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The fight against corruption has seen the arrest, in the past few weeks, of many high ranking officials in local and central Government.
From Harare municipal directors to the Mayor Herbert Gomba at Harare City Council up to the Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Obadiah Moyo, among others, the blitz has been impressive.
We now leave it to the judiciary to do its work in the interest of justice and see if those arrested are in fact guilty, and if so what their punishment should be.
Like or hate the New Dispensation, it is fact not fiction that it has taken bold and deliberate steps to thwart corruption.
It is not easy to fight a scourge that had become endemic and win easily within a short period.
We only wish Treasury avails more resources to the State organs fighting corruption so the blitz can be sustained until everyone realises that there is zero tolerance and that you will go to court if you indulge in corruption or try and cover it up.
Even if there are innocent people arrested, or if proof of wrong doing does not meet the test of being beyond reasonable doubt, just knowing that detailed investigations are in progress is a serious deterrent.
It is laudable that the reconstitution of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, the establishment of the Special Anti-Corruption Unit in the President’s Office and the Police Anti-Corruption Unit are now beginning to pay dividends from President Mnangagwa’s anti-corruption drive.
The training sessions that started last year and saw the invitation of seasoned anti-corruption fighters and campaigners from neighbouring countries, have also added the much needed depth to Zimbabwe’s fight against corruption.
While critics had cast doubts on the co-ordination of the many anti-corruption units, the combination of police and the two anti-corruption organs, has proved to be the best way forward.
While we cannot convict those arrested ourselves, and honourably leave it to the courts of law to deal with that, but we are more than excited to see that a lot of work is being done to rout corruption.
However, it should be noted that the fight against corruption is not only the preserve of the Government. It is every citizen’s duty to fight corruption using existing legal channels.
Corruption by its nature is done by consenting partners and they normally would want to delete their footprints. It is therefore, not easy for Government alone to fight corruption to its logical conclusion without the mass participation of the public.
Until we take the fight against corruption as our collecting responsibility as the people of Zimbabwe, we will not go far. Zimbabwe has lost millions, if not billions, of dollars to corruption that would have been used to transform lives of many people through astute service delivery.
That the Government has appreciated and supported the role of whistle-blowers gives all and sundry the opportunity to overtly and covertly participate in the anti-corruption drive.
The Government needs to be supported to deal with corruption on all facets of life and that is not a small job. It demands a lot of support in terms of information, technology and little everything else.
At this point, it should be noted that criticising the Government alone, without participating in the actual fight against corruption is meaningless. It brings no results.
We know from our neighbourhood and indeed among our friends, who is practicing corruption where and when. We know what the Government might not know. Let us help our Government deal decisively with corruption and corrupt people.
Let us give our Government enough information and support. After all, it is our country together.
We all know that the Government has set a target to attain a middle income economy by 2030 and that vision will be difficult to fulfil, unless we all rally behind fundamental issues such as fighting corruption.
A corruption-free country will make life easy for all of us, especially when it comes to service delivery across the sectors of the economy.
It is known that over the years, corruption has cut across all sectors, including most important ones such as health delivery, the provision of shelter, education, public transport and the judiciary, among others.
The national economy has also been under sustained attack from corrupt practices that have seen many people and companies engage in deals that are prejudicial to the country.
If the anti-corruption blitz continues at the current pace, the country might witness more arrests and convictions of many people and companies, much to the benefit of all of us.
However, like said before, it is now up to us as the citizens of this country to take the anti-corruption drive seriously, join forces with the Government and put up a good fight.
We have the choice to be that golden generation, to whom reference will be made that we managed to weed out corruption or to be that generation that failed dismally to fight corruption.
The choice is indeed ours and the ball is in our court. Let us fight corruption alongside our Government. And, the time to fight is now. The opportunity is there. The Government has created the base and basis for the fight. The law is there. Time is also on our side. Let us make it happen by owning the process.
Online Reporter