News / National
Mujuru under attack
01 Mar 2014 at 14:16hrs | Views
Vice President Joice Mujuru on Wednesday came under a barrage of criticism from legislators who accused her of attempting to silence the media from exposing corruption, with one MP declaring "we cannot continue to have trust in an executive that seeks to gag the press".
In a contribution to debate on a motion against corruption and calling for the setting up of a parliamentary select committee to probe graft moved by Kambuzuma lawmaker Willas Madzimure, Binga North MP Dubeko Prince Sibanda challenged ministers implicated in the sleaze to resign or be fired.
"This motion comes against a background where we have been seeing a lot of reports in newspapers flying around about what is happening relating to corruption in this country," Sibanda said. "Mr Speaker, it comes against a background in which allegations are being made that acting president (Mujuru) had actually warned newspapers not to publish corruption."
He added: "Why is it that the executive is taking a lackadaisical kind of approach towards such scandals that are taking place in this country? It gives us room to scrutinise… the executives themselves and say, how have they contributed towards these scandals? There is no way we can continue to entrust the executive with the responsibility to investigate corruption when the same executive has got the capacity to stand up and say we want to muzzle the press that is bringing out corruption.
"It is my view that if we are going to rectify the situation that we have, it is high time all those who have been mentioned, that are in the executive, to have played a role in some form of corruption or scandal, should be asked to resign."
Over a fortnight ago, Mujuru was roundly condemned for her off-the-cuff comments at a Zanu PF women's conference in Chinhoyi when she alleged the media was being used to expose graft to fan factional fights in Zanu PF.
Mujuru later said she was misquoted by the state media. Mbizo legislator Settlement Chikwinya called on Mujuru to come out clean.
"I respect her so much and I think she was misquoted. She must come here and say, ‘Hon members I was misquoted, I am against corruption'," said Chikwinya.
Zanu PF Buhera South legislator Joseph Chinotimba thanked the ministry of Information for exposing corruption, adding that any Cabinet minister who tried to hinder the expose should be fired.
"If there is a minister who is going to try and detract or disturb the investigating committees, the President should dethrone that minister," he said, adding he had received an anonymous call urging him not to support the motion.
"If we look at ZUPCO, we find that every year CEO's are changed and no cases are tried. When the CEO is removed from office, he is given a package of a vehicle and a golden handshake," Chinotimba said.
Sibanda said Zimbabwe had for long natured a culture of rewarding than punishing corrupt officials.
"We have got a scenario in this country where people who run down parastatals instead of being punished, we see them being elevated to higher positions," he said.
"We have a scenario in which even if allegations are thrown around against senior government officials, we do not have the conscience to say what I have done is bad, let me resign. We do not have that conscience."
The Binga legislator then dropped a bombshell when he alleged that Postal and Courier Services minister Webster Shamu's wife, Constance, was on the ZBC payroll.
"It is stated that ministers, for example in the ZBC scandal Mr Speaker… it is being alleged that a wife to the minister was actually drawing salaries every month from ZBC without ever being employed by that parastatal," Sibanda said.
From the gallery, a legislator was heard calling "Mukadzi waShamu, Minister Shamu's wife".
Shamu also allegedly received a Toyota V8 SUV vehicle from suspended ZBC chief executive officer Happison Muchechetere.
Sibanda claimed that Cabinet ministers were getting allowances from the beleaguered state health insurer Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS).
"Rumours are also doing rounds that ministers, when they are going outside the country on duty, as much as they get allowances from government, they were also drawing allowances from PSMAS as entertainment allowances," the parliamentarian said.
Ex-PSMAS chief executive officer Cuthbert Dube was booted out after The Zimbabwe Mail revealed his $250 000 mega-pay-cheque. Dube also served as board chairperson of ZBC at which Muchechetere took home $40 000 monthly in salary and perks.
Sibanda chronicled a litany of corruption scandals since the early 1980s from the Willowgate scandal, National Railways Housing scandal (1986), the War Victims Compensation scandal (1994), Grain Marketing Board grain scandal, VIP Housing Scheme scandal (1996), the Harare City Council refuse tender scandal, and the 1999 DRC timber and diamond scandals, among others.
