Cross says corruption poses major threat to Mnangagwa's leadership

President Emmerson Mnangagwa's biographer, Eddie Cross, has pointed to the rampant corruption in Zimbabwe as the most significant challenge to the President's leadership, highlighting the growing dissatisfaction with the government's inability to effectively tackle graft. Cross, a former adviser to Mnangagwa, made these remarks following Monday's national shutdown, which was organized to protest the widespread corruption and misgovernance plaguing the country.

Mnangagwa, who took power in 2017 after a military coup ousted longtime leader Robert Mugabe, initially promised a "zero tolerance" stance on corruption. However, years of scandals and the consistent failure to prosecute high-profile individuals involved in corruption have left many observers questioning the political will to address the crisis. Reports indicate that Zimbabwe loses up to US$2 billion annually to corruption, a figure that has only grown as shocking scandals continue to surface.

"The amount of money being stolen here is just enormous. It probably exceeds our national budget," Cross said in an interview with NewsAfrica. He expressed concern over Mnangagwa's inability to address the country's most pressing issues, particularly the pervasive corruption involving politically connected individuals, known as "tenderpreneurs."

Despite multiple exposes, including a recent documentary by Qatar-based Al Jazeera that revealed the involvement of the politically connected in gold smuggling, Cross believes the government's failure to address these issues will only intensify public dissatisfaction with Mnangagwa's regime. "He has not tackled corruption," Cross stated, emphasizing that if the President does not confront this crisis, the dissatisfaction will continue to grow.

Cross's remarks came after the national shutdown on Monday, which, though initially planned as a protest against corruption and misgovernance, succeeded in sending a strong message to the government. The protest reflected a broader sense of frustration with the lack of accountability for those responsible for economic mismanagement and the theft of state resources.

Transparency International's reports suggest that Zimbabwe is losing up to US$2 billion annually due to smuggling, further exacerbating the country's financial challenges. Cross argues that despite Zimbabwe's sound economic fundamentals, including a growing economy and higher exports than imports, structural issues like corruption remain unresolved.

The growing calls for leadership that can confront these challenges have intensified, with many, including Cross, advocating for stronger political courage from Mnangagwa to address these deep-rooted problems.

In addition to the corruption crisis, Mnangagwa is facing internal opposition within his Zanu-PF party over plans to extend his presidency beyond 2028, despite his public statements indicating he does not intend to remain in power beyond that year. The push for an extension to 2030 has further complicated the political landscape, deepening divisions within the ruling party.

Cross emphasized the need for strong leadership to tackle the structural problems that have hindered Zimbabwe's progress. "Our problems can be resolved. Our fundamentals are sound. We have a growing economy. Our exports are bigger than our imports, but we have structural problems and those must be attended to," he concluded.