Harare — Corruption has now been officially acknowledged as one of the greatest cancers abetting Zimbabwe's sharp economic decline.
At the ruling ZANU-PF party's Extraordinary Congress last week, Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono named it as one of several factors responsible for the nation's economic woes.
Analysts say, however, that in spite of this official recognition of the problem, the government is not expected to try to stem the scourge of corruption as so many officials are themselves involved.
At the congress, which ran from December 11 to 14, Gono said there were "cash barons" in the ruling party and government who were keeping huge quantities of money for speculative purposes and trade in the illegal foreign currency market.
Zimbabwe has been in the grip of a serious currency shortage which has seen people spending days queuing outside banking halls to withdraw their salaries. This has badly affected production as man hours are wasted while people move from bank to bank in search of cash.
The official exchange rate is 285,000 Zimbabwe dollars to one US dollar. On the parallel market, one US dollar fetches 1.6 million ZWD.
Opposition parties and business have in the past accused the central bank of stoking the country's inflation of over 8,000 per cent by printing paper money and introducing other quasi-fiscal activities into the economy.
This week, the central bank was expected to introduce new currency to ease the cash shortage.
Gono revealed at the ZANU-PF congress that while the central bank had injected 67 trillion ZWD into the market, only 2 trillion ZWD could be accounted for by the close of business last week.
"Our question is: who has all the other money? That is also the reason the central bank has taken its time to respond to the cash crisis," said Gono. "We cannot keep on printing money before we account for the other 65 trillion ZWD.
"Corruption, corruption, corruption has destroyed this country," Gono told last week's congress, which was also addressed by President Robert Mugabe among other senior government officials.
Analysts said the official would not have made such a bold claim without the knowledge and tacit approval of the president.
However, his claim is contrary to the official party line, which blames most of the nation's economic woes on western sanctions imposed on Mugabe and his top officials, and on this year's drought.
Gono's claim was along the same line as that taken by the country's corruption watchdog, Transparency International Zimbabwe - which has also blamed the nation's problems on misconduct, as well as Mugabe's intricate patronage system.
Last year, Industry and International Trade Minister Obert Mpofu told a parliamentary committee that senior government and party officials were deeply involved in the wholesale looting of resources at the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company.
While he later retracted the claim, some thought that this was done under pressure.
Mpofu was charged with perjury for lying to parliament - a charge likely to fall away after parliament is dissolved to make way for the harmonised presidential, parliamentary and local government elections scheduled for March.
A number of party and government officials have been implicated in the smuggling of precious minerals since the discovery last year of diamonds in the Chiadzwa district of Manicaland Province.
While Mugabe had warned that corruption would not be tolerated, neither he nor anyone else has dared name names.
Last week, Gono said an average of 15 tonnes of gold worth 400 million dollars was smuggled out of Zimbabwe every year.
"Diamonds worth over 800 million dollars have been smuggled out of the country," he said. "Other minerals have either been smuggled or under-invoiced to the tune of about 200 million dollars per year.
"In total, therefore this economy is losing on average not less than 1,7 billion dollars per year through economic sabotage perpetrated by a few of us with the knowledge and/or complicity of many seated in this hall," he said to deafening applause from the public gallery.
"We are now aware of the massive syndicates of cash barons who are hoarding cash and consequently creating shortages."
However, Gono immediately beat a retreat.
"I will not disclose what we are going to do and we want to see the congress express itself on what is causing the shortages," he warned darkly.
His challenge was immediately taken up by Mashonaland East provincial chairman Ray Kaukonde, who called on Gono to produce this list of cash barons.
Kaukonde then asked the question on everybody's lips, "On behalf of provinces, I would want to ask what it is that is causing these people not to be arrested?"
Gono said by speaking his mind, he was making many enemies for himself. "I will be the focal point of attack and worse smear campaigns than ever before," he said.
A senior official with Transparency International said he was sceptical that any action would be taken by the authorities.
"Gono is saying all the right things. Unfortunately, corruption thrives in ZANU-PF and government itself," he said.
A political analyst at the University of Zimbabwe said that nothing would come of Gono's self-righteous protests and that ZANU-PF was well known for protecting its own.
"We have become hostage to the culture of secrecy," said the analyst. "Nobody wants to name and shame because none of them is clean. Not even the president seems to have the courage to name corrupt officials in his administration.
"The same people accused of hoarding cash have been implicated in black-market foreign currency deals, the illegal sale of state-subsidised fuel, fertiliser, maize seed and other farm inputs.
"It is the same people implicated in the smuggling of precious minerals. Once in while there are token arrests but the real culprits are beyond the reach of the law.
