Citizens’ perspectives on the form, contributory factors and impacts of white-collar crimes on local authorities in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Despite their instrumental role in the provision of a conducive environment for socio-economic development, local authorities across the globe have been riddled with a myriad of criminal activities, negatively impacting on service to their communities. On numerous occasions, local authorities in Zimbabwe have had to contend with widespread allegations of corruption and a host of other white-collar crimes. This study sought to explore citizens’ perspectives on the scourge of white-collar crime in Zimbabwe’s local authorities, with a particular focus on the trends, causes and impacts. Data were collected from purposely sampled 315 rate payers. Findings revealed that corruption, embezzlement and fraud are the major types of white-collar crime prevalent in local authorities. Poverty, poor internal controls and greediness were found to be the major drivers of white-collar crime. Poor service delivery, reduced revenues and increased expenditure were found to be the major impacts of white collar-crime. The study recommends whistleblowing, sound internal control mechanisms and regular audits as the major strategies to deal with white-collar crime in local authorities.