Fighting corruption is not a threat but an opportunity for MDC

Chickens are coming home to roost, The Titanic is about to sink, We saw this coming, MDC is more corrupt than ZANU PF are some of the latest prophecies from the shameless prophets of doom across the globe. Some have even gone as far as drawing parallels between George Owells Animal Farm and the MDC as well as equating Tsvangirai to Chiluba. Of course, this is all wishful thinking meant to divert the gullible mind from the real issues.

Those in ZANU PF who suffer from serious amnesia, before they profusely expend too much anti-MDC adrenalin, must be reminded of the following scandals some of which shook the very foundations of the once revered party:

While many, even the so-called born-frees would easily recall the Willowgate scandal epitomised by the late Morris Nyagumbo, disgraced Fredrick Shava, Chinyoka and Mtumbuka amongst many others (thanks Geoff Nyarota for your sterling effort in bringing this to the fore), ZANU PFs hired cheer leaders within and without the borders of Zimbabwe must not conveniently forget which party was at the forefront of misappropriation of demobilisation funds when the war ended, well before the MDC was formed. Some of the fighters who came out of the bush with nothing but just their rusty riffle and a pair of faded jeans became instant millionaires (not the Gideon Gono-type of millionaires) while the rest suffered.

Not to be outdone, Kumbirai Kangai became synonymous with GMB scandals for years to come. The War Victims Compensation Fund had such leading characters as Reward Marufu (vatezvara, who was later to be rewarded with a diplomatic posting), Chenjerai Hunzvi and one Augustine Chihuri whose disability was assessed at 100% by the same Polish-trained medic who is said to have spent most of his semesters driving taxis. Any wonder why the police force is almost100% dysfunctional or disabled?

The late Hebert Ushewokunze once perfected ZANU PF corruption while Minister of Transport prompting the brilliant, fearless and blunt Byron Hove (rest in peace) to call him Minister of Air Zimbabwe during one of the most heated parliamentary debates of that time as a result of unprecedented corruption at the national carrier. This was way before we had dreamt of the MDC.

The late Mr. Handsome Enos Chikowore, presided over the infamous VIP Housing scandal where all beneficiaries including one that I shall not mention by name (lest Im perceived to be unfairly targeting one family), dipped their fingers in the till but remained untouched. Welcome to Gracelands! Zimbabwes most corrupt and probably longest servicing Local Government Minister, Ignatius Chombo, has at least a piece of land almost in every major city in Zimbabwe. He could even try getting one on the moon if his ministry operated within the vicinity of the NASA premises but has remanined untouched!

I will not bother you with what may have happened to the so-called AIDS Levy. The stripping of assets at organisations like ZESA, PTC (whatever it is called today), ZISCO and many other parastatals was not engineered by MDC. In all this, how many ZANU PF officials were brought to book except one or two unfortunate nonentities such as those found trading worthless Zim currency at Roodport on behalf of Dr. Casino? Thank God, we hear that his printing press has been shutdown indefinitely and also that his wings are being slowly but surely clipped by the peoples parliament under the watchful eye of no-nonsense TB (Tendai Biti)!

Let it be known that MDC has timeously embarked on a genuine mission to rid itself of the few bad apples in the basket before it is too late. The peoples party knows that pilfering, if ignored, could lead to stock theft, bank robbery or even grisly murder one day. ZANU PF carelessly and blindly reared corruption for 30 long years. Unfortunately, the vice has now grown so big that the party has neither the capacity, means nor idea to tackle it.

On the other hand, the MDC is to be sincerely commented for not adopting the biblical approach regai zvikurirane tozozviona pakukohwa There is need to differentiate between the desired crop and the weed (zviyo nemasawi) well before harvest time, which is the next election. The uninformed that excitedly celebrate this as a sign of weakness are not at all familiar with the dynamics of organisational change where introspection, realignment and self-renewal are not an event but a continuous strategic process. This clean-up exercise will strengthen the MDC and prepare it for good governance, which we will all enjoy once this two-headed monster (zibukanana) called the inclusive government has seen its day. Those who are itching to write the MDC obituary because it has chosen the right path to cleanse itself have to be very patient because the wait is going to be long.