Mukai - Vukani No: 76

Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

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From the editor

Corruption

Contents...

my hope that you will end up electing to do your part and

promote the cause against corruption. To engage in corruption is to surrender oneself to concupiscence and to subject other people to the man-made disaster of deprivation and

deception. It is to nurture the treacherous appetite for evil.

Corrupt activities worsen a person’s fall from virtue through

choosing to be mired in overt vice. There is no corruption

that occurs by accident. The human will and choice is always involved. Corruption is a hatred or disdain for the common

Corruption is an ugly phenomenon. There is no doubt about

that. It can be stealthy or blatant theft or acquisition of goods or services or office at any level of human life, be it ecclesial

or civil. I wish to draw your attention to the following items in the Catechism of the Catholic Church concerning the evil of corruption.

2401 The seventh commandment forbids unjustly taking or keeping the goods of one’s neighbor and wronging him in any way with respect to his goods. It commands justice and charity in the care of earthly goods and the fruits of men’s

labor … it requires respect for the universal destination of goods and respect for the right to private property. Christian

life strives to order this world’s goods to God and to fraternal charity.

2420 The Church makes a moral judgment about economic and social matters, “when the fundamental rights of the

person or the salvation of souls requires it.” In the moral order she bears a mission distinct from that of political

authorities …. She strives to inspire right attitudes with

respect to earthly goods and in socio-economic relationships.

2446 St. John Chrysostom vigorously recalls this: “Not to

enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours,

but theirs.” “The demands of justice must be satisfied first of

all; that which is already due in justice is not to be offered as a gift of charity.”

As you read the works of our writers in this edition, it is

Editorial - Corruption

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An ill Departure from Political Order - Fr César Jó Augusto SJ

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Corruption a Man-Made Phenomenon - Victor Gweshe

Publisher Jesuit Communications (JesCom)

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Law - An Ordinance of Reason - Fr Alex Muyebe SJ

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Corruption - An Albatross Around Zimbabwe’s Economy - Albert Dhafana

Obviously it is not possible to forget or ignore the devastating

Editorial Team: Fr Emmanuel Gurumombe SJ Kudakwashe Matambo

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The Cultural Feeders of Corruption - Fr Alberto Maquia SJ

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The Great Adversary of Any Economy - John Saviour Tuyishimire

Layout and Design Frashishiko Chikosi

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Biblical Prophets’ Anti-Corruption Vocation -Fr Fani Magwidi OFM

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National Development: Kick Out Corruption -Fr Chris Matsilele SJ

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Corruption of the Heart - Fr Chris Chatteris SJ

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Playing Chess with Other People’s Life -Theresa Sanyatwe

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Universal Apostolic Preferences -Fr Emmanuel Kaparasa SJ

evidence in a demoralised work ethic and sustained poverty.

Dear Reader(s),

No.76 April 2020

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good. The undeniable result of corruption is the deliberate

subjection of others to inhuman life, which has its obvious

Fr Emmanuel Gurumombe SJ

Jesuit Magazine for Zimbabwe-Mocambique Province

Covid - 19 pandemic . Some analysts are predicting economic disaster in Africa during and in the aftermath of pandemic.

We might presume that such analysts are sadistic alarmists.

But, truth be told, imagine if we had been a people who

simply enjoy to do good, who put public and or private sector responsibilities to the best use possible, who are contented

with honest earnings, who delight in the virtue of promoting an ever better standard of living, who make proper use of natural

resources for the benefit of all and especially the marginalised,

who enjoy promoting the common good; would the projected economic setbacks related to Covid - 19 be something to tremble about? Would we have been too worried about the

conditions of our medical institutions and the capacitation of medical personnel in the face of Covid - 19? Help from others

is always welcome, especially in dire moments when solidarity

Distribution Frashishiko Chikosi Readers may contribute/donate to the production costs by ecocash or bank transfers NMB Bank Acc No: 00260139932 Borrowdale Branch The views of the authors of the articles do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board.

is key. But we have to have something to show for ourselves

first, because we are an educated people who still have the

Canisius House, 37 Admiral Tait Rd, Marlborough, Harare

label ‘hardworkers’ where that still applies. The contributions

of various agencies and companies towards tackling the pandemic is commendable. However, for our own self esteem

(+263) 242 309623

as a people let us be a people that disdain and fight corruption in its various shapes, ways and forms.

jescomzim@gmail.com jescom@zimmozsj.org

May this year’s Holy Week and Easter Season become an occasion to reinforce a sustained effort to Rise from the Rot.

