By By Ross Moyo
Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission (ZACC) chairperson Michael Reza has revealed that most of illegally imported vehicles are as a result of abusing civil servants vehicle rebate scheme the government introduced through Minister of Finance and Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube in order to cushion civil servants.
The Former country’s top Prosecutor now ZACC boss said joint investigations into the abuse of the tax rebates extended to civil servants had yielded positive results.
“There was inter-agency collaboration, which saw ZACC, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority combining efforts in the fight against corruption,” Reza said.
“This resulted in the recovery of hundreds of vehicles that had been illegally imported into the country through abuse of the civil servants vehicle rebate scheme. Over 350 vehicles have been recovered since the start of the operation to date.”
Ongoing investigations by ZACC are expected to recover more vehicles.
Professor Mthuli Ncube introduced the civil servants motor vehicle rebate scheme as an incentive for civil servants with 10 or more years of service, allowing them to import a motor vehicle duty-free.
Nevertheless, beneficiaries are not allowed to sell, offer, or display their vehicles for sale, lease, or hire within five years of import without prior written permission from Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra).
In spite these conditions, it was discovered that many car dealers in Harare have been exploiting the scheme by conniving with civil servants who are not using the scheme and then using their names to import a vehicle duty free.
Reza also revealed the commission was able to recover assets and proceeds of corruption and compensated for damages inflicted on the state and corruption victims as part of fighting corruption.
There is a need to continue identifying legal gaps to ensure that the process of preservation and management of assets was in line with global standards.
The Zacc meeting was attended by top Government and State officials, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ambassador Frederick Shava, Deputy Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Nobert Mazungunye and Prosecutor-General Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo.
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