"Corruption has become a cancer in Zimbabwean society, and unfortunately the pain is felt mostly by you and me - the poor."
Meshack Ndodana is the pseudonym of an IWPR journalist in Zimbabwe.
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Please how come you dare to say that Zimbabwe corruption destroye the country, I know that uk is just making thinks hard to Mugabe's government because Mugabe doesn't want western countries especially uk to interfere in his country problems because they have to solve theirs problems by themselves and western country do not have to tell Africans governments how to do , and the fact of Mugabe asking to white who have more farmers to give away to those aboriginal to do the farming, is that a sin, in your own country foreigners take over your land ,what a black who can appropriate the white people land in uk? think first.do not dramatizing the Mugabe government , the corruption is everywhere in this world . so stop that silly story and stop making a plane of his assassination and others afrikans leaders, with your commandos who are training at the border rwanda tanzania and the chairman kagame ,very soon the queen will visit kigali to how far goes the plan stop we are watching you se Grands lacs confidentiels newspaper.
I love my country zimbabwe, it is important that the majority of our population do support President Mugabe on equitable distribution of our country's resources through land, minerals and some strategic corporations. Call it nationalisation or what, anyway we have come out of edge to continue being treated as subhumans by imperial forces of the west in our own country. Unfortunately these exploiters are whites from the west, specifically Britain and British decendence so race seemingly becomes an issue. Britain and its white west allies in the EU and north America decided to thwart what could become the begining of an economic revolt by the downtroden in the third world. Punishement through economic sunctions, desperate lies about the country through the powerful news cartels, denigration of mugabe as a despot, practical planning of millitary invasions by Tony Blair, discouraging investment from western companies, killing tourism and most importantly, aiding opposition politics for disharmony. The only contribution to the Zimbabwe discourse by the west are blue prints for regime change. The zimbabwean populace is very much aware of these hegemonic methods from the queen's people, actually they started hanging zimbabwean leaders since 1893 up till 1980. Our liberation songs are full of names such as Nehanda, Kaguvi, Chitepo and more who some were openly hanged or killed in cold blood to teach the survivors that you can not stop white interests. Apart from overt bullying exerted on Mugabe, the man has stood his ground and single handedly managed to keep these economic "superpowers" at bay, maybe he is trying to correct the demise of other pan africanists of great ideals who submitted to these forces through internal or external executions. The west is telling us that days of the so called revolutions are over as if they started them!. The world wonders why after such meltdown in zimbabwe there is no civil disobedience, the people are not riotous against Mugabe, we are sometimes called a banch of docile fools by Austaralians, just like aborigens - the misinformation about zimbabwe as a people is amusing.
As a third world we have been revolutionary, we have chanted revolutionary songs all over the globe, can one tell me what we have archived? We are very thankfull of the east peoples of the globe. They supported us during our liberation struggles for independance by not only giving us guns but they taught us to aim and shoot the enemy between the eyes so that it won't rear its ugly head again. Today in their attempts to be economic global powers of which they are already, they give us very conducive, balanced and non exploitative economic treaties. If the west can not follow like wise, let them go hang - the demise is theirs.
Now that our great leader has managed to keep the jackles from the west at bay, it is important to take stock of the goings-on in our internal quest for development. The world has a right to denounce wrongly impemented policies and bad attitudes of our people by providing facts. This will go a long way in shaping Zimbabwe as a true zion for pan africans. While the leader was trying to put zimbabwe as a true revolutionary pan african country, my brothers at home with that english apetite for exploitation engraved in our mentality for a century through colonialism, have been busy grabing and looting everything on site. It reminds me of the scrample for africa. Man, they are prepared to keep holding to their ill gotten wealth. They make revolutionery slogans, they want to be close to the Persident and they allways remind the poor of how bad the rhodesians were so no one can compare what they do to what the colonialists did. They have huge tracks of farms for them, their wives, their children, their girlfriends and other close relations. They are receiving fuel to their poorly managed farms without accountability and they sell it to the needy town dwellers at exobitant prices, they fuel the black market deals by accessing hording cash through their influence. They externalise mineral resourses and manufactured products. Oh God my country is bleeding! The very people who support our great leader every day are changing the course of our destination. Mugabe is shocked, and like always the poor are asking the same thing since the days of the liberation - WHAT NEXT MUGABE? for now at least he needs to rest by appointing people of repute altogh they were not with him on his fights with the west - no one was with him anyway.
