EDITORIAL COMMENT: Time to end corruption is now 

The establishment of a Special Anti-Corruption Unit housed in the Office of the President and Cabinet to fight corruption in all its forms is confirmation of the new administration’s seriousness in tackling graft.

Its placement in the President’s Office speaks volumes about the desire by President Mnangagwa and his Government to once and for all deal a decisive blow on corruption that had enjoyed unfettered freedom for decades.

Fighting corruption augurs well with Government’s “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” mantra as graft chases away Foreign Direct Investment.

It is an open secret that in the past some investors bought their way into our country as some senior Government officials would not give them free access to some sectors of our economy.

They would demand kickbacks and at times shareholding in companies and it became a sad practice which painted our country as not conducive for investment.

This was worsened by the promulgation of Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment regulations, which made it mandatory for foreign investors to cede a certain percentage of shareholding to locals.

Now that the President has created this special unit to fight corruption, we call upon all the arms of Government involved in investigating and prosecuting perpetrators of corruption to go out full throttle and fight graft without fear or favour.

In the past a number of clear corruption related cases were reported by the media day in, day out, but no one seemed interested in taking action to end this cancerous disease in our midst.

Those suspected of engaging in corrupt activities would publicly boast about their invincibility and connections in higher offices, which insulated them from arrest. That era is over!

Zimbabweans want action taken against those who after being entrusted with public office went on to steal from it.

In some cases, police would arrest suspects and deliberately over-detain them.

On the day they are taken to court they are released on the grounds of over detention. Their acts of graft are totally thrown away.

Worse still in some cases, the prosecution would postpone the cases every time the suspects appeared in court until the presiding magistrate refused further remand dealing a major blow to eradicating corruption.

We believe with the establishment of this special anti-corruption unit in the Office of the President and Cabinet, such man-made hiccups will be totally exterminated and those caught with their hands in the till will have their day in court.

This certainly sends the right message to would be offenders.

We notice that President Mnangagwa and Government are walking the talk on corruption and deserve everyone’s support.

Zimbabweans largely believe that corruption is resident in Government and State enterprises, but the truth is it exists even largely in the private sector as well.

The special anti-corruption unit must therefore pay due attention and focus on some dirty activities by some private enterprises detrimental to national interests.

The fight against corruption also requires a mentality shift among Zimbabweans, we must rid ourselves of the belief that a fortune is made overnight. Rome was not built in a day. Let us work hard and duly benefit from our sweat.

Let it be known that there are no short-cuts to success. It’s sad that all along as a nation we had allowed corruption to permeate all sectors of our lives from school, church to the corridors of power — it had become a culture worth emulating.

The time to end corruption is now. Let us join hands with this special anti-corruption unit, the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission to defeat corruption before it defeats our efforts at reviving our economy.

With the abundant resources we have as a nation, the future is ours to make or break.