Opinion / Columnist
Walk the talk on corruption
13 Oct 2016 at 13:23hrs | Views
An attentive examination of the existing political and economic prevailing situation in Zimbabwe seems to suggest that corruption is crippling the smooth running of the country and this has led to the suffering of many people. The sprouting of many political parties indicates that people want power and influence in order for them to accumulate the much needed scarce resources. The Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Professor Jonathan Moyo and his deputy Dr Godfrey Gandawa used their influence to distribute the scarce resources to the unintended beneficiaries.
Understanding the concept of corruption presupposes that one should have a clear dichotomy of what it entails and what constitutes it in the simplest term. There is no simple accepted definition for the term corruption because what may seem corrupt in one society may not necessarily be perceived as such in another. Professor Moyo has drawn brickbats from students unions' from the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (Zimdef) for siphoning $270 000 whilst getting a pat and a hero's welcome from the people in his constituency.
The most commonly used and popular definition of corruption is seen as the use of public office for private advantage. In the ongoing investigations instituted by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) Professor Moyo used Zimdef funds to develop his constituency and party programmes in order to fortify his position. It is high time that we should raise concern about the fallout in government run institutions.
It is high time that we should urge ZACC to advise Moyo to fully cooperate with it in order to bring this matter to finality as soon as possible as many people are interpreting it in different ways. The presumption of innocence until proven guilty remains a sacrosanct principle of our law, and ZANU PF has full confidence in our judiciary to act as final arbiters in these matters. It is therefore prudent for all of us to call for all people to desist from public comments that would undermine due process and create further confusion.
Moyo sees himself as the proverbial sacred cow hence he is now spilling the beans in order to clean himself from the ongoing allegations. Yesteryear Professor Moyo was on record that people who misused public funds should be held accountable, now it is his turn he is now crying foul. It is right and proper to urge all parties, as well as external stakeholders to allow the law to take its course.
We should take heed of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa's words that everyone, including Cabinet ministers and Vice Presidents, can be prosecuted if there are reasonable grounds to suspect the commission of the crime as they are not above the law. We should unite and fight against corruption as it is the root cause of all the problems bedeviling the country. We should also respect and give credit to ZACC as it is a State arm mandated with investigating and dealing with cases of corruption.
Understanding the concept of corruption presupposes that one should have a clear dichotomy of what it entails and what constitutes it in the simplest term. There is no simple accepted definition for the term corruption because what may seem corrupt in one society may not necessarily be perceived as such in another. Professor Moyo has drawn brickbats from students unions' from the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (Zimdef) for siphoning $270 000 whilst getting a pat and a hero's welcome from the people in his constituency.
The most commonly used and popular definition of corruption is seen as the use of public office for private advantage. In the ongoing investigations instituted by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) Professor Moyo used Zimdef funds to develop his constituency and party programmes in order to fortify his position. It is high time that we should raise concern about the fallout in government run institutions.
Moyo sees himself as the proverbial sacred cow hence he is now spilling the beans in order to clean himself from the ongoing allegations. Yesteryear Professor Moyo was on record that people who misused public funds should be held accountable, now it is his turn he is now crying foul. It is right and proper to urge all parties, as well as external stakeholders to allow the law to take its course.
We should take heed of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa's words that everyone, including Cabinet ministers and Vice Presidents, can be prosecuted if there are reasonable grounds to suspect the commission of the crime as they are not above the law. We should unite and fight against corruption as it is the root cause of all the problems bedeviling the country. We should also respect and give credit to ZACC as it is a State arm mandated with investigating and dealing with cases of corruption.
Source - Stewart Murewa
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