Maridadi asks Mphoko, do you eat or sleep at night when you hear so much corruption in government?

HON. MARIDADI:  Madam Speaker, the audit system that we use in Zimbabwe is the same audit system that is used in Malawi, Zambia and almost the same audit system that is used in South Africa.  I have taken the liberty to look at all those jurisdictions and did a comparative analysis of what happens in those jurisdictions.

When they present audit reports in the Parliament of Malawi, the Minister who is in charge of that Ministry, if it is the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and whatever, the Permanent Secretaries of ministries that the Committee has oversight on are in Parliament seated there.  The Ministers are in Parliament, they are seated there and the report is presented.  The Minister will rise and respond to that report and say exactly what they are going to do in response to issues that have been raised in that report and that is the system that we must adopt in this country.  – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – Hon. Dr. Gumbo should have been there, Mr. Munodawafa should have been seated in that chair and Hon. Mpariwa should have been reading this report.  I would have asked Hon. Dr. Gumbo – are you going to have a good night’s sleep after listening to this report?  I would have asked Mr. Munodawafa – what are you going to do after listening to this report because an honourable man would simply say, Minister, I have failed and here is my resignation.  I have eaten enough money and done enough corruption.  Here is my resignation letter – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –

Madam Speaker, my blood boils when I go back to the constituency.  The house that I live in, tonight we do not know where our meal is going to come from, our supper.  I do not know where my supper is going to come from tonight.  In the house next door, they also do not know where their supper is going to come from and we have a report which says $97 million cannot be accounted for.  Madam Speaker, $97 million is about 1.2 billion rands.  If you take $97 million and put it in Mutare Municipality, even stray cats in Mutare will change their lifestyles because they will realise money has been put into this town.  That money cannot be accounted for and there is a gentleman who is driving a Government vehicle, going to his house, enjoying a salary and nothing has happened to him.  He has been re-assigned to another Ministry where he is going to continue pilferage to the coffers of this country.  It cannot be accepted.

One day I was in the Portfolio Committee and there was one gentleman who came to give evidence.  I was saying, how about Parliament going to Highfield, Mukumbura, Mabvuku and Kuwadzana and do these sessions with the public of which the public would hear that the gentleman who is giving evidence has just misappropriated $1.1 million and nothing has happened.  Anorohwa kuMabvuku ikoko.   People in Mabvuku will kill him because this money does not belong to me or to this Parliament.  It belongs to the 15 million of us in Zimbabwe.

What pains me most is that Zimbabwe is endowed with people with skills?  Why do we recycle the same 21 Permanent Secretaries as if they are the only people who are called Zimbabweans?  For the life of myself, I cannot understand why Parliament has recommended that somebody should be fired but instead of being fired he has been put into a Ministry where there are more revenue streams.

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