CORRUPTION HAS TO END, CORRUPTION MUST END AND CORRUPTION WILL END IN THIS BEAUTIFULL COUNTRY. LORD HAVE MERCY ON ZIMBABWE. ONE SOUL ZIMBABWE
You are treated more like "subhumans" now than ever and not by "whites from the west" but by your own president. If anything, the west does not know enough about what goes on in that country. It is disgusting that a president would live in palatial luxury whilst his own people are starving and being deprived of their rights. How can you argue about race when Britain is one of the most multicultural countries in the world and not only that but "Britain and its white west allies in the EU and north America" as you call them pour Millions of US dollar of Aid into that country. Why can Mugabe not provide this himself, if he is able to live in a mansion, aquire servents and provide luxury vehicles to his ministers?
A western country will never be fool enough to invest in zimbabwe. Mugabe has ensured that inflation will never ever again fall to a rate that wont be considered ridiculous.
Your people are never ever called a "bunch of docile fools" by Australians. Australians sympathise with the state of your country but most importantly the well being of the people. They too pour aid into the country, and understand that the reason people as riotous as they may be is because they live in fear and would rather be docile than lose their loved ones.
You say "As a third world we have been revolutionary", I'm sorry but wasn't Rhodesia considered 1st world? So now Zimbabwe is 3rd world and it is relying on the west to feed its people.
Marylyn, I don't know where the hell you hail from but you are so wrong. Who said Zimbabweans are treated as sub-humans? Who said Zimbabweans are starving? Who said the West is feeding Zimbabwe? I have visited Zimbabwe from Australia four times in the past five years and wonder why do lies,lies and more lies get fabricated because i have never seen anyone starving. I went to Vic Falls,Harare,Gweru,QueQue,Mashvingo and Bulowayo and failed to see ONE person dieing of hunger.I found Zimbabweans not fat but pretty healthy looking. During my extensive travel i did not see anyone being treated as a sub-human. And could you please tell me of one country in this world where The President/Prime Minister/Goverment Ministers do not live a good life? Like i said,i dont know where you hail from but if you have not been to Zimbabwe dont believe what Western media reports say and dont believe what white Zimbabweans or their followers have to say. The truth is that Britain,Australia and other past colonists will never repay the damage that was done -THE LAND MUST GO BACK TO BLACKS,IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT!
The problem of corruption in all the african countries is the same , for exemple in morocco we can say the following :
Germany-based Transparency International (TI) has ranked Morocco 72nd out of 180 countries, according to the group's 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index. Morocco earned a 3.5 rating out of 10, up from 3.2 (79th place) in the 2006 report. Transparency Morocco Secretary-General Ezzeddine Aqsabi said that TI's improved ranking of Morocco acknowledges certain achievements Morocco has made in the past year, such as the ratification of the United Nations Anti-Corruption Treaty and the approval of the establishment of a Central Authority for the Prevention of Corruption, as well as draft legislation to oblige officials to declare their personal assets. Aqsabi said the new ranking is not of major importance, as "the classification can change when the classified country's condition hasn't changed. This is the result of the change of the number of countries included in the study, which was 63 last year and 180 countries this year."
Regarding proposed solutions to curb corruption in Morocco, Aqsabi said "The law must be applied; the corruption oversight mechanism must be activated; the judicial system must be reformed; and severe penalties must be imposed on those engaged in corruption in order to alleviate the intensity of the phenomenon." "What we have seen is that corruption is being perpetuated in a horrible way," Mohamed Tariq Esbaai, President of the National Authority for the Protection of Public Funds told Magharebia. To illustrate his claim, he cited the "negative neutrality adopted by the state in the recent parliamentary elections; something that shows that the outgoing government was not determined to get rid of corruption." Esbaai said that although individual citizens are the first victims of corruption, they are largely unable to fight it. He stressed the need for a clear political decision and for a zero-tolerance principle in order to limit the spread of corruption. The outgoing prime minister has pledged since 2005 to enter into talks with all parties involved in the combating of corruption. An electronic portal for public services was created to improve interaction between citizens and the state by making certain administrative services directly available. The website also includes legal texts to inform citizens of their rights, echoing information centres in public establishments, companies and ministries. The government has also partnered with civil society organisations to launch anti-corruption media campaigns. The most important step the government has taken recently is the judicial pursuit of people who violated anti-corruption laws during the campaign for the September 7th elections. Violations included public administration corruption and embezzlement of public money, which many Moroccans believe to be rampant among the country's authorities. One citizen can't get any administrative paperwork done without paying a bribe." He added that Morocco has wasted many foreign investment opportunities because of this phenomenon, which has become "an ordinary matter" on the Moroccan street. to be added to the funds transfers from the state budget and used to finance subversion against the democratic system of rabat. for more informations see google : said Benbiga, raoul yacoubi, Senhaji abdelaal.