Corruption :The elephant in the room
NO rocket science is needed to appreciate that corruption is one of the major drivers of the political and socio-economic decay in Zimbabwe today.
In fact, corruption is so deeply embedded in all facets of our life, be it political, religious, business or social, among others. Corruption is like a malignant cancer rapturing and tearing apart the very fabric of our existence as a nation.
Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It can be classified as grand, petty and political, depending on the amounts of money lost and the sector where it occurs.
From your small-time illegal foreign currency dealer on the street corner to your vacuous and vapid, but extremely powerful and wellconnected politician, corruption is widely being practised in Zimbabwe. It has now become a national curse, a sordid and deprecating badge of shame and dishonour.
There is massive and unprecedented corruption within political, business and religious circles, in the security services, at the courts and, in fact, in both the public and private sectors. Corruption is stinking to high heavens.
Unless and until we adopt and implement effective measures and strategies to identify, clamp down and eventually reduce or even eliminate corruption, Zimbabwe’s national economy will continue to tank and in the process, cause massive public disaffection, disharmony and discontent.
Put simply, corruption in Zimbabwe has now effectively degenerated into a very serious and alarming national security threat.
Business cartels, monopolistic and greedy, but insipidly corrupt informal networks, have since sprouted within the private sector to such an extent that the prevailing unrealistic and random increase in the prices of basic goods and services can easily be linked to the emergence of these corrupt, but extremely powerful business cartels.
Something surely has got to give. We cannot continue on this ruinous and self-destructive route that is causing untold misery and suffering to the majority of Zimbabweans.
In one of my recent opinion pieces, I boldly stated that I always speak truth to power and, as such, I am not going to spare the blame that also involves very senior government officials and top-notch business executives in the private sector.
We have got absolutely no other viable option, but to be ruthless and uncompromising when it comes to dealing with and thwarting corruption, or else the much-publicised government’s anti-corruption onslaught will be nothing, but an embarrassing and humiliating flop.
Thus, we should not only denounce corruption in word; we should also be seen to be effectively uprooting the cancer of corruption within our midst and in the process, firing corrupt public officials and also ensuring that the full wrath of the law descends upon all corrupt officials in both the public and private sectors.
Let us learn from and indeed, emulate other countries that are apparently succeeding in fighting graft. A far-reaching campaign against corruption began in China following the conclusion of the 18th national congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012.
Going forward, we expect heads to roll as the anti-corruption onslaught gathers momentum in Zimbabwe. Failure is not an option and defeat is not on the agenda.
Mukunda Chitova