adminChido Chikuni
THE recent dismissal from work of two Gweru councillors, Albert Chirau (Ward 11) and Moses Marecha (Ward 5) by Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister, Cde Saviour Kasukuwere, is a positive move which must be applauded.
It is reported that the two Gweru councillors were found guilty of corruption and abuse of council funds. Corruption is a major obstruction of development in any given organisation or country’s economy.
All Government officials who are guilty of any corrupt activities should not only be expelled from work, but should be sent behind bars. This will assist in reducing the levels of corruption in all government departments.
It is indeed a fact that most urban councillors are from the opposition political parties. The two expelled Gweru councillors are Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) members. The reason behind their corrupt behaviour could be sabotage. Remember, their leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, once stated at a rally that he wanted to ‘escalate crisis’ as a way of enhancing regime change.
It is known that most MDC-T councillors are in power for self enrichment. They consider their interests first, leaving people’s interest behind.
Such people who are against government policies should certainly be shown the exit door. The investigations on corruption that was done in Gweru should also be done in all urban councils. Perpetrators of corruption should be uprooted before the pandemic spreads all over.
They say corruption is a “disease like cancer” which if not detected in time will spread “its malignancy” in the polity of the country.
Cde Kasukuwere started well in his ministry by removing rot and dirty elements that undermined Government business at the expense of the people. It is also interesting that illegal vendors, who were disrupting business in the Central Business District were also relocated to designated areas. Cde Kasukuwere should be commended for a job well done!
Therefore, all the ministers in different ministries should take a leaf from Cde Kasukuwere in order to fight corruption. There should be sanity in all ministries. It is sad to note that the effects of corruption do not affect one department or ministry, but they affect the entire country.
Reports have it that in Kenya, all government officials who were named in an ongoing corruption probe were ordered by that country’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta to leave their office. In that way, Cde Kasukuwere’s stance to expel corrupt councillors shows that Government is concerned about corruption.
One of the major effects of corruption is failing to meet the set objectives of the economic blue print, Zim-Asset. In 2014, Zanu-PF managed to expel some of the corrupt Government officials belonging to the Mujuru cabal. So, expulsion from public office is not about which political party you belong to, but it’s about failing to meet the demands of government policies.
It is imperative that local authorities and parastatals audits that are done, especially by the Auditor General, Mrs Margret Chiri, should be actioned on. Some officials in Government and council abuse state funds but no action is taken against them.
Finance Minister, Cde Patrick Chinamasa, once noted that parastatals should contribute about 40 percent of the gross domestic product. So if corruption is left spreading in Government departments economic growth will certainly be compromised.
It is also pleasing that the Politburo mandated Minister Kasukuwere to handle the issue of all illegal land barons especially in urban cities. Most of these illegal land barons have been milking cash from poor desperate citizens without offering them stands. Some of them were also abusing Zanu-PF’s name, saying the illegal housing cooperatives were under Zanu-PF.
As Cde Kasukuwere is best known as a man of action, transparency will be seen prevailing on this matter of housing land.
All illegal land dealers should be sent to jail if proven guilty.
Online Reporter