack the resources to defend themselves and seek compensation,” she said.
She added “Those involved in efforts to investigate, report, prosecute and try corruption matters are also at heightened risk of corruption and human rights violations and require effective protection. It is therefore very important for anti-corruption efforts to comply with human rights standards, otherwise they lose their legitimacy.”
Zimbabwe ranks highly on global corruption and human rights violations indices.
The US, UK and the European Union have on numerous occasions expressed concern over rampant corruption in the country and gross human rights violations, particularly on those who dare scrutinize alleged corrupt individuals.
