By Matabeleland North Correspondent

VICTORIA FALLS: Senior management officials working in the private sector are the most corrupt individuals, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) chairperson, Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo has said.

She said this at the 2021 Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) annual congress currently underway in the resort city of Victoria Falls.

Justice Matanda-Moyo reiterated the anti-corruption body would soon descend on the private sector for investigations and arrest of corrupt individuals and company bosses adding Zimbabwe had lost billions of dollars through illicit dealings in the sector.

“I am glad because this is the first time I am meeting the private sector at such a forum. You are part of the national anti-corruption strategy, but you don’t attend meetings,” she said.

“The private sector are the major culprits of corruption in Zimbabwe. You don’t pay tax and tax evasion is serious in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is losing billions through illicit dealing including corruption and this is a lot of money and we really need to do something.

“It is because of corruption activities in the private sector that we find ourselves in this situation.”

She promised ZACC would continue executing its mandate to fight corruption and looting of the country’s resources.

She added ZACC had handed more than 180 cases to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) last year, although the prosecution had been delayed due to a lack of prosecutors at the anti-corruption courts the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) had established.

Only 12 convictions involving corruption charges have been completed since 2019, she said, adding ZACC had also seized assets from suspects.

Justice Matanda-Moyo also called on people in possession of ill-gotten properties to come forward and surrender the loot to avoid arrest.

The annual conference is being held under the theme: “Managing disruptive change.”

Last year, the event was postponed to contain the spread of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.