Who takes responsibility for the corruption in Zimbabwe!

While a considerable amount of the current problems in Zimbabwe are attributable to economics, and the GNU internal squabbles, corruption on the doorsteps of public offices and notorious political party vices claim a fair chunk of the issues.

Some of these national setbacks could still be redressed if the greedy and power hungry public officers and those in uniform were to be warned and effectively harnessed to size. The control of such open lawlessness is supposed to be in the hands of the police and where they fail, other stringent measures could be invoked to restore order, social responsibility and civility among the citizenry. 

Before going to the detailed specifics, it should be pointed out that it's a platitude that corruption continues to destroy Zimbabwe as leaders and authorities sing a monotonous but futile song of condemnation of the sin. Such a passive stance is detrimental to national development because public office inertia is tantamount to incitement or condonation of the prevailing bad conditions. Simultaneously, it is needless to mention that the inaction of those supposed to act is worse than the evil works being condemned by society.

Police: the culture of soliciting for bribes from citizenry, innocent motorists and public transport operators as well as the unjustified release and velvet glove treatment of those who aid bribery continues to assure the nation of persistent crime, waning ethics and failing rule of law. Police continue to wantonly collect bribes amidst hollow threats from their superiors, empty warnings and promises to act upon promises by those at the helm of power. Such impunity continues to weaken the social rubric and resultantly most authorities supposed to act have clandestinely benefitted from, or connived to find comfort in such a corrupt system thereby developing some jelly on their knees to the catalysis of uncouth police action.

DMV: the same corruption song continues to be sung in the driver licensing department, vehicle inspection units and any related functions on highway activity making even those not supposed to pump out some cash do so to save their cars and time after being threatened with undue delays and hardships. There is a lot of pressure brought to bear to the extent that their only option would be to pump out decent amounts and have their cars released and let go. It's not a surprise that even a new car straight from the manufacturer could be deemed defective just to trigger a browbeaten driver to pay something for it to be released.

City Rank Marshalls: These are the war lords of the day. They collect funds from kombi drivers, scream epithets to wayfarers and commuters for no reason. These marshalls  run the system and dictate terms. No one knows who gets to benefit from their spoils and at times the public supposed to benefit from a public transport system is losing ground through open intimidation at times in open police presence. There is no one to protect the ordinary passengers. It seems like these City Rank Marshalls have suddenly become a law unto themselves and some police officers have been turned into timid forces. Such a situation creates a crisis of chaos because this is happening in the eyes of the police who look aside out of fear and at times out of challenged numbers of associates leading them to let the situation roll. As if the corruption is not enough, most city commuters are at times verbally or physically abused under lawless conditions that make anyone wonder the essence or purpose of poor social relations among ordinary citizens. It should be time for authorities to step forward and rescue such runaway vices.

Prisons: The recently reported news about corrupt or untouchable prison chiefs abusing government resources and prisoners to further and protect personal interests should be taken as a precedent for speedy and effective investigation within a specified timeframe. In case there is proof of the alleged misconduct, then practical consequences should follow in the public interest to secure and protect common interests, resources and ethics. Once such openly-reported allegations go unchecked, they open flood gates for more potential evil doers to be tempted to follow suit based on absence of deterrent measures.  Such consequences help send strong messages to those conspiring to commit corrupt deeds that hurt government reputation and the welfare of its citizens at large.

At the current rate at which corruption is going, members of the public could soon pay police officers for providing travel directions when lost, or make payments at police posts to have criminals on sight arrested. It is a frustrating and bawdy experience that can be controlled if the public adopts a common patriotic front to fight or protest against corruption with vigor. The plunder of national assets or abandonment of national duty or deviation from the oath of public service should be seriously considered as punishable crimes before the law.  

The anti-corruption commission should be empowered and armed to deal with perpetrators to discourage commission of evil practices. Noisy rhetoric is simply a waste of time and resources. More hotlines, suggestion boxes and plain clothes foot soldiers from police ranks should be deployed as watchdogs to stop the mess. At this runaway rate, corruption is bound to create more lawlessness and chaos among the citizenry. Many are taking the law into their own hands because they claim to be associated with those in high offices. With practical action to stop the problem, there could be some remarkable and timely change on the ground.

The ultimate result is the decadence of rules and regulations, deteriorating national standards, lack of confidence in the system and general disgruntlement with the functions of public service officials who fail to take effective remedies to stop reported corruption. While we live in dangerous times of the latter days, some of the dangers we face can be averted with united action for common goals. It's about time the public office rhetoric stopped and demonstrative action started. The battle could start with legislators making the right laws that promote legislator-censorship while also serving the public.

Tapiwa Kapurura writes in a personal capacity.