Wishing you a Happy and Blessed Easter from all of us at Jesuit

www.jesuitszimbabwe.co.zw

Communications, Zimbabwe - Mozambique Jesuit Province.

Fr Emmanuel Gurumombe SJ

Social Networks

Editor

Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

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Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

Jesuit Communications

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An ill Departure from Political Order Fr César Jó Augusto SJ

According to the Aristotelian conceptual framework a political society is an unavoidable cradle of human togetherness. No man is an island. Aristotle asserts that “human beings are political by nature, and that their natural capacities incline them to flourish in a society” (Fukuyama 2011) But when a polity is corroded by the systemic “cancer of corruption” only a few citizens flourish while others indefinitely languish in poverty.

Political rules of the game Politics can be defined as a struggle for governance and political power within a sovereign state. In this struggle, in an actual democratic polity, power contenders present their ideologies and policies to the electorate. In turn, the electorate elects power contenders whose ideologies and policies are likely to address their interests. The losers accept the results because the “uncertainty” factor is understood to be necessary in an election and it works to promote faith in honesty and in the clock; that is, in the belief that “the losers of today can be the winners of tomorrow.” The winners form a legitimate government to govern the state. On one hand, a government “consists of democratically elected legislators, presidents, and prime ministers” (O’Neil 2018). On the other hand, a state is “a set of institutions that seeks to wield the most force within a territory, establishing order and deterring

challengers from inside and outside” (O’Neil 2018). In fact, institutions such as the national army, police force, national parliament and the judiciary, are institutions used by states to protect its citizens against both outward invasions and internal delinquencies and disorder.

A protection of this nature follows the logic of the separation of power (Executive, Legislative, and the Judiciary) while aiming at the same goal—protecting the citizens against both outward invasions and internal misbehavior and disorder. One of the misbehavior/ disorders within a polity is corruption, which can operate in all the three branches, yet each must fight against distortions of its proper function. The legislature is meant to generate statutory law to deter corruption, the executive then cooperates with the legislative by neutrally enforcing statutory law, while the judiciary should impartially interpret and apply the law in each situation. When such triple synergies fail to hold, which is the case of Zimbabwe and Mozambique, citizens succumb to the threats of systemic corruption.

In such cases, citizens have a due right to legally call government officials to order by claiming Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

their constitutional right to decent living standards and doing their duty to demand accountability from government officials. However, can this explosive point be avoided?

Political order theory Samuel P. Huntington advanced a political order theory which asserts that corruption, violence, instability and political decay within a polity are offshoots of political disorder. Such political disorder occurs whenever rapid social change and the rapid mobilization of new groups into politics is coupled with a slow development of political institutions (1968). According to the theory, political order can come about by raising to a higher level the rate of the development of political institutions. In other words, governments have to constantly and critically evaluate the performance of their political institutions, rethink and redesign their governing structures, schemata, revisit the vision and mission statements of each political institution, values, ideologies and philosophy, while taking into consideration the modus operandi of the new mobilized political forces joining the political system. Further, the theory 4

Photo Credit: HERALD

asserts that this constant political restructuring entails emphasizing appropriate adaptability versus excessive rigidity; complexity versus simplicity; autonomy versus subordination; having a preference for coherence versus disunity.

The crucial point here is that, any government characterized by rigidity, simplicity, subordination and disunity, exposes its citizens to all sorts of internal ailments, including systemic corruption, which is the case of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Unless we challenge this political trend, we are likely to remain locked up in this tragic appalling situation.

of dealing with social, economic and political pathologies, conflicts and violence within a polity, Lijphart proposes a Grand Coalition. The idea is that political leaders of all significant segments of the pluralistic society have to discuss their political differences and arrive at a compromise. Then, they have to form a grand coalition to govern the country by sharing the executive, the legislative and the judicial powers, not competitively but by coalescing (1977).

Looking at Zimbabwe and Mozambique where electoral crises appear to be perennial, Grand Coalition Lijphart’s theory could be thought of as feasible in Grand Coalition is another theory tackling the current economic, for possible political order. As a way political and corruption crisis Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

in the said countries. One of the advantages of a grand coalition is that it is likely to solve problems. This is possible due to its holistic background, experience, expertise, alternative approaches to economic, social and political policies, including advocating different possible ways of deterring corruption.

The Grand Coalition Theory, however, has problems of its own.

