admin
CORRUPTION is a cancer which if not nipped in the bud could derail efforts to put Zimbabwe on the path to prosperity. It is a disease which has festered and its tentacles span the length and breadth of this country. Zimbabwe now ranks highly on the global corruption index because of a culture of greed and impunity which has permeated every facet of our society.
This has seen a gradual breakdown in ethics, moral values and general forthrightness in the country to the extent that cutting corners and receiving kickbacks has become the norm and doing things the proper and correct way the exception. Corruption has become endemic within the private and civil sectors.
The country was ranked joint 163rd out of 176 countries in 2012 according to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. On a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean), the Corruption Perceptions Index marked Zimbabwe 2.0. This marked an increase in corruption since 1999 when the country ranked 4.1.
The findings of a 2000 survey commissioned by Transparency International Zimbabwe found that Zimbabwean citizens regarded the public sector as the most corrupt sector in the country. In this survey respondents favoured the police as being most corrupt followed by political parties, parliament/legislature, public officials/civil servants and the judiciary. In 2008, TIZ revealed that Zimbabwe loses US$5 million to corruption every day.
In light of developments regarding salarygate and exposes of tender scams and general fleecing of public enterprises by senior managers and their cohorts, it is clear that Zimbabwe now ranks far lower on the corruption index. There are tender scandals at Zesa and the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company and allegations of impropriety at Air Zimbabwe and the Public Service Medical Aid Society.
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation is embroiled in salarygate while directors of Marange Resources are under probe for a procurement scandal. Given the above and other cases of corruption at local authorities, Government should be seized with cleaning up this mess and we are glad that the highest authority in the land has pronounced himself on this matter.
According to a report in the Sunday News, President Mugabe is dismayed by reports that executives running the country’s parastatals and State enterprises are pocketing ludicrous salaries at a time when their institutions are struggling to fulfill their mandates.
Consequently, the President has ordered Cabinet ministers to take full responsibility of parastatals and State enterprises that fall under their portfolios and ensure that the culprits are brought to book. The Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Professor Jonathan Moyo, disclosed that President Mugabe used Tuesday’s meeting to express his disgust at what has now become known as the “Salarygate” scandal.
“Dismayed by the undeniable rot which is allegedly rampant among the 78 parastatals and State enterprises and the 92 local authorities in the country, and whose extent includes corruption of the tender and procurement processes as well as price distortions to the detriment of ordinary consumers, His Excellency the President, Cde RG Mugabe, on Tuesday directed all Cabinet ministers to take full responsibility of the affairs of their ministries and of the parastatals, State enterprises or local authorities under their supervision to ensure that the rot is brought to an end by holding those culpable to account and to protect public assets and funds.
“The President’s directive means that the buck must start with the Honourable Cabinet ministers and that is as it should indeed be,” he said.
Prof Moyo revealed that some parastatals, State enterprises and local authorities were yet to comply with a directive to submit salary schedules to the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC). He added that information submitted to the OPC so far showed that some boards were deliberately and at times unprocedurally raising salaries of their management so as to secure an increase in board allowances.
Board allowances are related to the salary levels of management. Government is now in the middle of exploring ways aimed at coming up with a “depoliticised and comprehensive fact-finding mechanism beyond asking managers of 78 parastatals and State enterprises or 92 local authorities to tell their own stories or to provide their own self-serving narratives”.
We are glad that government is taking this matter very seriously and are hopeful that its efforts will bear fruit. We also call on those who have been fingered in these scandals to do the honourable thing and resign from their positions. Due process should be followed and the law take its course where necessary.
Zimbabwe needs to start on a clean slate with patriotic and honourable people in positions of authority particularly in the public sector.
Online Reporter