159
promoting socially unapproved norms and values. However, I was flexible in incorporating whatever I thought worked from positivism to bolster my epistemological general views.
160
to read and discuss with colleagues. For example, most adults preferred materials on good corporate governance while primary school learners wanted basic information on anti-corruption which came in the form of poems, dialogues, art work, music and others.
(b) The study informed me that there were no educational materials for special groups like the deaf and the blind and other physically challenged members of the Zimbabwean public for them to participate fully in anti-corruption education. It was very true that the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission had no materials in Braille and Sign Language and this made the participation of concerned members of the public very difficult (if not impossible) to be realistic.
6.2.3 The part played by language use during public education on anti-corruption
I learnt that despite that there were 16 languages approved by the government of Zimbabwe and given national status, anti-corruption education materials and instruction were largely given in English. There were rare occasions when Ndebele and Shona would be used. ZACC had no educational materials in the 13 other national languages and no instruction was given in any of the said 13 national languages. It also meant that only those people who understood English were better served at the expense of the greater majority which was still suffused in their mother languages. This means that language might continue to be a barrier to quality anti- corruption education until a deliberate effort was made to apply all the 16 national languages in anti-corruption education.
6.2.4 The extent to which participants were issued with reading material
(a) I learnt that anti-corruption educators distributed various materials to the participants in form of booklets, flyers, caps, shirts, mugs, rulers, pens and others.
The materials were only given after considering the age levels (e g content believed to be suitable for primary, secondary and tertiary levels). Those who needed extra
161
reading material were also allowed to collect for their own benefit or members of their families back home.
(b) The study also informed me that some materials like shirts and caps were selectively distributed to participants and those who were not given shirts and caps thought that the anti-corruption education team was also corrupt when it came to distributing materials. The shirts were most in demand and due to the high budgetary costs, they were always not enough for the participants and therefore only a selected few who were exceptional in their participation were allocated these.
6.2.5 Availability of library services to the public
a. The study puts to the fore that majority of people were not aware that ZACC had a library which is open for use to the public. I further established that ZACC had not made any efforts to advertise that they have a library for use by the public.
This was also confirmed by participants who pointed out that ZACC did not inform the participants during awareness campaigns neither did they include such information on reading materials including their website.
b. I learnt that most people were not able to access the ZACC library but they complained that the ZACC needed to remove some of the stringent administrative procedures which readers have to go through before they admission. These included security vetting processes which they thought was not necessary for those who wanted to use the library only.
6.2.6 The extent to which ZACC reviewed its public education content
(a) I learnt that the ZACC reviewed its curriculum content in tandem with the corruption trends in the environment in order to keep abreast with the current developments on issues surrounding corruption and anti-corruption. I further established that corrupt people usually changed the way they operated including the language codes. They came up with fraudulent schemes in order to dupe the public, thus, the ZACC required a strong research and development unit which would advise them during curriculum reviews.
162
(b) However, the study spells out the need for ZACC to invite some of the critical stakeholders who add value to the content review processes. These include independent experts, civil society representatives, development partners and others.
Therefore, unless ZACC was open to innovative ideas their curriculum might fail to address the felt needs of the society.
6.2.7 The extent to which anti-corruption education officers had requisite skills
(a) I learnt that the ZACC was using appropriate methodologies in educating the public.
(b) My study also shows that ZACC educators However, it was also learnt from the findings that the ZACC educators needed to have the expected depth concerning topics they teach to the public for example the issues of elicit financial flows in and outside Zimbabwean borders. In some cases, the educators failed to convince the public when they raised technical issues on simple economics.
6.2.8 The impact of public education on people’s behaviour
(a) I learnt that public education on anti-corruption had a tremendous effect on changing people’s behavior against anti-corruption. Some members of the public were able to give a distinction between corruption and other criminal offences. The public was also aware of the evils and effects of corruption and they commanded a fair knowledge on how to prevent corruption. Most people were also prepared to work with the ZACC in preventing corruption and at the same time report any perpetrators of corruption for possible investigation and prosecution. Therefore, to a large extent public education on anti-corruption had a tremendous effect in changing people’ behaviour.
(b) I also learnt that it was difficult to give credit to the ZACC’s public education on anti-corruption alone because there were other institutions engaged in educating the public on anti-corruption and governance issues namely non-governmental organizations, churches, integrity committees in various work places, schools and
163
colleges. All these institutions had a legitimate claim in the change of behaviour towards anti-corruption which was exhibited by the public.