Let’s back Zacc to deliver on its mandate
WE have said it before and we continue to say it, corruption, as a scourge has the effect of shredding the national fabric that shapes us as a people. Corruption is as destructive as it is acrimonious, leading to ire, poverty, despondency and frustration; thus creating fertile grounds for civil strife.
Because, as a society, we owe it to future generations that the creation of a corruption-free community begins with all of us, we do not want to be found napping when it comes to the fight against that which emasculates the humanity in us. It is for this reason that we applaud the new Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission chaired by Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo for hitting the ground running.
Hope is always fashioned in beginnings, for a good start is telling of brighter days. Even though we are mindful that corruption is pervasive in our society, making it pandemic, the fact that the net is closing in on corrupt bigwigs (for fish rots from the head) as has been evidenced through the arrest of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality
Industry Minister Prisca Mupfumira, is all the more testimony to the seriousness with which President Mnangagwa commits to the fight against corruption.
However, it is not lost on us that arrests do not always end in convictions, as due processes have to be followed. But it is our belief, and, indeed, the desire of the citizenry of Zimbabwe that the impetus that ZACC has started with is sustained, not only through more arrests, but conviction of those found to be on the wrong side of the law, without fear or favour. Evidence should be availed to create watertight cases that would close out all gaps for tampering.
The new ZACC team has all the work cut out, seeing that perpetrators of corruption, riding on political wings, have for long taken advantage of the inept, toothless and corrupt nature of the former commission led by Dr Job Wabhira. The new commission can “bite”, or even maul, and if given a chance can cleanse high offices of wanton corruption that has burrowed into our national cake.
Recently in Namibia, the President told Zimbabweans in the Diaspora that he believes the new ZACC team could “bite”, stating that the former commission could do little since it had become part of the scourge, requiring a watchdog to trail it.
“We are determined to fight corruption, we had an anti-corruption commission as provided by our Constitution, but my view after some months in office, I realised that the commission was now part of the corruption. So I removed it and only last week (a fortnight ago) I had to swear in a new team of commissioners.”
Now that there is hope in the new ZACC team, we should all rally behind it, giving the commissioners the moral support they deserve, for the fight against corruption involves all of us.
It may be so that those arrested are not punished in the way envisaged due to other legal imperatives that may be beyond the team, but that should only spur us to do more as a collective. Together we can fight the scourge and create a corruption-free environment, not only for us, but future generations.
With our support, and the able support of our legal framework, ZACC can effectively deliver on its mandate, to rid us of the devil incarnates in our midst.
As the President aptly sums it up: “Corruption involves more than one person; generally, the one who is badly treated exposes the corruption.
“If both sides are satisfied, it takes long to discover. We implore the public to come forward. We may put legislation to protect whistleblowers and give them benefits.”