For instance, the distribution of key posts, might require a lot of political indifference on the part of the officials. The budget for such a double-sized cabinet could require cutting benefits about which many officials might not be happy. However, the disappearance of billions in these countries seems to suggest that, once corruption has been 5

minimized, such a large loss of funds could be restored to the budget and cuts to benefits would not be necessary.

economic and political crisis. The advantages and disadvantages applied to Lijphart’s theory are also applicable to O’Donnell and Schmitter’s theory.

with Schenone and Gregg’s tentative definition of corruption.

They define it as the performance of unlawful, premeditated deals between an agent and his client Pact with a damaging outcome on a The three theories above, despite principal, whom the agent was The Pact Theory is not too their drawbacks, aim at arriving at lawfully obliged to serve (2018). different from the Grand the same conclusion: to generate This means that, the agent makes Coalition approach. O’Donnell efficient administrative systems use of the legal powers entrusted to and Schmitter suggest the ‘Pact’ wherein measures of integrity and him through a signed memorandum approach as a way of dealing accountability against corruption between him and his employer to with political, economic, and are realised; an environment misappropriate interests of the social pathologies, conflicts and where political tolerance is a former to his / her own benefit. violence, within a polity. A pact top priority; a setting where is understood here to be “an civil society groups can exercise Regrettably, procedures of this explicit, but not always publicly political and economic rights; nature have become systemic in explicated or justified, agreement a culture of peaceful conflict both Mozambique and Zimbabwe among a select set of actors resolution and power transition; due to the judiciary’s collapse into which seek to define (or better, an unmistakable culture of the deep waters of corruption. redefine) rules governing the power-sharing between the In the case of the former, exercise of power on the basis of Executive, Legislative and the Transparency International 2013 mutual guarantees for the “vital Judiciary. Unfortunately, this and Freedom House 2013, assert interests” of those entering into approach to holistic integrity and that “a weak judiciary has impeded it” (1986). In other words, actors accountability has succumbed Mozambique from enforcing involved in the conflict would have to defeat because of the power of anti-corruption legislation and to negotiate with one another in corruption in both Zimbabwe and has led to a sense of impunity for order to share political power and Mozambique. Each of these two crimes related to corruption.” In exchange some vital interests. countries has need for internal the latter’s case Farayi Machamire They agree not to cause violence political reconciliation. reported in Zim Morning Sport, and instability or chaos by inciting (4th April 2019) that, “President the masses or the military.

When The Judiciary Becomes Emmerson Mnangagwa has been Amnesty is granted to those who An Acolyte of Corruption handed a damning dossier on might have violated human rights rampant corruption at the top in the past. The 2008 political Due to its multifaceted facades echelons of the judicial arm of power-sharing in Zimbabwe (bribery, fraud, embezzlement, government involving high ranking can be an example of such an extortion, abuse of power, state officials who have become arrangement. If, to some extent nepotism/favoritism etc), filthy rich overnight.” This goes to it worked in the past, despite the corruption is not an easy concept suggest that corruption has become nature of the problems, which to define or to defeat. Rose the only ‘game in town’. might have emanated from such asserts that the definitions, an arrangement, it would have which have been articulated in In both Mozambique and worked if the two main political both academia and in the thirdZimbabwe, bribery, fraud, parties in Zimbabwe, ZANU PF sector, are frequently conflicting embezzlement, extortion, abuse of and MDC, had chosen to sincerely and often include and exclude power, nepotism/favoritism, and form a national unity government, diverse actions within the scope grand corruption have become as a remedy to the current of corruption (2018). I concur almost institutionalized in most Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

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of the segments of society, including in the mineral industry. In Mozambique, for instance, Transparent International (2013) discovered that a new draft of laws on the mining and petroleum sectors did not include a commitment to mandatory contract disclosure.

The same opacity of approach is operational in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe’s Environmental Law Associations (ZELA), for instance, note with concern that, “Zimbabwe’s diverse and significant mineral resource base is characterized by opacity.

This opacity is evident in the granting of licenses, negotiation of contracts, production data, the collection, allocation, expenditure and accounting of mineral revenue.”

This opacity of approach is a serious blow to both Mozambique and Zimbabwe, as it was expected that with the finding of more mineral deposits in both Mozambique and Zimbabwe, governments could invest the returns on health and education systems, primary and secondary schools, universities, polytechnical schools, the economy, public infrastructure, technology, housing, water systems, means of transport, research centers, laboratories, highways, maternities, hospitals, specialized clinics, scholarships in line with 21st century technologies and learning, etc.

Sadly, in both countries, due to this lack of transparency, citizens are likely not to witness meaningful developmental projects emanating from the

revenues of the mining industry.

