The government has said it is working on technology to curb rampant corruption at the country’s border posts including the use of undesignated points of entry.
Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister, Kazembe Kazembe recently told the Senate technology was envisioned to be the solution to corruption.
Kazembe was responding to Senator Tambudzani Mohadi of Beitbridge who had asked how the government was trying to minimise corruption at border posts, which she said was costing the country millions of dollars.
Kazembe said technology had been deployed to border posts to ensure travellers are assisted smoothly.
“Technology is envisaged to be the solution to corruption because technology does not take bribes nor does it go for tea,” said Kazembe.
“Technology removes the human interface because every time there is a physical interface, there is likely to be corruption. So, it is critical that there be efficiency at the border so that people will be served timeously and there will be less corruption.”
He said his ministry was doing the best it could to ensure corruption is minimised.
“In some areas, we are now deploying through the entire security sector drones to man our borders,” he said.
“We have also created some teams in certain border areas, in particular stretching from Botswana all the way down. We now have patrols there. Work is still in progress and we have to improve our roads as well as deploy more suitable vehicles. The Treasury is seized with that matter.”
Kazembe emphasized that it takes two for a corrupt act to be committed.
“One person cannot corrupt themselves,” he said.
“I always say we have a collective responsibility to stop corruption. If we are really serious, we can stop it. Whilst it is the police’s responsibility to arrest those who commit crimes, some of the issues cannot be left to the police alone. The entire nation needs to take part as we are all responsible collectively.”
He said he would not tell which department among the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), Immigration, Port Health, and Ministry of Transport was involved in corruption.
“So, the government has been sending ferret teams consisting of police, the President’s department and the Army to try and arrest this scourge,” said Kazembe.
“This has helped as we have accounted for a lot of people at the border. Also, to ensure that those that we send do not end up getting involved, we have been changing teams and that has yielded results. We have also started deploying covert police officers who in some cases pretend to be travellers. Some have boarded buses and attempted to bribe our police officers. So, even police officers who are involved have been arrested. These police officers have been deployed to man the roadblocks so as to account for those who are not using designated areas.”
