DCEC pleads for speedy info-flow
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Friday July 5, 2019 14:29
Mathambo was addressing different stakeholders at Marang Gardens Hotel yesterday during a meet and greet session for the anti-corruption bursting agency.
Mathambo disclosed that they depend on different government departments to avail accurate information in their efforts to fight corruption. Such information is crucial to help the agency through the investigation processes, he said.
“I apologise to anyone who in the past had given us tip-offs but we took long to start the investigations. Sometimes we take long because some departments fail to avail information to us in time to start the investigations. Therefore, we plead with various departments to avail information which could help us deal with corruption,” he pleaded.
He added that in some instances, government departments have a tendency of refusing with information in order to protect their co-workers due to the close relationship they share.
Mathambo said that such behaviours by the officers could have a negative impact on the economy and could hinder the country development initiatives.
He said that because of delay in provision of information, Batswana have lost hope in the organisation and often refer to them as a toothless dog.
Mathambo urged stakeholders to assist them in providing authentic records that can help DCEC to follow the money derived from corruption or other proceeds of corruption as well as bringing perpetrators to justice.
Regarding challenges, Mathambo said currently they are experiencing lack of credible and authentic records required for a successful inquiry.
He also mentioned that low uptake of and support for corruption prevention interventions, intimidation of whistle blowers are yet some of the challenges encountered by DCEC.
He further revealed that when he resumed his duties in the office he took an oath that he would not spare anyone who is corrupt including his family members. Hence encourage different stakeholders to join hands with DCEC in order to fight corruption.
Unveiling his roadmap, Mathambo said that they are going to develop a clear impact measurement framework that outlines how resources are used to produce outputs and how the same outputs lead to outcomes (short and long term).
He said that the plan would reduce their current dependence on the Transparency International Index and other indices for which they have limited understanding of their success measurement methodologies.
He said that they would also introduce a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) unit to oversee this function while all impact measurement work will be outsourced to independent entities for greater credibility and accountability.
He also shared that they have already introduced a unit for dealing with money laundering and assert recovery.
Mathambo said that they were also in the process of opening another office in Palapye in order to bring their services nearer to the people.