In a contribution to debate on a motion against corruption and calling for the setting up of a parliamentary select committee to probe graft moved by Kambuzuma lawmaker Willas Madzimure, Binga North MP Dubeko Prince Sibanda challenged ministers implicated in the sleaze to resign or be fired.
"This motion comes against a background where we have been seeing a lot of reports in newspapers flying around about what is happening relating to corruption in this country," Sibanda said. "Mr Speaker, it comes against a background in which allegations are being made that acting president (Mujuru) had actually warned newspapers not to publish corruption."
He added: "Why is it that the executive is taking a lackadaisical kind of approach towards such scandals that are taking place in this country? It gives us room to scrutinise… the executives themselves and say, how have they contributed towards these scandals? There is no way we can continue to entrust the executive with the responsibility to investigate corruption when the same executive has got the capacity to stand up and say we want to muzzle the press that is bringing out corruption.
"It is my view that if we are going to rectify the situation that we have, it is high time all those who have been mentioned, that are in the executive, to have played a role in some form of corruption or scandal, should be asked to resign."
Over a fortnight ago, Mujuru was roundly condemned for her off-the-cuff comments at a Zanu PF women's conference in Chinhoyi when she alleged the media was being used to expose graft to fan factional fights in Zanu PF.
Mujuru later said she was misquoted by the state media. Mbizo legislator Settlement Chikwinya called on Mujuru to come out clean.
"I respect her so much and I think she was misquoted. She must come here and say, ‘Hon members I was misquoted, I am against corruption'," said Chikwinya.
Zanu PF Buhera South legislator Joseph Chinotimba thanked the ministry of Information for exposing corruption, adding that any Cabinet minister who tried to hinder the expose should be fired.
"If there is a minister who is going to try and detract or disturb the investigating committees, the President should dethrone that minister," he said, adding he had received an anonymous call urging him not to support the motion.
"If we look at ZUPCO, we find that every year CEO's are changed and no cases are tried. When the CEO is removed from office, he is given a package of a vehicle and a golden handshake," Chinotimba said.
Sibanda said Zimbabwe had for long natured a culture of rewarding than punishing corrupt officials.
"We have got a scenario in this country where people who run down parastatals instead of being punished, we see them being elevated to higher positions," he said.
"We have a scenario in which even if allegations are thrown around against senior government officials, we do not have the conscience to say what I have done is bad, let me resign. We do not have that conscience."
The Binga legislator then dropped a bombshell when he alleged that Postal and Courier Services minister Webster Shamu's wife, Constance, was on the ZBC payroll.
"It is stated that ministers, for example in the ZBC scandal Mr Speaker… it is being alleged that a wife to the minister was actually drawing salaries every month from ZBC without ever being employed by that parastatal," Sibanda said.
From the gallery, a legislator was heard calling "Mukadzi waShamu, Minister Shamu's wife".
Shamu also allegedly received a Toyota V8 SUV vehicle from suspended ZBC chief executive officer Happison Muchechetere.
Sibanda claimed that Cabinet ministers were getting allowances from the beleaguered state health insurer Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS).
"Rumours are also doing rounds that ministers, when they are going outside the country on duty, as much as they get allowances from government, they were also drawing allowances from PSMAS as entertainment allowances," the parliamentarian said.
Ex-PSMAS chief executive officer Cuthbert Dube was booted out after The Zimbabwe Mail revealed his $250 000 mega-pay-cheque. Dube also served as board chairperson of ZBC at which Muchechetere took home $40 000 monthly in salary and perks.
Sibanda chronicled a litany of corruption scandals since the early 1980s from the Willowgate scandal, National Railways Housing scandal (1986), the War Victims Compensation scandal (1994), Grain Marketing Board grain scandal, VIP Housing Scheme scandal (1996), the Harare City Council refuse tender scandal, and the 1999 DRC timber and diamond scandals, among others.
Source - Zim Mail
