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Just last week, Zimbabwe’s public sector was ranked the fifth most corrupt in Africa and 163rd in the world out of 175 countries.
According to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index of 2012, Zimbabwe comes after Burundi, Chad, Sudan and Somalia in terms of corruption in Africa.
The ranking comes hard on the heels of an outcry by the general populace and senior government officials over the alleged corrupt tendencies by public office bearers.
The Registrar General’s Office, Vehicle Inspection Depot (VID), Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) and Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) are some of the institutions that have recently come under the spotlight over alleged corruption.
To show how terrible corruption has become in this country, President Mugabe, at the just ended 13th Zanu-PF Annual National People’s Conference in Gweru, blasted high level corruption involving some ministers, saying those caught on the wrong side would be severely punished.
It should also be mentioned that corruption cannot be blamed on one individual but two, who happen to enter into a wicked treaty only for their convenience.
Corruption has become an easy way out of virtually anything; it has become the air that we breathe.
The Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index scores countries on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). While no country has a perfect score, two-thirds of countries score below 50, indicating a serious corruption problem.
According to the research Zimbabwe’s score is 20.
The ZRP recently sacked four police officers and suspended 20 others from its traffic unit, as part of its efforts to fight corruption within the force.
“A country or territory’s score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption and a country’s rank indicates its position relative to the other countries and territories included in the index,” reads part of the commentary by Transparency International.
While the public sector is often under the spotlight, Tonderai Munakiri, a South Africa-based opinion writer says that the private sector is not immune to corruption, as the current environment has cashed in on unsuspecting clients who invest their hard earned money into investment portfolios and money markets in the hope that they will make a profit.
He said the private sector has also suspended business ethics for profiteering, as prices of basic commodities are being inflated everyday, making life unbearable for the ordinary consumers.
“Corruption has become so cancerous that it has transcended to the least junior office bearers in the public service. The Zimbabwe Republic Police has been one of the country’s most visible corrupt organisations in government with its traffic section being one of the worst in Sadc in terms of corruption,” writes Munakiri.
He also notes that for the ordinary men and women in the streets, the surest way to escape a fine or sentence is to bribe a police/traffic officer.
“Traffic offences are no longer punishable by monetary compensation but by greasing the palm of an officer. One can get away with anything these days depending on who you know and how much money one is prepared to pay for their alleged crime,” said Munakiri.
This year’s index includes 176 countries and territories.
Angola, the second Southern African country is ranked number nine in Africa with a score of 22.
The least corrupt country in the continent is Botswana, at number 30, with a score of 65.
Cape Verde is second least corrupt, followed by Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Namibia, Ghana and Lesotho.
The top three least corrupt countries are Denmark, Finland and New Zealand and are all ranked at position one, tied on a score of 90, while United States of America is at 19. South Africa is at number 69.
“Looking at the Corruption Perceptions Index 2012, it’s clear that corruption is a major threat facing humanity. Corruption destroys lives and communities, and undermines countries and institutions. It generates popular anger that threatens to further destabilise societies and exacerbate violent conflicts,” reads part of the Transparency International commentary.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) was established to combat corruption, economic crimes, abuse of power and other improprieties in Zimbabwe through public education, prevention, investigation and prosecution. As such this commission has the onus to weed out corruption.
At the moment, the commission is investigating the State Procurement Board and the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) over the award of tenders to supply pre-paid meters.
It is suspected that the two connived to award the tenders to a South African company Nyamezela (Pvt) Ltd despite cancelling earlier submissions, citing irregularities.
ZTE Corporation, a Chinese company, and Nyamezela of South Africa were expected to deliver a combined 12 000 pre-paid meters early this year.
The commission was established in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and reports to Parliament through the Minister of State in the President’s Office. As such, the commission is well placed to discharge its mandate as provided for in the Anti-Corruption Commission Act Chapter 9:22
The ZACC is a signatory to the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Protocol as well as the African Union (AU) and United Nations Convention on Anti-Commission.
Together, we can and must work to defeat this scourge.
Online Reporter