via Fight corruption to spur growth — Australian envoy – DailyNews Live 16 February 2015 by Letwin Nyambayo
BULAWAYO – Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Matthew Neuhaus has blamed corruption in the country for throttling economic progress saying it should be curbed in order to inject new impetus to spur development.
“Corruption is a problem, it is unacceptable. I read last year about parastatal bosses looting government monies. Why have they not been sent to jail and why haven’t they paid back the money?” he asked.
Last year, public opinion veered between scorn and outrage over media revelations which fingered a number of parastatal bosses’ scandalous salaries when the majority of Zimbabweans are impoverished.
Neuhaus told the Daily News after officiating at a ceremony to donate
$17 447 towards a Bulawayo Public Library project that Zimbabwe had a bright future which lay in the young people.
Local Zimbabweans should encourage Zimbabweans who are in the Diaspora to return home and develop the country, Neuhaus said “Zimbabweans are industrious and should be given the full opportunity to education.
“Many educated young Zimbabweans are working on our Australian stock market and in other countries and are doing very well. These Zimbabweans should be encouraged to work in their own country and develop it,” he said.
Zimbabweans have fled abroad in droves in search of better opportunities due to the worsening economic situation and are instead working hard to develop other countries.
Neuhaus said Zimbabwe is a rich country and should utilise its own resources for development.
“Zimbabwe has come a long way in terms of development and only needs to exploit its resources properly to meet the target. The important thing is that you have resources. Once stability, investment and peace are there, development is certain,” the Australian diplomat said.
He said he agreed with President Robert Mugabe when he says Africans should use their own resources.
“Africa must use its own resources; Australia also uses its own resources for development. If there is no money in the country, government can borrow and make sure they use it only for development not for the elite’s personal use,’ he said.
Bulawayo Public Library chairperson Joseph Sigoba expressed gratitude for the donations from the Australian Embassy which enabled them to give the library a face-lift and a remodelling of the children’s library.
“We are grateful that the embassy accepted our proposal and agreed to fund this project. The money covered the refurbishing of the children’s library corner which was now dilapidated and the purchase of children’s books and other significant things that will go a long way in lifting the image of this library and assisting Bulawayo children,” Sigoba said.
He said the library needed support as a community institution which exists to serve the community. For its survival it requires support from similar organisations, agencies and the corporate world.
“We appeal for more support in order to improve our services and would like to encourage parents, teachers and children and all members of the community of Bulawayo to join the library in their numbers as we have all seen what this library has to offer,’ he said.
The Bulawayo Library is a private voluntary organisation which is 199 years old having been established in 1896.
COMMENTS
corruption is just the first thing on a very long list of things that need correcting.
Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Matthew Neuhaus has blamed corruption in Zimbabwe and said “““Corruption is a problem, it is unacceptable. I read last year about parastatal bosses looting government monies. Why have they not been sent to jail and why haven’t they paid back the money?” he asked.”“Africa must use its own resources; Australia also uses its own resources for development. If there is no money in the country, government can borrow and make sure they use it only for development not for the elite’s personal use,’ he said. Well before Ambassador Neuhaus speaks of corruption sitting on his high white horse looking down at the Zimbabweans, let’s try and see how his own medicine tastes, shall we?
The Australian Government has proven to be incompetent, dishonest and even corrupt in relation to its accountability and other processes following the discovery of restricted and secret intelligence reports and communications between the various Australian embassies, trade officials, the UN, Australian public servants and the Australian Prime Minister, the then Minister for Trade and the Foreign Minister and their Departments in relation to the Australian Wheat Board bribery scandal.
The new evidence and supporting material came to light during an independent investigation into claims that Australian Members of Parliament were holding ‘dirt files’. The ‘dirt files’ claims were proven but in the process of the investigation, a substantial amount of material related to the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) scandal as well as documents related to other issues were discovered. The AWB material was held by various Australian agencies and was not brought to the attention of the recent Royal Commission looking into the bribes provided to the former Iraqi regime through a straw company in Jordan.
The material shows that senior Australian Government Ministers were told on a number of occasions that the AWB was providing bribes to Saddam Hussein and his regime contrary to the provisions of the UN ‘oil for food’ program.
Copies of confidential and secret diplomatic cables, memos, emails and other material were found showing that both the then Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile as well Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer received numerous detailed intelligence and other briefings very early on into the scandal. They did nothing, Downer noting in one secret memo to the Australian Embassy in Jordan that quote, “No-one will ever find out anyway”, unquote.
The then Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, was also advised on a number of occasions as to what was going on.
Australian Prime Minister, John Howard was also briefed on the matter by the various agencies including the Office of National Assessment (ONA) as well as ASIS, Australia’s international spy agency.
The discovery of the secret material proves three presumptions.
The fact that both Government Ministers and the Prime Minister knew that AWB was bribing Saddam Hussein and did nothing proves that all three are incompetent.
The fact that they told a Royal Commission and the Australian people they did not know the AWB bribery activities were going on despite evidence to the contrary now being produced show that all three are dishonest.
And the fact that Howard, Vaile, and Downer allowed the AWB activities to go for as long as they did, despite all three having full knowledge of the activities, proves that all three can be considered as being as corrupt as those actually directly involved in the scandal.
It can easily be concluded that all three individuals are incompetent, dishonest and corrupt and therefore not fit to hold office.
So the above report reveals the truth and honesty about Australian Ambassador’s pep talk to the suffering Zimbabweans. How can a corrupt regime of Australia be in position to advise others when they themselves are the thiefs, liars, crooks and criminals? Zimbabweans, please get back on drawing boards and start re-designing your own economy as you are one of the richest nation in Zimbabwe if you can only harness the natural resources and its abundance of unending wealth that could relieve Zimbabweans from their state of economic stagnancy. Do not seek relief from the Western exploiters and liars. How many centuries would you continue hoping for the west to help?