Zimbabwean president establishes special unit to boost fight against graft

HARARE, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has established a special anti-corruption unit to improve efficiency in the fight against all forms of graft and to strengthen the effectiveness of national mechanisms for the prevention of corruption, state media reported on Tuesday.

The unit would be housed in the Office of the President and Cabinet, The Herald newspaper said, citing a statement from Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Misheck Sibanda.

"The members of the unit will be announced in due course," the statement said.

The unit's terms of reference would include collaborating with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), the police and other related institutions in the fight against corruption, Sibanda said.

It will also help ZACC and other investigative agencies of the state in the perusal and consideration of corruption dockets subject to the issuance of authority to prosecute.

Sibanda said corruption has been identified as the foremost threat to the rule of law, public order and socioeconomic well-being of the country.

Since his inauguration as president last November, Mnangagwa has been preaching against corruption and warning that culprits would face the full wrath of the law. Enditem