BY DR. MASIMBA MAVAZA | The controversial businessman who donates cars to hundreds of people and a self-proclaimed rich man, Mr. Wicknel Chivhayo, has been caught in a web of confusion following the leaking of an audio where he is heard boasting that he controls the president. He continues to state that he is the most loved person by the President of the country.
His audio has outraged many Zimbabweans who now believe that Chivhayo is getting some underhanded favors. Chivhayo, in another leaked audio, went on dropping names in order to be taken as a blue-eyed boy of the president. Chivhayo is saying no more than a stringing together of a combination of genuine incidents of corruption and fabricated incidents tarnishing the image of the innocent by associating them with corruption. The major reason for his boastful audio is to undermine the good work being done by the President and ZANU PF.
Name dropping, in politics, gossip, and bullying in the party and corridors of power can have devastating effects on the popularity of the president or the party. This is what Chivayo has done, and he should be reined in to clear the names he is dropping in order for him to gain popularity. Anything he does, he will say it is from the president. As a result, everyone claims to know so and so, and better still, they claim to be connected to the president and always will put the fear of the president into many hearts in many situations. Chivayo’s behavior is a serious breach of decency; his name-dropping antics have created thugs and gangsters to terrorize the youth in business. Senior party and government officials are tripping over each other in the name of the president to go and be extorted by Wicknel Chivhayo. Not in His Excellency’s name. Business platforms have been gripped by the fear of criminals acting in the name of the president to enrich their sick minds and fat pockets.
It takes a certain kind of narcissism, delusional thinking, and egomania to boast that one is more loved and respected by the president. But mental health does not seem to impact votes; as a matter of fact, mental illness is a characteristic that may actually rest in Chivayo’s mind. This isn’t to say that mental illness inevitably leads to great business leadership, however. Certain businesses and their leadership qualities are enhanced by mental illness realism, creativity, resilience, and empathy. Chivayo has not embarked on a clear known business amid clandestine investigation because he is not concerned about development in Zimbabwe or anywhere else in the world. He has shown that he is dangerous and corrupt and has taken a chance given to him as a weakness. This is just the nature of human beings. Chivayo’s audios seem to be designed as an incendiary political campaign weapon.
The businessman Chivayo has been a few years in the making, and the timing of his audio’s release is poignantly calculated to coincide with the national program of developing the youth and women. Chivayo is actually soiling the chances of others who could be given a chance to grow in business.
There is no denying that there is corruption in our country, much the same way as you will find in any country in the world. What is lamentable here is that the overriding purpose of the audio by Chivayo is to interfere with the political process of a sovereign state. We cannot afford to have business people attempting so grossly to interfere with developmental programs. Chivayo is a shame to our country, and his boastful nonsense, which he speaks with impunity, damages the good name of the president.
President Mnangagwa has broken barriers and opened his arms and embraced everyone to benefit from the national cake. Some have used the President’s benevolence to develop the youth and the country, and some have taken it to their selfish, showy endeavors. The youth must choose their destiny with no interference from loud-mouthed people who drop the names of senior people for their own selfish benefit, which is as brazen as it is nauseating.
It is telling that Chivayo will boast about how he is loved, but he cannot show us what he has done. He is actually portraying a system of receiving millions without working for them.
The reason why Chivayo is name-dropping is very clear. He wants to portray himself as a very powerful businessman. The president is a humble man who allows everyone to be given a chance to develop. Chivayo’s audio is about destroying Zanu PF, its leadership, and facilitating regime change. We cannot even imagine any human being talking like that. His audio and name-dropping are deeply disturbing, totally depressing, and flabbergasting.
The main target of any person who name-drops is obviously the Honorable President ED. We have had too many instances where individuals take advantage of photo opportunities with the president. These are corrupt and manipulative characters. They then do name-dropping, which is to drop the name of the president in conversations as a way of vainly boosting their empty profiles and making commerce out of this. We have Chivayo extensively dropping big names to vainly promote his own brand. He has proven that he is a dubious character and what he said is damaging and soiling the name of the president. Being that as it may, Chivayo abused his position. It’s not everybody who stands with the president for a photo who is a patriot.
The truth is that the president does not have to take photos with members of his family only or with ministers only. He is a leader and a public figure. So he poses for photos with every Zimbabwean who comes to meet him if the opportunity allows. This is what Chivayo did, and now he is abusing this opportunity. He is repaying the president by biting the very hand which feeds him. It is ludicrous to suggest that anyone and everyone who shakes the hand of the president or has a photo with him is his friend or associate or acquaintance. The truth is that he forgets most of their names as soon as the camera flash is gone. Chivayo soils the good names of those who have been good enough to allow him to flourish in business.
No one ever suggests that people who shake King Charles’s hand or any other leader’s hand are known to that leader. It is clearly mischievous and cynical to define hand-shaking with President ED as an association in corruption. Chivayo acted weak and dishonorable; he fails the test of public life and brings further disgrace on the government and the party and many people who associate with him. Ensuring the integrity and lawful conduct of people who mingle with the president, such as politicians, is integral to the public interest given the trust we place in them. But the way Chivayo acted is pathetic and deeply depressing. It puts the name of the president in bad shape.
The truth is that Chivayo fell disastrously short of the standards that the public has a right to expect of those who rub shoulders with number one in any given situation. When the public needed him most, Chivayo failed.
Disciplinary frameworks must be set up to ensure people abide by their expected code of ethics and ordinary standards expected of them. Where these codes are breached, the person is liable to appropriate internal disciplinary action which may include loss of income, a change in job role, compulsory attendance at counseling or training courses, and even termination of employment. It has become apparent that Chivayo was being a power unto himself. The president is entitled to assume that those that enter his office have been vetted and that appropriate officers are convinced that any audience with the president is in the national interest. Those who do not do their vetting job properly must understand the horrendous consequences of their culpable neglect. Such neglect is so detrimental to the interest of our country and it gives opportunity for our detractors to pounce.
Some people use the name of the president to line their pockets and amass wealth. We must brace ourselves to deal with this problem coming our way. Chivayo is just doing like what any conman does, name-dropping, and anything he said is to create him as a superman in the heart of the president. He did not speak in His Excellency’s name. It is high time that we see those after criminal activities hiding behind the first family.
President ED Mnangagwa considers corruption a major challenge to his goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity for the poorest 100 percent of people in Zimbabwe. Corruption has a disproportionate impact on the poor and most vulnerable, increasing costs and reducing access to services, including health, education, and justice. Corruption in the procurement of drugs and medical equipment drives up costs and can lead to sub-standard or harmful products. The President is aware that every stolen or misdirected dollar robs the poor of an equal opportunity in life and prevents governments from investing in their human capital.
Corruption erodes trust in government and undermines the social contract. The President of Zimbabwe recognizes that corruption might impact service delivery. Corruption might unfairly determine the winners of government contracts, with awards favoring friends, relatives, or business associates of government officials. Or it might come in the form of state capture, distorting how institutions work and who controls them, a form of corruption that is often the costliest in terms of overall economic impact. Each type of corruption is important, and tackling all of them is critical to achieving progress and sustainable change. To that end, the president will never support corruption in any way.
Corruption is a global problem that requires global solutions. The President of Zimbabwe has been working to mitigate the pernicious effects of corruption. The president works with the public and private sectors as well as civil society to support efforts to prevent corruption, improve remedies to address wrongdoing when it occurs, as well as work towards improving behaviors,