Enkindling a Fire to Fight Corruption Corruption is tenacious by nature. So combating corruption equally requires a tenacious, no-nonsense approach. This entails questioning our current approaches for combating corruption and daring to suggest more appealing approaches to the problem. For instance, Christians have steadily advised the conversion of heart (metanoia) as a possible device against corruption (sin) for more than 2000 years now. But systemic corruption in Christian churches, including the Vatican seems to suggest that this proposal hardly catches fire among the Christians and metanoia preachers themselves. Moreover, members of the judiciary, who should be above corruption, have also compromised their position through bribery? Even members of anticorruption commissions become acolytes of corruption themselves. In Zimbabwe, President Mnangagwa admits: “I dismantled the previous ZACC (Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission) because the public did not have confidence any more in that commission because it was a corrupt commission and how could they have dealt with corruption when they were corrupt themselves”?

(Veneranda Langa, Newsday 2019/12/i-fired-corrupt-zacced/). The question arises: what is wrong in our approaches?

In my opinion, two vital Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

approaches are missing. The first is that, any proposal for combating corruption should be supported by self-enforcing strategies. In other words, the strategies have to engender a discomfort in the rulers and the ruled, the preachers and the preached to, the advisers and the advised whenever they are challenged by corruption stimuli.

The idea is that, compliance with metanoia, integrity, accountability, ought to be an offshoot of an inner and personal retraction, not an offshoot of a coercive external law alone.

The second approach is that, there is a need for generating an aggressive grooming program with a view toward forming a future citizenry and leadership devoted to lessening corruption.

This entails intergrating anticorruption content in primary and secondary schools, colleges as well as universities. The Christian catechism syllabus should take a similar approach. People who draw large crowds (musicians, comedians, theater performers, youth groups leaders, the media etc.), would be powerful anticorruption messengers. But they need to be supported. Christian church groups are well positioned for this. They can turn parish institutions into platforms where the ugliness of corruption could be discussed assiduously and at length. Unless we embark on such tenacious aggressivity, Zimbabwe and Mozambique are likely to permanently institutionalize the present ill departure from economically beneficial political order.

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Corruption a Man-Made Phenomenon Victor Gweshe

should be people centred in order to create an enabling environment for economic growth and development.

If we apply the Singapore paradox, it becomes apparent that challenges faced by Africa today are a result of bad governance exacerbated by corruption and self-aggrandisement.

Corruption is one of the biggest

challenges of our time and has in the past decades emerged as a global issue and the principal cause of a myriad challenges around the globe. Its significance in the present-day world cannot be underestimated.

the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan”. This is manifest around the world where the care for the other person has been superseded by greed and selfishness.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, corruption entails Zooming our lenses closer home dishonest or illegal behaviour to Zimbabwe, corruption has especially by powerful people, proved to our be a major threat to humanity as a nation. This evil whereas Transparency International Zimbabwe describe corhas largely contributed to the suffering of people particularly on ruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, classified the continent of Africa at large, as grand, petty and political, dewith effects leading to extreme pending on the amounts of money poverty, unemployment, the rising cost of food and energy which lost and the sector where it ocis linked to high levels of corrup- curs. Transparency International further explains grand corruption tion. The effects bear a massive negative impact on the lives of the as acts committed at a high level of government by distorting polordinary people as alluded to in Proverbs 29:2 which says, “When icies, enabling leaders to benefit Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

at the expense of the public good.

Petty corruption refers to everyday abuse of entrusted power by low- and mid-level public officials in their interactions with ordinary citizens, who often are trying to access basic goods or services in places like hospitals, schools, police departments and other agencies. In addition, political corruption is described as manipulation of policies, institutions and rules of procedure in the allocation of resources and financing by politicians who abuse their position to sustain their power, status and wealth.

Africa is blessed with an abundance of resources, yet its people on the continent remain poor and vulnerable to different types of economic shocks caused by corruption. Governance and policy 8

The Singapore Paradox is interesting in that it explains how issues of good governance and policies impact positively on development in contrast to bad governance. Based on this approach, Briguglio (2004) identifies four possible scenarios into which countries may be placed according to their vulnerability and resilience characteristics.

These scenarios are termed as “best case”, “worst case”, “selfmade”, and “prodigal son”.

applies to countries that have a relatively low degree of inherent economic vulnerability but whose policies are detrimental to economic resilience, thereby exposing themselves to the adverse effects of economic shocks. Like the prodigal son in the parable in Luke 15:11-32, these countries have plenty of resources which in most cases are abused for personal use. Most African countries fall in this category. Given good practices, responsibility, and stewardship of these abundant resources, Africa would have been celebrated as the most advanced continent economically.

