By Wilbert Mukori- “The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) said it had seized property worth over $700 million,” reported Zimeye.
“The anti-corruption body has also filed 18 unexplained wealth order case files with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).”
I could not hear myself think from the super slow thunderous applauding; no one with half a brain would not feel insulted by this!
In 2016 Robert Mugabe revealed that the country was “swindled out of US$15 billion in diamond revenue alone”! He never arrested one diamond swindler or recover one dollar of the swindled bounty.
We all know the looting has continued because the then Minister of Finance, Patrick Chinamasa, told parliament in 2017 that government was only receiving 1/6 of the expected revenue from diamond mining.
When Mnangagwa took over from Mugabe following the military coup of November 2017, he promised “zero tolerance to corruption!” Over four years later, he too is yet to arrest one swindler and/or recover one swindled dollar.
We know the swindlers have extended their looting activities to other areas such as gold smuggling, fuel procurement and even donated aid to help corona virus victims has been looted. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr John Mungudya, said Zimbabwe was losing US$1.2 billion per year to gold smugglers.
So the US$700 million ZACC has recovered is 0.6% of what the gold smugglers loot in just one year or 0.05% of what Mugabe admitted back in 2016 was being swindled in diamonds alone!
The looted gold Speaking at the commemoration of the International Anti-Corruption Day in Harare on Thursday, the Commission’s chairperson, Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo, said ZACC was on course in its mission to eradicate corruption in the country. She said:
“It is with great pride that I pronounce that Zimbabwe has made great strides in ensuring maximum cooperation is given to state parties during Mutual Legal Assistance Requests” ZACC chairperson, Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo, announced at the commemoration of the International Anti-Corruption Day in Harare.
“The fight against corruption is real and it takes tireless efforts and undivided dedication for us to totally weed out corruption.”
ZACC has recovered US$700 million constituting 6% of the gold smuggled in one out of four decades of Zanu PF misrule! And we, the people, millions of whom are now living in abject poverty because of the wholesale looting of the nation’s wealth, are expected to applaud ZACC for the “great strides” in stamping out corruption!
I have said it once and will say it again; Zanu PF ruling elite appointed ZACC officials and the same ruling elite are the Godfathers of all the corruption and wholesale looting of the nation’s wealth.
It is no secret that each of the country’s security arms; the Police, Army, CIO and Prison Services; have a diamond mining concession in Marange and Chiadzwa. The concession allows the holder to mine for diamonds without having to declare the quality and quantity of diamonds, to whom they are sold and for how much and who benefited from the sell; as revealed in a 2012 parliamentary report chaired by the late Zanu PF MP, Edward Chindori Chininga. In short, the mining concession are a licence to loot!
A Canadian based NGO specialising in diamonds reported that Robert Mugabe earned US$2 billion plus in 2012 alone! All the Zanu PF bigwigs are benefiting from the looting of Zimbabwe’s resources.
Other countries like many of the Arab States have built beautiful new cities out of the dessert and have investment portfolios worth hundreds of trillion dollars from their oil bonanza. We, in Zimbabwe, have absolutely nothing to show for our diamonds, gold, etc. Nothing!
Indeed, our diamonds, gold, etc. have become a real curse to the nation. Zanu PF ruling elite and their foreign and local backers will never ever risk losing political power by allowing the country to hold free, fair and credible elections. They will stand to lose the fresh loot if corruption was stamped out, to lose their amassed loot and, in many cases, they dread their murderous past being dragged out into the open.
If we are serious about stamping out corruption then we must first be serious about implementing the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections. As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt and incompetent thugs who continue to use the vast looted wealth to bankroll their vote rigging juggernaut to secure their iron grip on power; nothing will change.
The pressure for a competent and accountable government is greater now than ever given the extra health and economic hardships brought by the corona virus. The global changes brought by climate changes will bring new challenges.
Zimbabwe cannot afford another one of MDC A’s foolishness of participating in the flawed elections to give vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy.
If reforms are not implemented before the elections then the process must be declared null and void!