Source: ‘Walls collapsing for the corrupt’ | The Herald
Joseph Madzimure
Senior Reporter
IN the relentless fight against corruption, Government will not be deterred by malcontents, who abuse the name of the First Family to carry out their criminal activities, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa has said.
Speaking at a Press briefing in Harare yesterday, Minister Mutsvangwa said there were some people who still lived in a time warp and continue to use tired tactics that resulted in corruption flourishing in the yesteryear.
“As such, on individual cases of corruption, every case will be investigated and punished in accordance with the dictates of our laws without fear or favour,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
The call comes at the back of several malicious reports that have sought to drag the name of the First Family, by alleging that it has a hand in corrupt and criminal activities.
Minister Mutsvangwa said these malicious reports that seek to link President Mnangagwa and his family to corrupt individuals are by no means a coincidence; but rather they are a well-coordinated attack on the system, which is intended to agitate Zimbabweans into demonstrations and uprising.
“Predictions by the country’s detractors to the effect that the economy would implode by year end have been shown to be wishful thinking; on the contrary, the country has achieved macroeconomic stability and tamed inflation much to the disappointment of purveyors of doom,” she said.
The goal of the Second Republic, Minister Mutsvangwa, said is to grow the economy transparently and to foster the spirit of hard work in citizens.
“It is against this background that the Government will never allow its structures to be havens of malcontents and criminals. Nor will Government turn a blind eye to those who seek to escape the wheels of justice through lies that they are connected to the First Family or other senior Government officials.
“His Excellency, the President has been very clear that there are no sacred cows in the fight against corruption and as such law enforcement agents will not be deterred by criminals who want to hoodwink them and the nation that those linked to senior Government officials are exempt from arrest,” the minister said.
From the onset, the Second Republic pronounced that it would prioritise economic growth and development, through a reform agenda that is clearly articulated in the Transitional Stabilisation Programme.
“This reform agenda, which is a deliberate shift from the yesteryear way of running Government and the country is stimulating economic growth and stabilising the macroeconomic situation.”
She further said that in his inaugural State of the Nation Address on December 20, 2017, President Mnangagwa categorically stated “Government will have a zero tolerance towards corruption”.
“This is because economic development requires a clean Government. Government has remained consistent in the fight against corruption and this has seen the establishment of a Special Anti-Corruption Unit, anti-corruption courts country wide, and the capacitation of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission. Under the New Dispensation, ZACC now has arresting powers and has the financial and human resources to carry out its duties.”
The goal of the Second Republic, Minister Mutsvangwa added, is to build a new Zimbabwe based on the crown values of honesty, transparency, accountability and hard work.
She added that measures continue to be taken to vigorously ensure that any and all criminal activities that prejudice the nation are stamped out.
Minister Mutsvangwa said such measures had resulted in the arrest and prosecution of several senior Government officials, a testimony to President Mnangagwa’s stance that there are no sacred cows in the fight against corruption.
“Prior to the New Dispensation, corruption had spread unchecked, negatively affecting the social and moral fabric of the nation, as rent-seeking behaviours raised the cost of doing business, and posed hardships for the unconnected majority who constitute the generality of the public. This criminality gave rise to persons in the public and private sector accruing wealth corruptly at the expense of the nation at large.”
Further she said bribery, embezzlement of public assets, fraud, smuggling, abuse of office for personal gain, extortion, misrepresentation, and other corrupt activities stall economic development and ultimately rob citizens of decent livelihoods.
As such, she called upon the media fraternity to introspect on their role in nation building and development.
Further to this, she said room must be given for due constitutional processes in criminal investigation, trial and judgment to be done without interference.
“Additionally, I urge each and every one of us to continue supporting the fight against corruption by using several platforms that include the whistle-blowers application to report fraud and corruption. The long arm of the law will catch up with any and all individuals who seek to criminally enrich themselves at the expense of the nation,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
COMMENTS
Madam Mutsvangwa, what you need to do is to advise the first family not to be associated with known criminals if they are clean. However, it is in the public domain that Henrietta Rushwaya is close and related to the first family; Henrietta Rushwaya is not a government official, the question is why was she accompanied to the airport by state agents from the president’s office if the first family was not involved in the scandal; it is in public domain that Obadiah Moyo is a close and relative of the first family who was arrested for corruption; Delish is close to president’s son and family and was involved in Covid financial scandal.
These and other issues make the public suspicious of the first family’s involvement with scandals. It would appear that the more the first family and their backers try to distance themselves from the scandals the more they are exposed because of their unsatisfactory explanations.
People are not fools madam Mutsvangwa, please take note of this.
Lady Monica Mutsvangwa, as we saw in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is a lady that doth protest too much, me thinks.
But after all it is a The Herald report and little sense can ever be got there.
Praise singing and mudslinging for political friends is a polished art with The Herald.
The report talks of walls collapsing, all I read about is wall building.
But when all the praise singing and mudslinging has finished there can be no doubt that our so called First Family is scared, very scared.
ON THE OTHER HAND, WHY WOULD THE FIRST FAMILYT ASK HENRIETTA TO SMUGGLE 6KG OF GOLD IN HER BAG, WHEN THEY COULD HAVE COPIED GRACE AND FLOWN OUT A WHOLE PRIVATE JET FULL WITH NO PROBLEM, JUST LIKE GRACE IS THOUGHT TO HAVE DONE IN THE PAST? IT SEEMS UNLIKELY.