“The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) said it had seized
property worth over $700 million,” reported Zimeye.
“The anti-corruption body has also filed 18 unexplained wealth order
case files with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).”
I could not hear myself think from the super slow thunderous applauding;
no one with half a brain would not feel insulted by this!
In 2016 Robert Mugabe revealed that the country was “swindled out of
US$15 billion in diamond revenue alone”! He never arrested one diamond swindler
or recover one dollar of the swindled bounty.
We all know the looting has continued because the then Minister of
Finance, Patrick Chinamasa, told parliament in 2017 that government was only
receiving 1/6 of the expected revenue from diamond mining.
When Mnangagwa took over from Mugabe following the military coup of
November 2017, he promised “zero tolerance to corruption!” Over four years
later, he too is yet to arrest one swindler and/or recover one swindled dollar.
We know the swindlers have extended their looting activities to other
areas such as gold smuggling, fuel procurement and even donated aid to help
corona virus victims has been looted. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr
John Mungudya, said Zimbabwe was losing US$1.2 billion per year to gold
smugglers.
So the US$700 million ZACC has recovered is 0.6% of what the gold
smugglers loot in just one year or 0.05% of what Mugabe admitted back in 2016
was being swindled in diamonds alone!
the looted gold Speaking at the commemoration of the
International Anti-Corruption Day in Harare on Thursday, the Commission’s
chairperson, Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo, said ZACC was on course in its mission
to eradicate corruption in the country. She said:
“It is with great pride that I pronounce that Zimbabwe has made great
strides in ensuring maximum cooperation is given to state parties during Mutual
Legal Assistance Requests” ZACC chairperson, Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo,
announced at the commemoration of the International Anti-Corruption Day in
Harare.
“The fight against corruption is real and it takes tireless efforts and
undivided dedication for us to totally weed out corruption.”
ZACC has recovered US$700 million constituting 6% of the gold smuggled
in one out of four decades of Zanu PF misrule! And we, the people, millions of
whom are now living in abject poverty because of the wholesale looting of the
nation’s wealth, are expected to applaud ZACC for the “great strides” in
stamping out corruption!
I have said it once and will say it again; Zanu PF ruling elite
appointed ZACC officials and the same ruling elite are the Godfathers of all
the corruption and wholesale looting of the nation’s wealth.
It is no secret that each of the country’s security arms; the Police,
Army, CIO and Prison Services; have a diamond mining concession in Marange and
Chiadzwa. The concession allows the holder to mine for diamonds without having
to declare the quality and quantity of diamonds, to whom they are sold and for
how much and who benefited from the sell; as revealed in a 2012 parliamentary
report chaired by the late Zanu PF MP, Edward Chindori Chininga. In short, the
mining concession are a licence to loot!
A Canadian based NGO specialising in diamonds reported that Robert
Mugabe earned US$2 billion plus in 2012 alone! All the Zanu PF bigwigs are
benefiting from the looting of Zimbabwe’s resources.
Other countries like many of the Arab States have built beautiful new
cities out of the dessert and have investment portfolios worth hundreds of
trillion dollars from their oil bonanza. We, in Zimbabwe, have absolutely
nothing to show for our diamonds, gold, etc. Nothing!
Indeed, our diamonds, gold, etc. have become a real curse to the nation.
Zanu PF ruling elite and their foreign and local backers will never ever risk
losing political power by allowing the country to hold free, fair and credible
elections. They will stand to lose the fresh loot if corruption was stamped
out, to lose their amassed loot and, in many cases, they dread their murderous
past being dragged out into the open.
If we are serious about stamping out corruption then we must first be serious
about implementing the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible
elections. As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt and
incompetent thugs who continue to use the vast looted wealth to bankroll their
vote rigging juggernaut to secure their iron grip on power; nothing will
change.
The pressure for a competent and accountable government is greater now
than ever given the extra health and economic hardships brought by the corona
virus. The global changes brought by climate changes will bring new
challenges.
Zimbabwe cannot afford another one of MDC A's foolishness of
participating in the flawed elections to give vote rigging Zanu PF
legitimacy.
If reforms are not implemented before the elections then the process
must be declared null and void!
8 comments:
The MDC Alliance also unveiled President Nelson Chamisa’s plan to win Zimbabwe for change.
