Corruption destroying Zim’s social fabric
The recent results for the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) revealed that grand corruption continue to be bedevilling economic recovery efforts for many countries.
The link and correlation between corruption, human rights and democracy continue to be echoed internationally.
Globally, there is a clarion call to accelerate the fight against corruption if countries are to halt human rights abuses and democratic decline across.
It is anticipated that the stagnation in anticorruption efforts in various countries has a negative bearing in the promotion of human rights and democracy.
Worryingly, the global CPI average for 2021 remains unchanged for the 10th year in a row, at just 43 out of a possible 100 points.
This is happening on the backdrop of multiple commitments that are being made by governments without significant progress against corruption in the last decade.
Assessments by Transparency International showed that protecting human rights is crucial in the fight against corruption evidenced by the realisation that countries with well-protected civil liberties generally score higher on the CPI, while countries who violate civil liberties tend to score lower.
The government of Zimbabwe, in particular the second republic, purportedly continue to praise themselves for achieved a lot in the fight against corruption.
The efforts vary from capacitation of institutions established and mandated to fight corruptions to the development of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) which was launched in July 2021.
However, the status quo is revealing otherwise as corruption continues to be rampant and its negative externalities are fuelling huge inequalities and undermining access to social services by the general populace of Zimbabwe.
The 2021 CPI report ranked Zimbabwe 157 out of 180 countries. Zimbabwe's score has dropped by one point from 24 in 2020 to 23 out of 100% signifying potential increase in corrupt activities in the public sector of the economy.
The CPI is currently the leading global indicator of public sector corruption that is internationally recognised.
The trend analysis of Zimbabwe score is worrisome especially from a realisation that the country is investing significant proportion of the public resources in the fight against corruption.
There is no tangible proceeds that are being realised from the efforts and investments being made in the fight against corruption.
The intermittent economic meltdown that is being experienced in Zimbabwe is hindering service provision as businesses and captains of industries forego innovation and competitiveness for bribery and self-interests.
More frequently, senior government officials are accused for diverting funds that should be used to promote the welfare of the citizenry.
Such activities have opportunity cost from a developmental perspective.
When corruption starts being practiced by leaders, followers lose confidence in the rule of law and that will affect all the government efforts of trying to put Zimbabwe on the global map especially for official development assistance.
Zimbabwe is yet to enact a Whistleblower Act despite aggressive lobby and advocacy that is being spearheaded by civil societies and human rights defenders across the country.
Whistle-blowing works directly with the watchdog role of community members on observing and exposing corruption.
This remains a glaring area which continue to pose more questions and answers on whether the government is committed to fight corruption or not.
The absence of the whistleblower is incentivising politically well-connected officials who capitalise on every resource at their disposal to victimize and threaten whistle blowers.
It is also questionable that Zimbabwe is not making use of investigative media which is critical in raising public awareness, promoting integrity, detecting and reporting on corruption activities.
Successful action against corruption is dependent on knowledge and information which can be delivered by media and thus missing in Zimbabwe.
Media raises public awareness and knowledge about corruption, its impact, externalities and realistic remedies and thus can mainstream a culture of integrity nationwide.
Also, the media can investigate, detect and report incidences of corruption, bringing corruption cases into the public sphere and fostering judicial involvement.
However, the effectiveness of the media depends on access to information and freedom of expression which is also missing in Zimbabwe as well as a professional and ethical cadre of investigative journalists.
This has been identified as a gap by the Human Rights Council during the recent Universal Period Review for Zimbabwe, January 26, 2022.
The absence of the Whistleblower Act contribute to this flaw since there is no guarantee to protect journalists who expose corruption or investigate the interests of powerful private and public sector leaders.
The recent attempts to shrink civic space through the Aid Coordination policy and the ongoing Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO) Act limits the ability of civil society organisations (CSOs) to fight corruption through investigations, whistleblowing and civic engagement on Auditor General’s reports.
Civil society exists to demand transparency and accountability in the use of public resources through monitoring and where appropriate amplify citizens' voice and demands.
However, administratively it is difficult for CSOs to access and use information and mobilize for greater accountability.
There is therefore need for creation of an enabling environment conducive for CSOs to perform checks and balances on the conduct of state actors and officials from a welfare maximisation perspective.
Corruption reports in Zimbabwe are revealing corruption as well-seated and institutionalised to the extent that its practice has been accepted by others as their purpose means of survival due to a total collapse of systems that offer checks and balances.
This is all happening because corruption has obliterated the public integrity system.
Having integrity reflects on deepest values,which seeks about being honest with everyone,and you always keep your word. Citizens have, therefore, lost integrity. Even those who are paid to curb corruption have lost faith in it.
This is further exacerbated on an account of lack of public engagement in the fight against corruption due to security threats and fear of victimisation.
Citizens in Action Southern Africa