Countries that fit the “best case” category are those that are not inherently vulnerable and which at the same time adopt resilience-building policies. Such countries are those which posses a favourable number of natural resources as well as implementCountries classified as “selfing good policies and systems made” are those with a high that promote the development of degree of inherent economic people and the nation at large. vulnerability but are economically Countries like the United States resilient through the adoption of of America best suit this category. appropriate policies that enable These countries have managed them to cope with or withstand to use their resources well while the effects of their natural vulner- at the same time continuously ability. The countries that fit best developing best policies and good in this category are such as Singa- practices. pore, South Korea and Botswana. The direct opposite of the “best These countries have made great case” category is the “worst case” strides in elevating their econocategory which refers to countries mies and the lives of their citizens that compound the adverse effects through implementation of good of inherently high vulnerability by policies and systems although adopting policies that run counter they do not possess tremendous to economic resilience. Somalia natural resources or wealth. best describes this scenario of countries faced with a myriad of The “prodigal son” category problems while at the same time Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

lacking resources to sustain their livelihoods.

Compared to Africa, Singapore is not privileged with a huge natural resource base, yet this island nation has managed to register high economic strides through the implementation of good and sound policies that restrict the survival of corruption.

Therefore, Africa should broaden its horizons, rise above this obvious evil and take a clear position against corruption so that the continent can be spared of the vice.

During a visit to Cesena, Italy in October 2017, Pope Francis blasted corruption as the “termite of politics” because it does not permit a society to grow. Good politics, according to the Holy Father, is “not subservient to individual ambitions or powerful factions and centres of interests.”

What is required, the Pope added, is a type of politics which is “neither a servant nor an owner, but a friend and collaborator … neither fearful nor reckless, but responsible and therefore couarageous and prudent at the same time” (https://cruxnow.com 2017/10/ every-good-politician accessed 28 March 2020). Pope Francis described every good politician as a kind of “martyr” to service because he or she must be willing to set aside their own ideas and desires to seek the common good.

Such are the people who can certainly help to combat corruption.

Without this type of martyrdom corruption will neither dwindle nor end.

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Law - An Ordinance of Reason Fr Alex Muyebe SJ The Meaning of Law in General John Austin’s law definition states “law is the aggregate set of rules set by a man as politically superior, or sovereign to men, as political subjects.”

Thus, this definition defines law as a set of rules to be followed by everyone, regardless of their stature (The Austinian Theory of Law, 1906). Hans Kelsen states that law is a ‘normative science’. In Kelsen’s law definition, the law does not seek to describe what must occur, but rather only defines certain rules to abide by (Hans Kelsen, Pure Theory of Law, 2002).

According to Aquinas, law is an ordinance of reason because it must be reasonable or based in reason and not merely in the will of the legislator. ... It is promulgated so that the law can be known. Thus, from this the definition of law may be gathered; and it is nothing else than an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated (Aquinas, St. Thomas. Treatise on Law (Summa Theologica, Questions 90–97).

The Link between Law and Reason Aquinas speaks of the law of

nature, which refers to normative properties that are inherent by virtue of human nature and universally cognizable through human reason. Historically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze both social and personal human nature to deduce binding rules of moral behavior. Aquinas believes that reason is the first thing human acts upon.

According to Aquinas, law belongs to reason. (90.1) This provides a clear link between law and reason. The end of law is the common good or the good of the community.

The law must be reasonable or based in reason and not merely in the will of the legislator.

It follows that there is a link between law and reason as we cannot find the common good without reason.

Further, Aquinas establishes four types of laws: eternal law, natural law, human law, and divine law. Eternal Law means that “God’s providence rules the world…his reason evidently governs the entire community in the universe.” (91.1) Aquinas believes that eternal law is all God’s doing. Natural Law is the participation in the eternal law by rational creatures demonstrating further the link between law and reason.

Natural law allows us to decide

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between good and evil. Next we have Human Law: the particular applications of law resulting from the use of reason. “Human law originally sprang from nature.” (91.3) The last is Divine Law, which is important because “it belongs to any law to be directed to the common good at its end.” (91.4) Theses laws all go together and the relationship must be presented to comprehend them individually.

Corruption as a Form of Irrationality Unlike law, which is based on reason, corruption is a high form of irrationality which is diametrically opposed to the rationality espoused by law.