“President @nelsonchamisa’s plan to win Zimbabwe for change:
1. 6 million votes Presidential election
2. Two thirds majority in Parliament
3. Majority in Local Govt elections
4. Communities will select candidates by consensus.”
MDC has failed to come up with one single strategy to address anyone of these vote rigging moves. All we keep hearing from the party, is a wish list of the number of votes the party would like to have but nothing on how to stop Zanu PF stealing the votes.
In 2008 Tsvangirai got 73% of the votes in the March vote before the Zanu PF vote rigging machine which the party had switched off was quickly turn back on! The juggernaut is on right now!
Zanu PF is blatantly rigging these elections by denying 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora the vote, failing to produce a verified voters roll, going up a few gears in the use of wanton violence, bribing the chiefs and other local leaders to work as proxy political commissars, etc.
With no reforms to switch-off the rigging machine, Zanu PF blatantly rigged the 2013 and 2018 elections and is set to rig the 2023 elections. By participating in these flawed elections all MDC is doing is give vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. This is insane and it must be stopped!
Zimbabwe should be talking about what to do to contain the omicron corona virus variant; for example we should have a blitz to stop the looting of gold, diamonds, etc. so that the US$1.2 billion per year from the gold smugglers alone can be channeled to buying corona virus vaccines. But as long as Zanu PF is power the blitz on looters will never ever happen. The US$700 million ZACC is proudly announcing as a great achievement is from a select few targeted by Godfather ruling elite!
As long as Zanu Pf remains a pariah state nothing of substance can ever be accomplished.
MDC leaders not only wasted the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms during the GNU but by participating in these flawed elections they are now helping Zanu PF stay in power by giving the regime legitimacy.
It beggars belief that so many Zimbabweans are that naive and gullible as to believe MDC's winning in rigged elections strategies. Even after 41 years of rigged elections, they still believe in that mumbo-jumbo! The same people who are stubbornly refusing to acknowledge that MDC's mumbo-jumbo are doing nothing to stop Zanu PF rigging these elections will be complaining the loudest that the elections were rigged!
Poor, poor Africa, universal suffrage was a curse and not a blessing! Even our mineral wealth is now a curse and not a blessing! We cannot get anything right!
“We had a problem in Mozambique where they were maintaining the port so they were not pumping,” he said.
But Ncube said there was no need to panic as the situation was expected to return to normalcy in “a day or two”.
“We have started pumping now. The problem should normalise in a day or two. The scheduling in Mozambique caught us offside when they closed the port for maintenance.”
Motorists had begun to panic and reminisced on the days they used to queue for several days on end to access fuel.
It is laughable that the country should be living from hand to mouth in everything including fuel! There is a problem at the pumping station in Mozambique and the effect is felt straight away in Zimbabwe!
There problem of bad governance is at the very heart of Zimbabwe’s economic and political mess and until we bite the bullet implement the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections; we are not getting out of the mess!
THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) has given all sorts of warnings to deal with corruption in Zimbabwe until its face turned blue but clearly, it is the case of all foam and no beer.
Since its inception, Zacc has been accused of fronting a political elite and being used as a weapon to silence critics of the status quo with the respect of citizens apparently dwindling by each day.
Observers have continuously argued that the anti-graft commission has sharp teeth against those out of favour with the status quo while they suddenly turn blunt on the real culprits.
Zanu PF ruling elite are the godfathers of the corruption and as long as the country remains a pariah state, there will be no meaningful change. The rampant corruption, the economic meltdown, etc. will continue.
The democracy question
It remains a US bureaucratic mystery how the host selected invitees. Of the 113 countries chosen, an estimated 69% are regarded by a Carnegie Endowment study to be “Free”; 28% are “Partly Free” and 3% “Not Free”.
Among the African invitees are Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Even the host country, America, has been deemed in recent global surveys by Freedom House and the Swedish NGO International IDEA to have shown authoritarian characteristics. Its democracy ranking has been lowered. Europe too struggles with illiberalism.
Meanwhile, all 54 member States of the African Union have ratified an inclusive Constitutive Act that implicitly condemns authoritarianism and explicitly affirms democratic goals. These are given operational meaning with the later adoption of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.
All African governments are obligated to hold periodic elections, subject to international observation.
