Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) today, Tuesday the 17th of October 2013, held a meeting with Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) to explore ways in which the two organizations can join forces in the fight against corruption and raising public awareness on the scourge.
ZACC was represented by a team led by Mr. Magiga, the Manager of the Department of Public Education, whilst Mr. Samuel Wadzai headed the VISET secretariat team. Mr. Magiga said it was critical to involve the Informal Economy actors in tackling corruption, given the scale of economic activity in the sector, and the numbers that the sector commands. If the members of the informal economy are sufficiently informed through awareness raising, they can be effective whistle blowers on perpetrators. Mr. Magiga said the initiative of engaging Informal Economy players was anchored on the National Anti-Corruption Strategy launched by the Government of Zimbabwe in August 2022, which has Pillar 1 that seeks to raise citizens awareness and have them empowered to report corruption. The ZACC team also took the opportunity and invited VISET to the ZACC Television programme that airs every Tuesday on national Television.
Mr. Wadzai welcomed the collaboration, saying that as the informal economy, they have long been on the receiving end of corrupt practices by space barons, law enforcement, and even bogus municipal police officers. Wadzai said such practices have hindered the ability of informal economy workers, in particular street vendors to grow their enterprises, as it served as a form of punitive tax both at a micro and macro levels. He also informed the meeting that VISET has previously implemented Anti-Corruption training programmes for the organisation’s leadership, the Social Economic Champions (SOCHAMPS) in major cities, but that this new collaboration would bolster and augment the capacity of VISET members and communities in the fight against corruption.
Both parties pledged to deepen the collaboration through addressing joint events as a means to ensure that the partnership yields maximum results.
