Stuck in The Mugabe way of Running The Country
Opinion
By Candice Chikende
Assuming that the recent pronouncements by the Ministry of Finance’s short-lived Communications Taskforce chairman, William Mutumanje, are anything to go by, one might conclude that Zimbabwe’s problems are not solved by rolling heads at the top but through a deliberate system overhaul.
In a Facebook live recording, Mutumanje, popularly known as Acie Lumumba, who was speaking in his personal capacity, accused senior officials from various key state institutions such as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, national oil company of corruption and of aiding and abetting the current economic rot.
That corruption is rampant in Zimbabwe is in dispute. Zimbabwe was ranked number 157 out of 180 in the Corruption Perceptions Index. The Global Competitiveness Report, which ranked Zimbabwe on number 124 out of 137, also cited corruption as one of the top five most problematic factors for doing business in Zimbabwe. What was lacking so far is an explanation on how corruption continues to exist when a number of measures have been put in place, including the establishment of Anticorruption Courts. The allegations made by Mutumanje, therefore, provided a context in which corruption can be mapped and how it is entrenched and deeply rooted in the system and how it is difficult to nip in the bud without smoking out the cartels that are apparently benefitting while the less connected languish in poverty.
While Robert Mugabe might have left office, with Emmerson Mnangagwa replacing him as president, and while Cabinet ministers and permanent secretaries have been changed to bring in new faces; the same human machinery which presided over the economic downfall of Zimbabwe are still manning influential offices. These include directors and senior managers in various government agencies. Can corruption be effectively stamped out supposing that the institutions perpetuating its continuation collude at the higher level to sweep it under the carpet?
Just a few weeks after Robert Mugabe’s removal from office, former Deputy Prime Minister Authur Mutambara said the systems which sustained the nonagenarian for almost four decades were yet to be dismantled, and no one took him seriously then.
Said Mutambara then: “We have work to do. Let us use the opportunity before us to break with the past and create a different Zimbabwe. Let us evaluate and comprehend what went wrong with our politics, society and economy in the past 37 years. Going forward, we must fashion strategies and frameworks to radically transform the political governance and economic management of our country”.
About eleven months now after the removal of Mugabe, things seem to be getting worse when measured in terms of the livelihoods status of the generality of the country’s citizenry. Could this be caused by the corrupt machinery that is trying to resist new measures that are being put in place to grow the economy? And if such machinery is left to continue making the important decisions on behalf of the country on a daily basis, what will be the outcome?
Zimbabwe is facing a defining moment right now; it has to choose to either continue along the ruinous road or start on a clean slate, breaking away from roots and tentacles of corruption. What is clear is that, without investing adequate political will to decisively and effectively deal with corruption, the country will continue to suffer from high levels of inequality and extreme poverty. A recent report released by the World Bank said 2,5 million Zimbabweans are facing extreme poverty, which means that they face severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. Ironically, all these are guaranteed as rights in the country’s constitution.
If the walls of Jericho that are shielding corruption are not broken, Zimbabweans will not enjoy the milk and honey they have long been yearning for. Surely something has to give.