The Sunday Mail
Editor’s Brief
Victoria Ruzvidzo
Zimbabwe’s war on corruption has taken a new and more robust dimension which should see the alleviation of a vice costing the country at least US$1 billion annually.
A few days ago the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the National Prosecuting Authority came out guns blazing, firing early warning shots that it is game-on for those involved in heinous acts sabotaging the economy.
This stance is commendable, particularly at a time when the country is faced with challenges such as Covid-19 which require that it gets every penny it can to fight the disease and to oil the economic engine.
It is important for the Government and its respective institutions to speak loudly and act with congruent passion in stemming the scourge. They have promised that.
For decades, corruption has remained an albatross on the economy’s neck and in Africa. It has reached endemic proportions hence the need to deal with it more decisively. Its effects across the divide are evident. Zimbabwe and the continent in general would be in better stead were it not for the haemorrhage caused by the vice.
Many diseases would be under control, hospitals fully equipped while there would be enough schools to ensure pupils do not walk long distances, were it not for the scourge that drains the continent of its resources.
The infant mortality rate would be manageable while women would not lose their lives in childbirth among other complications, were all the continent’s funds accounted for.
Africa would definitely not be labelled a dark continent. Money and tradable resources give a measure of power, confidence and authority which the continent lacks, due in part, to corruption.
The UNCTAD Economic Development for Africa 2020 report shows that Africa loses about US$90 billion through illicit financial deals annually. Eradication capital flight through under-invoicing, theft and outright corruption could save that much and cut by half the continent’s financing gap of US$200 billion.
This disease inflates transactional costs with prices adjusted upwards to factor bribery costs. Shoddy work is done by undeserving individuals, entities and pseudo companies, increasing inefficiencies.
Indeed this short-termism undermines growth prospects. Investors too shun economies where corruption is rampant — merit is sacrificed on the altar of expediency, immediate and selfish gain. Lawlessness becomes prevalent, breeding a toxic culture.
There is so much that could be achieved if every citizen behaved responsibly.
For Zimbabwe, it is no longer about mere lamentations, but the Second Republic has made it clear that the time for corrupt activities is over.
There has been criticism about perceived soft punches in the fight, but major corruption bodies that deal with the scourge which include the Special Anti-Corruption Unit in the President’s Office and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Financial Intelligence Unit, have promised hell on earth for those caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Something tells me these are not mere threats.
The President himself has kept the anti-corruption drive on his radar and is leading the campaign to eradicate Zimbabwe of such retrogressive behaviour. Such commitment from the high office will yield results.
There has been so much talk about corruption and how bad it is for the economy and the country as a whole, but perpetrators have continued to launch their missiles in defiance.
Indeed many may have escaped the machinery, but the chickens are coming home to roost. That was just temporary and deceiving but the Ides of March are come indeed, if signals from the powers-that-be are anything to go by.
On Friday, Prosecutor General Mr Kumbirai Hodzi was on ZBC TV, stressing that systems had now been put in place to follow-through and finalise all outstanding high profile cases. He said many of these had been delayed on a technicality, but his institution was now ready for a re-launch.
Earlier in the week, he told our sister paper The Herald, that teams had been sent to India for training while prosecutors’ welfare had vastly improved, at the President’s instigation, to ensure they are not easily lured by the dollar to compromise their work.
Eradication of corruption within this body is in itself a major step towards ensuring that every case within its purview receives the justice it deserves. Reports of serious corruption in this institution have been rife over the years, putting paid to initiatives to effectively deal with cases brought to its attention.
Mr Hodzi knows only too well that his team needs to be alert and alive to the situation and stem corruption from within.
At least 300 prosecutors have been recruited to fill gaps and ensure a formidable force to fight graft. It is no mean task, but these efforts are sending the message home.
ZACC said it has handed over at least 40 high profile cases from the public and private sectors to the NPA. These should come into the public domain soon. We can’t wait.
On its part, the anti-graft body has adopted more effective strategies in its fight against the vice. It has become more lethal than before. Some of the measures include the establishment of about 20 committees to deal with respective aspects of the scourge.
What is also critical is for us not to just point fingers at the Government for taking long on corruption cases, but we should find it within ourselves to do our part in this fight.
We need greater resolve to do this as a united front.
What is the man in the mirror doing in their sphere to alleviate the scourge? Are we not contributing towards its spread? Are we not the first ones to offer bribes or receive them?
Mahatma Gandi eloquently captured it when he wrote on the seven things that destroy us :
Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Science without humanity
Religion without sacrifice and
Politics without principle.
Corruption must be dealt with. Indeed countries like Rwanda provide shining examples. Its zero tolerance to corruption has enabled it to successively record growth rates of above 8 percent.
The rhetoric on corruption in this country is over and we commend the Second Republic for the concerted efforts to win the war.
A point to note is that corruption is not at senior level only, but is ubiquitous. Those with cases to account for will, and the fear of errant behaviour will cascade to everyone.
It is a real war at hand . . . one that Zimbabwe has no option, but to win.
In his song “Man In The Mirror”, Michael Jackson was instructive.
I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change
In God I trust!
Twitter handle: @VictoriaRuzvid2; Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
