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Benny Tsododo
The rate at which corruption cases are being uncovered in the country is both alarming and a telling sign of the pervasiveness of the vice in all sectors of the economy.
After the maiden revelation of corruption at ZBC, several other shocking cases of corruption were reported in the country. We heard that city fathers are handsomely lining their pockets with the hard-earned money paid by residents as rates yet service delivery remains shoddy.
At Air Zimbabwe, some senior officials stand accused of fraudulently fleecing the national carrier of US$10 million through an aviation insurance scam that has left the airline unable to service its international routes or renew its machinery.
We were also informed about urban transport owners registering their displeasure in Parliament over the corrupt conduct of police officers with vested interests in the sector.
The police were allegedly fleecing the transporters at roadblocks and frustrating their operations.
These reports on corruption are nowhere exhaustive since vice is evidently rampant. However, it is worth noting that as we wrestle the scourge of corruption, we must constantly bear in mind that corruption has negative ripple effects on the successful implementation of national policies such as the land reform programme, indigenisation and economic empowerment programme and the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset).1
These are policies that define us as a people and constitute measures that could revive the economy and bust sanctions. Failure to successfully implement these programmes will invite ridicule from our critics who are already blaming current food shortages and economic challenges on the land redistribution programme and the indigenisation programme.
The corrosive effects of corruption will definitely hinder the successful implementation of these national programmes. This is corroborated by the graphic picture of how the misappropriation of public funds at Premier Service Medical Aid Society and ZBC has left the two organisations teetering on the brink of collapse. The cumulative effect of corruption on the rest of the economy would be staggering.
Such negative effects would not spare the land reform programme. Despite the programme being introduced to proportionally redistribute land to the colonially disinherited black majority, reports have been made of some individuals who have grabbed multiple farms leaving the majority crowded and scrounging on small family plots.
Reports have also been made of officials who have looted agricultural inputs and equipment earmarked for communal and resettled farmers. All this rot will sadly defeat the purpose of redistributing land to the landless. It will stymie efforts to capacitate the land beneficiaries and thus dash national goals to boost food security through agricultural support.
With corruption, the indigenisation programme could see a few individuals acquiring equity in the indigenised firms. It could also retard the Community Share Ownership Trusts as funds intended for community development would end up in the pockets of a few greedy individuals. At the end of the day, President Mugabe’s dream of an economically empowered indigenous population could fail to materialise because of corruption.
A similar fate could befall Zim-Asset. The programme, which at the moment is the only available avenue to chaperon the country out of the current economic malaise, could suffer a stillbirth because of corruption.
The Zim-Asset blueprint contains several goals whose achievement could be foiled by graft. For example, under the Zim-Asset’s Social Service and Poverty Eradication Cluster, Government highlighted that it would among other things “undertake a national blitz to rehabilitate water supplies, sewerage systems, roads, health facilities, waste management, schools and social amenities in all local authorities”.
All this could remain a pipedream if local authorities continue to corruptly award huge salaries to senior council officials while neglecting service delivery. Certainly, no rehabilitation of social infrastructure could take place when council revenue is heavily skewed in favour of servicing hefty salaries for senior council officials while committing a measly 30 percent to service delivery.
Even the crucial goal of attracting new investors into the economy could widely evade the nation as potential investors could be frightened by the country’s staggering corruption rankings. The plans to court more tourists could flounder as the visitors could shun the country’s tourist destinations due to the inconveniences and high costs associated with corruption at our roadblocks, ports of entry and at other places.
Corruption also poses serious threats to the country’s standing as the model of black empowerment in Africa.
Failure to attain our revolutionary goals due to corruption would give the country’s neo-imperial nemesis the leverage to parade Zimbabwe as a failed model and a lesson to other African nations on why they should not redistribute land or realign the economy in favour of indigenous people.
There is also some possibility that any hint of failure to comprehensively deal with corruption could give fodder to opposition political parties that could use this latitude to haunt ZANU- PF’s majority support during the 2018 elections. The electorate itself could punish the revolutionary party at the polls for failing to convincingly deal with graft. As such, a lot is at stake because of corruption.
The material damage visited upon the economy by corruption is incalculable. It could include the failure to achieve our national goals, the failure to grow our economy, the failure to improve the people’s lives and the failure to realise our revolutionary dream of a fully independent and empowered African nation.
Against this backdrop, it cannot be contested that any course of action we choose to deal with corruption has a direct bearing on how we deliver on our national goals. In this regard, it would be wise that we choose a course of action that eliminates corruption and promotes our national goals. Government should thus robustly adopt measures to full-heartedly uproot the vice of corruption.
As the country trudges towards implementing its national programmes, an unequivocal message must be sent against corruption. It cannot be overemphasised that to enable our national programmes to succeed, we need to create an operating environment that is free from corruption.
It is imperative that we create a zero-tolerance environment to corruption. Eradicating corruption would heighten chances of realising our national goals.
Online Reporter