Online Reporter
Stephen Mpofu, [email protected]
THOSE with corked ears heard it from none other than the horse’s mouth: doom, doom, doom will be just deserts for corrupt elements: otherwise our beloved Head of State and first secretary of the revolutionary party that brought uhuru beloved motherland, President Mnangagwa alluded to the down dressing that awaits corrupt elements when addressing delegates attending the party’s Politburo strategic seminar at Heritage Village in Harare on Wednesday.
He said the ruling party must boldly promote consistent anti-corruption resolutions, strengthen accountability and transparency mechanisms while enforcing clean governance without fear or favour.
“Without fear or favour” must seriously be regarded as meaning that any corrupt ruling party members be they in the Politburo or in the incumbent Government or in lower ranks will face the same wrath of the arm of the law as anyone else who soils the image of our country abroad by indulging in unethical activities that cause people elsewhere in our global village especially those willing to do business with us, thumb their noses at the name Zimbabwe and look elsewhere for progressive engagement politically or business wise.
Right now, as this pen indicated in a previous column, many countries abroad are eager to do business with Zimbabwe because of its outstanding performances in agriculture and manufacturing industry, with the United States government which imposed vicious economic sanctions on this country as reprisals for our Government’s land reform programme that reunited our land with its people now reportedly watering its mouth at minerals in the soil at which it thumbed its long nose in a bid to oust our revolutionary party from Government — a move that, as everyone knows bit the dust.
Of course, as humbly alluded above in this discourse the corruption blitz must be the cane that also descends on the bottoms of those in the private sector who seek to enrich themselves through devious means, thereby besmirching the name of our beloved country as a corrupt “no-go” investment land by the outside world which as things stand today, and no doubt on the back of a single digit inflation quoted at 4,1 eagerly want to business with us.
On its part the Government has been urged by industry and business community leaders to come up with policies that reward or promote local production while discouraging importation of locally produced goods.
Company representatives told Industry and Commerce Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu during a tour of Bulawayo companies recently that there was a need to come up with deliberate policies that reward and promote local manufacture of products while discouraging importation of the same products.
Ms Linda Chikerema, Pump and Steel business development and brand manager said her company was directly aligned with national objectives such as import substitution, value addition, employment creation, industrial revival and steel-value chain integration hence its call for Government to support local production.
Increased local production of goods will translate into more jobs created for locals some of whom make beelines to the diaspora in search of employment where they are subjected to virtual slave labour conditions or even align themselves with some of the policies of their host governments which want our ruling Government out of power in favour of their political stooges.
FORWARD ever our incumbent revolutionary party Government, backwards NEVER.
