Minister Mguni walking the talk on corruption

THE arrest of two men intercepted by the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Obedingwa Mguni, allegedly transporting more than 2,000 litres of smuggled fuel along the Plumtree-Bulawayo highway shows Government is walking the talk on corruption.

Mguni came across a Kia truck carrying 2,340 litres of fuel about 20 kilometres out of Bulawayo headed for the city at around 6AM on Sunday.

The Deputy Minister, who was on his way to Bulawayo, took Alfred Moyo and Vusumuzi Dube, both from Plumtree, to Donnington police station where they were promptly arrested. Mguni has since ordered that police officers who were manning two roadblocks which the truck passed through be investigated.

He told The Chronicle that he had since ordered that police officers who were manning road- blocks along that highway be investigated for suspected corruption after they allowed the smuggled fuel to pass through. "We saw a truck that was swerving and was seemingly overloaded. I ordered the truck to stop and discovered 78 by 30 litre containers of fuel, which had been smuggled into the country from Botswana. The two said they bought the fuel in Botswana and were bringing it into Bulawayo to be sold on the black market. I have heard of these people who usually move as a team with two other trucks, and I must say I am glad to have finally met some of them."

Mguni said he was shocked that the two men nearly made it into Bulawayo yet there were a number of roadblocks on the road.

"This shows that all our security systems are lax because how do people pass through a border and roadblocks without being caught. We saw two heavily manned roadblocks on the way but these smugglers managed to pass through," he said.

Mguni said he instructed the pair to drive to Donnington police station, where he handed them over to police. "I tasked Donnington, Plumtree and Figtree police to investigate the matter right up to their point of entry, which is Plumtree Border Post. I was seriously disappointed by this incident, most of all, our security officers who are standing in dozens on the country's roads but not executing their duties which include putting an end to corruption," he said.

Mguni said fuel smuggling is now rampant and this has seriously affected local filling stations. "In Matabeleland South, fuel smugglers have managed to penetrate into black market trade, resulting in filling stations shutting down. If security is not tightened, then Bulawayo filling stations will very soon shut down too, having fuel sold in houses, which is also dangerous. Such trade kills the economy in that it only benefits a few individuals, leaving many jobless after filling stations are closed,'' said Mguni.

We commend the Deputy Minister for leading from the front in the fight against corruption and urge the police to sanction the officers who allowed the smugglers to pass through their roadblocks.

Corruption can only be eradicated if our Government and political leaders show a serious commitment to eradicating it and we are glad that someone at the level of a Deputy Minister took matters into his own hands after realising the collusion between law enforcement agents and criminals in committing crime.

The Government has declared a zero tolerance to corruption with President Mugabe having cited the scourge as an impediment to economic revival efforts. The vice can only be defeated if Zimbabweans display a unity of purpose and expose it wherever if occurs. We note with pride how Mguni has been one of the few Deputy Ministers visible on the ground and commend his hands-on approach to dealing with bottlenecks in his ministry.

Access to important documents such as birth certificates, IDs and passports has been one of the contentious issues particularly for people in Matabeleland and we have been following Mguni's drive to improve operations of the Registrar General's offices countrywide.
Just last week, the Deputy Minister castigated the use of cell phones by officers in the RG's office saying this resulted in them paying scant attention to hordes of people seeking passports and other documents. We agree with Mguni that civil servants need to change their attitudes and must be competent, helpful and people-driven.

The Deputy Minister has also called for the setting up of a client service charter in the RG's office and encouraged officials to desist from making the process of getting identity particulars impossible so that they can extort money from innocent citizens.

We're encouraged by the performance of people like Mguni and implore him to continue his crusade to rid departments in his ministry of incompetence and corruption. His exploits in arresting the fuel smugglers shows his commitment to serving the people of Zimbabwe with distinction and we salute him for that.