Mujuru speaks out

Under fire Vice President Joice Mujuru Tuesday moved swiftly to allay public anger that she is backing bosses fleecing parastatals through obscene salaries, saying anyone looting state resources should be prosecuted.

Mujuru spoke as people reacted with anger to comments attributed to her, slamming the media for exposing the now christened salarygate.

Several public sector executive have over the past two months been exposed by the media for earning huge pay-cheques and perks when their parastatals and quassi-government firms were on the brink of collapse.

Speaking through minister of state in her office, Sylvester Nguni, Mujuru said she did not support corruption and wanted culprits to be held accountable.

"The vice president has made it clear that she does not support corruption, she actually wants those people implicated in cases of corruption to return the stolen resources to the concerned entities," said Nguni on Tuesday.

"What you read in the press is a reflection of missing statements from her entire speech."

Mujuru reportedly told a Zanu-PF women's conference in Chinhoyi at the weekend that the media expose` of the salarygate was the work of enemies meant to destabilise the party and government.

But Nguni said the media had selectively covered Mujuru's address to "suit an agenda".

"On the issue of what was said, the reporters selected statements to suit the idea they wanted to portray about her," Nguni said. "It is very unfortunate that this is what journalism at times does."

He added: "The problem that we have here is that the media is exposing corruption on certain individuals, while leaving out some characters.  This is what the vice president raised to a Zanu-PF audience. Corruption should be tackled without fearing or favouring certain individuals within the syndicates. She applauds the media for doing their job, but they must do that objectively."

At a Zanu-PF ZimAsset workshop in Mazowe yesterday, Mujuru said she was quoted out of context by the state media.

In an audio clip from the conference, Mujuru is heard telling women in Shona: "Iyi nyaya yatiri kutaura iyi yehuori hwemaparastatals muchenjere kuti ndeimwe nzira yaunzwa nevanhu vari kuda kupwanya nyika ino iyi.

"Vari kuziva kuti chii chakabata nyika yeZimbabwe. They know what is done by our parastatals. They will go and talk to some of our people and do what is happening.

"Vanotaura kuti kana tabva kuZBC, toenda kuZESA, toenda kuZINWA. Regai kuzoti vanhu vacho havasi veZANU-PF aiwa, zvinonzi kana usingagone kumukurira unomujoina, worova uchibva mukati make, saka mochenjera. Saka tiri kuti nyaya iri mumaoko mehofisi yaPresident."

The pronouncements angered Zimbabweans across the board who felt Mujuru intended to protect members of her alleged faction in Zanu-PF in the on-going war of attrition to succeed President Robert Mugabe, but Nguni said if she had been quoted "objectively and not trying to be political, the truth would have come out".

Meanwhile, the ruling Zanu-PF party yesterday issued a statement committing itself to fighting graft, adding the policy had "most assiduously been pronounced at party level by Mugabe, Mujuru as well as national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo".

Party spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said: "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this unacceptable and selfish state of affairs and wish to urge the Office of the President to continue to act in the national interest…

"We would also like to thank the media, both public and private, for their concerted efforts in bringing this shameful situation to public light. For our part, and for the avoidance of any doubt, we wish to make it known that we will take decisive measures to eradicate corruption in all its forms.

"Everything must be done above board in an orderly, organised and systematic way to prevent possible accusation of a cover-up."