Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has embarked on an exercise of conducting a lifestyle audit on all public prosecutors countrywide in a bid to rid the system of corrupt officials, The Herald reports.
This was revealed by Prosecutor-General Kumbirai Hodzi who said the move is meant to fight against organized crime and corruption:
A cornerstone policy of State has been the fight against corruption and organized crime. A cocktail of measures has been devised to enhance the monitoring of the integrity of each Prosecutor.
Among such measures, is the requirement to subject any officer to a Life Style Audit, should the circumstances of the situation require. These legitimate tools are in tandem with global trends and international best practices.
It is often said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and for organizations such as the NPA and the PG’s Office this is best achieved through an effective internal program for preventing and detecting violations of the law or for ethical standards.
Hodzi said the audit will tally an individual’s expenditure over their income and if they do not match the prosecutors will be made to explain the difference:
Those who cannot prove legitimate sources of their wealth and assets will be subjected to legitimate due process of the law a criminal investigation, asset seizure and forfeiture, a civil or criminal process and internal disciplinary proceedings for summary dismissal from the PG’s Office and NPA.
He appealed to whistleblowers to come forward and reports NPA staff members who are living large:
The public has always been very helpful in the fight against corruption. We appeal for whistle-blowers to supply any information helpful in the lifestyle audits at the NPA. So far, most of the information we are getting, is coming from members of the public.
ZIMRA and ZRP are reportedly carrying out similar exercises on their staffers too.
More: The Herald