These are deficient in many ways. Nevertheless they constitute practical expression of a new norm in intra-African relations: the “principle of non-indifference”. This refers to the commitment to no longer tolerate internal abuses of domestic power. The pro-democracy practice has been praised as path-breaking globally by International IDEA
Zimbabwe had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms and end the Zanu PF dictatorship during 2008 to 2013 GNU. Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends failed to implement even one reform. SADC leaders begged, literally, MDC not to participating in the 2013 elections until reforms were implemented.
“If you participate in the elections next month, you will lose. The elections are done!” SADC leaders warned Tsvangirai and company to their faces. The warning was ignored in 2013 and again in 2018. And Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig these elections.
MDC are participating in the 2023 elections still with no reforms in place! Zanu is blatantly rigging these elections too. How long are we going to tolerate this insanity!
We have a corrupt and vote rigging Zanu PF but for the last 24 years, since 2008, we cannot deny that MDC has been helping Zanu PF staying in power. If we are still serious about ending the Zanu PF dictatorship then we must start by stopping MDC giving Zanu PF legitimacy!
“We don’t have time for political games, let’s focus on our main objective- that is to win power.
I really mean it, lets focus on campaigning for the People’s President Advocate Nelson Chamisa and our popular movement,” said Hon Karenyi-Kore.
In a statement MDC Alliance Masvingo Province Youth Assembly said:
“Chivi North ward 4 today(Saturday) . The anniversary celebrations went on well as @mdczimbabwe celebrates 22 years of resilience & existence.
The people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into power on the promise the party will bring about the democratic changes to end the Zanu PF dictatorship. Not only has the party failed to implement even one democratic reform in 22 years, 5 of which in the GNU; but worst of all the party is now in the business of giving vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy by participating in flawed elections.
Zanu PF has been giving away a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition to participate in these flawed and illegal elections. Mnangagwa has just made the participation even more enticing by creating POLAD and give generous perks to presidential race participants.
“MDC celebrates 22 years of resilience & existence!” Yeah right! The nation risked life and limb to elect a party to end the Zanu PF dictatorship but now it turns out MDC are nothing but Zanu PF paid acolytes.
USA ambassador to Zimbabwe 2004 to 2007, Chris Dell was right in saying “Tsvangirai was a flawed and indecisive character who would become an albatross round the nation’s neck if he ever got into power!” He could have said that about all MDC leaders and boy, are we in trouble. We still need to fight the Zanu PF dictatorship, only now we must fight the sell-out MDC idiots who continue to masquerade as champions of democratic change!
MDC-T leader, Douglas Mwonzora, is reportedly plotting to recall his deputy and the former party leader (on an interim basis), Thokozani Khupe, from Parliament.
Khupe is through her lawyers demanding minutes of a meeting where resolutions and recommendations were made to expel her and her allies.
MDC is a party of “flawed and indecisive characters”, as USA ambassador Chris Dell said of Tsvangirai. Whenever you have such characters they will always be fighting amongst themselves; if it is not one thing it is half a dozen of the others, of course, all trivial! Tsvangirai quarrelled with Ncube and then quarrelled with Biti. Biti quarrelled with Mangoma. Tsvangirai quarrelled with Khupe. Khupe quarrelled with Chamisa. Chamisa quarrelled with Mwonzora. Mwonzora is quarrelling with Khupe. This is a circus of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum!
The tragedy is that Zimbabweans risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into power to implement the democratic reforms necessary to end the Zanu PF dictatorship. Needless to say the reforms have not been implemented, not even one in the 22 years, 5 of which in the GNU. Worst of all MDC leaders are now keeping Zanu PF in power by participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy! The Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum circus is turning out to be a nightmare for the ordinary Zimbabweans stuck with the Zanu PF dictatorship!
@ Batshele Nduna
"Mr. Mukori did you believe what Mugabe said. That diamonds were stolen is a fact. However, the figure of $15 billion was not only questionable but certainly an impossibility. Kimberley Process disputed the figure. They said Zimbabwe had not mined diamonds of that value at the time issued the statement. Take into account Mugabe's age."
Point taken. But given Mugabe had inside information of the extend of the corruption in Zimbabwe, it made sense to take his word for it!
We will never know the full extend of the rot in Zimbabwe and therefore we should not be obsessed with exact figures of the diamonds, gold, etc. looted. Our number one priority right now is to stop the rot and one sure way of doing this is making sure elections are free, fair and credible!
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