Currently
there
are
cases
before
the
courts
where
fake
documents
are
alleged
to
have
been
provided
in
tender
applications.
Fraud
and
theft
seem
to
have
become
endemic,
though
it
is
generally
only
the
most
sensational
cases
that
are
reported
in
newspapers.
According
to
Zimstat
there
were
38
042
cases
of
theft
in
Zimbabwe
reported
in
the
first
quarter
of
this
year,
3
455
cases
of
fraud
and
83
cases
of
corruption.
Potential
theft
or
fraud
is
a
concern
that
most
businesses
have.
However,
detecting
such
dishonesty
is
far
from
easy,
particularly
where
there
is
collusion
among
employees
or
managerial
staff
or
where
such
dishonesty
has
become
accepted
as
normal
among
employees.
It
is
unlikely
that
even
honest
workers
will
report
the
dishonesty
of
colleagues.
Often
the
only
way
to
discover
what
is
going
on
is
to
have
an
undercover
agent
among
the
employees,
according
to
Safeguard
senior
investigations
manager
Nelson
Zimunya.
The
undercover
investigators
carry
out
normal
employee
duties
but
keep
an
eye
open
for
any
type
of
dishonesty
or
any
conduct
or
weaknesses
in
the
company’s
systems
that
could
adversely
affect
its
profitability.
“The
undercover
operatives
are
carefully
selected
and
vetted
and
undergo
a
Truth
Verification
Test
prior
to
their
deployment,”
Mr
Zimunya
said.
“They
undergo
intensive
undercover
operations
training
to
ensure
their
effectiveness.”
Their
brief
is
to
observe
and
report
on
a
variety
of
issues.
Apart
from
reporting
any
theft
or
dishonesty
that
they
become
aware
of,
they
observe
and
report
to
their
supervisors
at
Safeguard
on
any
misconduct
they
have
observed.
The
agent’s
briefing
will
be
in
line
with
the
customer’s
concerns.
“If
anything
of
urgent
interest
is
uncovered
that
requires
immediate
attention,
either
I
or
the
area
controller
communicate
directly
with
the
company,”
Mr
Zimunya
said.
“Various
forms
of
dishonesty
and
corruption
have
become
common
and
cannot
easily
be
detected
except
through
the
deployment
of
undercover
operatives.
Dishonesty
has
sadly
become
an
accepted
fact
of
life
in
which
even
those
who
condemn
it
often
participate
at
one
time
or
another.
“Collusion
or
the
unwillingness
of
colleagues
to
betray
one
of
their
own
makes
detecting
theft
or
fraud
or
even
rudeness
to
customers
difficult
for
senior
managers
to
detect
or
be
made
aware
of.
“However,
infiltrating
an
agent
whose
mission
is
to
observe
and
report
on
any
malpractices
he
or
she
becomes
aware
of
enables
us
to
make
a
company’s
top
officials
aware
of
what
is
going
on,
whether
it
be
theft,
fraud,
misuse
of
company
property
or
time,
managerial
abuse,
rudeness
to
customers,
labour
unrest,
gossip
or
comments
about
the
employer,
or
any
other
issue
the
company
wants
to
be
made
aware
of,”
Mr
Zimunya
said.
“When
theft,
fraud
or
any
other
criminal
activity
has
been
detected,
our
investigations
enable
us
to
collect
and
provide
the
evidence
needed
for
a
criminal
conviction,”
he
added.
Post
published
in:
Featured