Makoni says leaders are encouraging corruption

Mavambo Kusikle Dawn leader Simba Makoni says Zimbabwe’s leaders including President Robert Mugabe are doing nothing to curb corruption. Instead they are showing maximum tolerance and active encouragement of corruption.

In his New Year Message, Makoni said corruption remained endemic in the country despite public pronouncements of zero tolerance to the scourge.

“Corruption remains endemic in all spheres of life. We hear loud declarations of ‘Zero Tolerance’ of it, by the highest public officer, and a coterie of others in high offices,” he said.

“In spite of threats of tough action against its perpetrators, nothing is being done to demonstrate the zero tolerance. On the contrary, everything that’s done shows maximum tolerance, if not active encouragement, of corruption.”

Zimbabwe was rated the third most corrupt African country after Nigeria and Egypt in a survey by Afrobarometer. The survey of 34 African countries was based on how citizens feel about government’s handling of the fight against corruption.

A staggering 81 percent of those surveyed in Zimbabwe felt the government was doing poorly. Just a decade ago only 38 percent of the Zimbabweans felt the government was failing to handle corruption.

Makoni’s full message:

To all citizens and permanent residents of Zimbabwe, welcome to the year 2014. Unfortunately, all indications are that, for the largest majority of us, life will remain as difficult in 2014, as it was in 2013; if not worse.

Severe food shortages continue in almost all parts of the country. Whilst acknowledging the food crisis, and making statements that ‘no Zimbabwean will die of hunger’, the Government has yet to unveil concrete plans to save lives.

Worse still, there are no plans to revive agricultural production, from the current season, into the future.

The industrial sector continues to bleed, with a growing number of companies ceasing operations. As with agriculture, there are no plans to arrest the heamorrage, let alone restore growth.

Job losses in the formal sectors of the economy continue unabated.

The delayed National Budget was presented on December 19 2013. What a let-down it turned out to be. In spite of all the rhetoric about it being ‘policy driven’, there are no rational, viable, coherent policies that can guide citizens, especially players in the economy, to plan for the future with clarity and confidence.

The new Minister of Finance triumphantly declared ‘the birth of a new, and the death of the old economy’. He announced that informal traders, small scale miners and small scale farmers are the anchor of the new economy. This new economy is characterised by market stalls in every open space in the urban areas, and small, crammed and darkly lit shops; selling vegetables, trinkets, used clothes and other wares. The country is one big supermarket for products from other countries.

Power and water supplies are worse than they were twelve months ago. Two national referral hospitals were reported to have run for weeks without piped water. In the last quarter of 2013, headlines screamed warnings of typhoid and other disease outbreaks; signaling further collapse of health and sanitation services.

Corruption remains endemic in all spheres of life. We hear loud declarations of ‘Zero Tolerance’ of it, by the highest public officer, and a coterie of others in high offices. In spite of threats of tough action against its perpetrators, nothing is being done to demonstrate the zero tolerance. On the contrary, everything that’s done shows maximum tolerance, if not active encouragement, of corruption.

The country was forced into a farce of a general election in July 2013. Even though they claim a ‘resounding victory’, ZANU-PF and its government are completely lost over how to take the people of Zimbabwe out of poverty, fear and insecurity.

Into 2014, we shall continue our efforts to work with those in Government, and others in politics, business, the professions and civil society; to find ways to alleviate the many hardships confronting the people every day.

In this regard, we commend and thank players in civil society, and the international community, for their sterling efforts to stem the humanitarian crises caused by food shortages, HIV/AIDS and other diseases, domestic and gender-based violence, crime and corruption, and state ineptitude and heartlessness.

At the same time, we shall strive to invigorate Mavambo.Kusile.Dawn (M.K.D) into the PARTY OF CHOICE, so that we can generate hope among the people, that they can create a better future for themselves. We remain convinced that our vision, values and principles form a solid foundation for the economic, social, cultural and moral recovery of our nation, and future progress for all our people. We are committed to creating a Grand Coalition of likeminded citizens, to lead our country out of crisis.

I wish all Zimbabweans, inside and outside the country, commitment, perseverance and resolve to contribute to the re-birth of a Great Zimbabwe in 2014.

Let’s Get Zimbabwe Working Again.

KaOne!

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