The Sunday Mail
Norman Muchemwa
A record 23 candidates have their eyes fixated on the Presidential seat and are all on the ground trying to secure votes.
One such individual is National Alliance of Patriotic and Democratic Republicans (NAPDR) president, Mr Divine Mhambi Hove.
The 40-year-old believes his party stands out because of its stance on corruption and devolution.
Ironically, Zanu-PF through its leader, President Mnangagwa, has already declared zero tolerance on graft.
Mr Hove has, in his campaigns, pledged to fulfil Section (2) of the National Constitution, saying his government will cede more powers to provincial councils.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail last week, Mr Hove said his party believes those in the current Government acknowledge the need to fight corruption and push the devolution agenda, but lacks the willpower to implement the same.
He said many promises have been made, but the country needs to tackle the root cause of its problems, which is corruption.
“Our country has many issues and many rights that need to be addressed first before we start making too many promises,” he said.
“If we address the root cause of our problems, all these things being promised by other parties will happen naturally. People seem to underestimate the power of corruption, yet it is the number one cancer that has destroyed our country. Many people are naïve, they think corruption is perpetrated by senior Government officials, yet the cancer has spread to the lower echelons of society.”
“With the speed at which the world is travelling and the pace of technology, corruption has also upped its game and become invisible, hence it’s a continuous fight. Mr Hove believes he is championing a crucial revolution which is anchored on devolution, which is a tool for fighting corruption.
The leader believes that decisions are centred in the capital city and only a few individuals are entrusted with them.
“Devolution will go a long way in addressing the power issues,” said Mr Hove.
“If Government arms are spread around, this will greatly help us to fight corruption,” he said.
Interestingly, while the presidential hopeful is opposed to centrality of power, he believes that judges, the Attorney General, Prosecutor General and Auditor General should serve at the pleasure of the President. He said if voted into power, the NAPDR government will disband the Central Intelligence Organisation and the Zimbabwe Republic Police and replace the security institutions with new units that will “effectively help in fighting corruption”.
The new units, said Mr Hove, will help in intelligence gathering to curb corruption.
“As NAPDR, we will disband the CIO and ZRP and create several autonomous bodies reporting to the President and the Prosecutor General. The new look units will monitor several sectors of the economy and society to dictate any form of corruption by providing intelligence gathering.”
He also said his government will use the power of the legislature to combat crime. However, his party only fielded one local government candidate and no parliamentary candidate.
“One of the tools that NAPDR will use in combating corruption is the parliamentary legislative function. We will draft and promulgate a raft of laws that will clearly spell out crimes and their criminality thereof.
“We will advocate for members of the legislature to pay great attention to that function.”
Asked on the party’s plans to deal with the current cash shortages, Mr Hove said his election into power will trigger ethical conduct in the handling of cash as he believes the country has enough cash. He said he would address the gap between imports and exports as it is the main driver of cash shortages. According to Mr Hove, his party’s drive is to unseat Zanu PF.
Asked why his party has decided not to join other opposition parties in their bid to unseat the ruling party, he scoffed at the idea, retorting, “Why should we join useless partners?”
“We are not pleased with the way they are handling other players in the (MDC) Alliance. You know there is bullying, there is side-lining, they are not keeping their promises, they are belittling other parties, so it is like there are more important players than others in the Alliance, hence we cannot participate in that.”
Mr Hove said there is a commendable improvement in the political environment. He said the playing field is conducive for free and fair elections.
The NAPDR was founded in 2016 with a vision to radicalise the fight against corruption and abuse of State resources.
