Tsvangirai rejects corruption accusations

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has rejected accusations that his party was complicit in the Zanu PF corruption in the inclusive government.

He told his shadow cabinet which met today that as prime minister he spearheaded the development of a corporate governance framework for parastatals and State-controlled entities which was adopted by Cabinet. But he said it was never implemented. His cabinet agreed with him and "recognised and lauded work of the MDC in the inclusive government on corruption in the public sector, particularly the Prime Minister's Office."

The MDC shadow cabinet said that parastatals were an avenue for Zanu PF to finance its electoral campaigns and factional wars and "there was no way the same party would have truly embraced the corporate governance framework for the country's public entities."

The shadow cabinet called for the immediate arrest of all those who have been implicated so far. It called for the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry, led by a retired judge, to investigate this dangerous scourge that has negatively undermined economic development in the country. The cabinet noted that there was endemic corruption in the country beyond the issue of obscene perks and salaries to the extent that it needed further and deeper investigation by a Commission of Inquiry.

On its part the shadow cabinet plans to come up with what it called a corruption index.

"Every minister was tasked to present a report at the next meeting on how this scourge had affected all the sectors and areas under their purview. Cabinet was directed to come up with a corruption index Department by department and sector by sector," said the MDC in a statement.