Govt fury over graft blitz; MDC-T says more

No corrupt politician should be spared … Obert Gutu

ZACC, previously condemned for doing nothing about graft in the country, recently announced that several individuals and corporations have been formally placed under investigation.

But information ministry permanent secretary George Charamba blasted the commission, accusing it of behaving like “rattlesnake” by making a lot of noise without striking, adding that the this was causing chaos in government.

“They (ZACC) cannot as a constitutional body behave like a rattlesnake which makes a lot of noise before striking,” Charamba told State media.

“I really wished they knew the kind of chaos they triggered in Government with the stories they planted through the national press.

“There must be a way of approaching issues of concern professionally, establish prima facie case and then only approach the media when investigations conclude otherwise their motives become questionable.”

Charamba, who is also described as President Robert Mugabe’s spokesman, claimed that there was a political motive behind the anti-graft blitz.

“It is very rare that a very good investigation and a good headline coincide,” he said.

Corruption endemic in govt

“The civil servant who played a lead role on these matters is a character Government had problems with in the run up to 2013 elections and one will find it very peculiar that his zest for weeding out corruption always comes a few years before an election.

“One really wonders what the motive is.”

However, the opposition MDC-T party commended the ZACC and demanded that the commission “not only talk the walk but to also walk the talk.”

“The blitz on corruption must and indeed, should be all-embracing and holistic,” said party spokesman Obert Gutu, in a statement Monday.

“No corrupt politician, civil servant, businessperson and/or business entity should escape the clampdown on corruption if at all Zimbabwe is going to meaningfully exorcise the ghost of graft from within our society.

“In this respect, therefore, the MDC also calls upon the ZACC to immediately institute investigations into how the $15 billion dollars from the country’s diamonds was stolen.

“All the culprits, no matter who they are, should be promptly brought to book and the stolen funds should also be repatriated to Zimbabwe.”

Gutu said corruption had become “endemic in the Zanu PF government” with “billions of dollars’ worth of taxpayers’ and other public funds have been siphoned out of the country over the past 36 years”.

“The Zanu PF regime has become insipidly corrupt; from the highest office in the land – right down to the shop floor worker,” he said.

“Day in and day out, we read about reports of Cabinet Ministers and other top level civil servants being implicated in cases of massive corruption.

“This is just how corrupt this regime has become!”