Opinion / Columnist
Zanu-PF corruption has reached endemic levels
10 Oct 2016 at 15:25hrs | Views
The shocking exposure of how Jonathan Moyo and his subordinates milked dry the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund's (Zimdef) financial coffers is proof of how endemic corruption levels in the Zanu-PF government has reached.
The people of Zimbabwe should unite and demand the immediate mass resignation of the Zanu-PF.
As the People's Democratic Party (PDP), we find it deeply disgusting that Moyo believes that it is acceptable for him to loot government coffers and purchase bicycles for chiefs when we have a whole ministry that caters for the welfare of our traditional leaders.
Moyo's arrogance in defending his grand theft is a reflection of how other Zanu-PF ministers interfere in the running of state enterprises, which fall under their mandate where dubious loans are procured clandestinely and project costs inflated so that those in the looting chain award themselves millions of dollars.
The money looted by Moyo was meant to assist desperate students from tertiary colleges on industrial attachments. But Moyo hiding behind the A-Level STEM Initiative saw it fit to loot the funds for self-aggrandisement.
Instead of justifying his theft, Moyo should be in jail for gross abuse of office.
We also find it criminal and a disregard of the Constitution false claims by the discredited Phelekezela Mphoko that the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) had no powers to arrest ministers involved in corrupt activities like Moyo.
The rot has even sucked in Robert Mugabe who has given his in-laws criminally and irregular access to over $15 million through the Dema diesel power plant deal.
At the same time, his son-in-law, Simba Chikore, has been unprocedurally appointed the chief operations officer at the Air Zimbabwe, another parastatal that has been exploited by Zanu-PF bigwigs.
Other parastatals that have been brought down to their knees by the rot of Zanu-PF ministers are; the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara), National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), Zesa Holdings, National Social Security Authority (Nssa), the Cold Storage Company (CSC) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (Caaz).
The diamond revenues scandal remains unsolved amid indications that over $15 billion went missing through the rampant corruption within state enterprises and a general lack of direction and leadership.
In our view, the only way forward is the establishment of a National Transitional Authority (NTA) to arrest the social and economic decline and begin to implement political and economic reforms as a matter of urgency.
Zimbabweans cannot afford to give Zanu-PF more time to damage the economy and wait for 2018 where there is no guarantee of free and fair elections anyway.
We are also actively promoting the idea of a grand coalition of democratic forces to challenge the Zanu-PF hegemony once and for all.
It is time Zimbabweans realise that change will not come from Zanu-PF or from Mugabe but only from our collective action as progressive democrats.
#TogetherAnotherZimbabweIsPossible
Jacob Mafume
PDP National Spokesperson
Source - Jacob Mafume
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