Say sorry and give money back, urges ACT

The failure by President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu (PF) government to deal with those involved in high profile cases of corruption set a bad precedent that has resulted in a culture of impunity, says a report by the Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa released this week.

“Good governance and the rule of law do not occupy the highest rungs of the priority ladder,” it adds, while urging Mugabe to desist from appointing to high office individuals who have been implicated in corruption.

“Corrupt leaders must apologise to the nation, resign and forfeit the property they gained through corrupt means. As a matter of emergency, the State President must address the nation to assure restive Zimbabweans that the government and relevant stakeholders are working flat out to arrest the situation,” it says.

The report recommends that parliamentarians and senators should declare their assets first before taking office and a register, which should be accessible to the public should be kept to guard against looting of government funds and resources.

“Good governance and the rule of law do not occupy the highest rungs of the priority ladder,” it adds, while urging Mugabe to desist from appointing to high office individuals who have been implicated in corruption.

The culture of impunity has seen looters walking scot free while most of the population wallows in abject poverty. The report focuses on numerous scandals over the past 20 years such as those involving Willowgate, the Harare International Airport extension, the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company, the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Corporation, farming inputs and implements, Air Zimbabwe, the Constituency Development Fund and the diamonds.

ACT says the most disturbing thing is that besides failure to ensure that action is taken against the perpetrators, Mugabe has gone on to appoint many of them to public office.

Officials named in the report include Transport Minister, Obert Mpofu, who has reportedly accumulated vast wealth that has raised more questions than answers, and Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo and businessman Phillip Chiyangwa whose divorce cases revealed their vast wealth.

Those linked to the ZISCO Steel scandal include Vice President Joice Mujuru, who in 2003 was reportedly paid $11,000 by the company’s Botswana subsidiaries, Ramotswa and Tswana Steel. According to the report, she also received 30,000 litres of fuel from ZISCO on her election as Vice President in 2004.

“Quite worrisome is the manner in which all those who have unresolved cases of corruption continue to be recycled and enjoy the benefits of public office while new cases of outrageous hefty salaries for CEOs in Zimbabwean parastatals have unmasked cases of self-interest and corruption. Zimbabwe is yet to witness the arrest of these bigwigs fingered in graft,” says the report.

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