Whereas the end of law is the common good, the end of corruption is a state pure selfishness. Corruption in Zambia seems to be on the rise and permeating all areas and corners of the governance system. Corruption has also manifested itself on a larger scale at the national level through for instance the highly publicized forty-eight houses whose owner the Anticorruption Commission has failed to trace and the forty-two fire trucks bought for the inflated figure of US$42 million. The 2019 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index, reports that Zambia’s corruption record is worsening with a rank of 34 in 2019 from 35 in 2018 and 37 in 2017 out of 100 countries (The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index that scores countries on how corrupt

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their governments are believed to be. A country’s score can range from zero to 100, with zero indicating high levels of corruption and 100 indicating low levels).

Government however continues to dismiss the reports of worsening incidences of corruption in the country and claims to be resolved in fighting it. The sad reality is that corruption is on the increase and ordinary people are the ones bearing the brunt of this endemic form of irrationality.

of authority, sometimes referred to as political corruption or at low levels of governance referred to as bureaucratic corruption. It is worth noting that political corruption could be a precursor to bureaucratic corruption. Chand and Moen (1999), in their study provide evidence that corruption at the top of the bureaucracy increases corruption at the lower levels. What is clear is that any type of corruption is antithetical to law and reason.

The term “corruption” refers to the misuse of resources or power for private gain. Transparency International defines corruption as ‘the abuse of entrusted power for private gain’. It takes various forms and occurs at different levels that include bribery, extortion, nepotism, patronage, graft and embezzlement. Corruption can take place at the highest level

Corruption Militates Against the Common Good Corruption is not only an irrationality but it is also an immorality.

Many studies suggest that corruption can affect the nature of a state’s economic development in that it raises income inequality and affect the poor disproportionately. Lower income households for instance are made to allocate

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a higher share of their income to bribes in countries where corruption is rampant than middle income households would allocate. The poor are also more often subject to corrupt practices in the course of their routine interactions with public institutions than people with money.

Corruption negatively affects both the volume and the quality of public service delivery. This occurs both directly through distortions of resource allocation and indirectly through reductions in revenue.

When a bribe is paid to a traffic police officer to avoid a traffic fine that is intended to augment government revenues, this act reduces government revenues and limits government’s capacity to provide services and development to its citizens. Furthermore, corruption has a dispro-

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ment, cut down on wastage and reduce incidences of corruption.

portionate impact on the lives of the poor as they depend more on public services. Corruption leads to worsened environmental outcomes, such as increased pollution, higher rates of deforestation, increased depletion of natural resources and trafficking in illegal or highly regulated environmental products like wildlife and wood.

Because of corruption, government environmental institutions fail to enforce regulations that protect the environment.

How to Combat Corruption In his article entitled “Corruption, Causes and Consequences” Stefan Sumah asserts that the level of efficiency of public administration determines the extent to which corruption can find fertile soil and sprout. This is because ineffective and unclear regulations inhibit the smooth running of government business and therefore encourages people to pay bribes in order to speed up the bureaucratic procedures. When government systems are simplified and rules and regulations made clear, corruption is

immediately curtailed. Reforms introduced for instance in Zambia in the issuance of passports and administration of speed limits on the roads where people are expected to pay fees to the bank and speed cameras replacing traffic officers respectively are said to have reduced bribery and corruption.

Promotion of professional ethics and the enactment of efficient laws regulating corruption as a criminal offence, successful prosecution and stiff sentencing of causes of corruption at all levels will be effective in stemming corruption.

A country therefore needs strong institutions to fight corruption.

This is why it is said that corruption is not the weakness of people but of institutions as they should be the ones to effectively obstruct the greed and temptation of individuals within them (Stefan Sumah, 2018).

Conclusion According to Aquinas, in order for law to make people good that law needs to guide people to their right virtue. Hence “virtue makes those possessing it good, the proper effect of law is consequently to make its subject good, either These kinds of reform must absolutely or in some respect.” extend to other areas of public (92.1) Aquinas believes that some service delivery if corruption human acts are good and some has to be fought. Countries with evil and in order to enhance good the most efficient public service system in the world such as Singa- acts and rationality, we need to pore, Denmark and New Zealand focus on designating suitable legal acts, namely, “commanding, are the least corrupt countries forbidding, permitting, and punaccording to the Transparency ishing.” (92.2) This underscores International Corruption Perthe need to promote professional ception Index. The creation of ethics in all sectors of life, enact SMART Zambia Division by efficient laws and systems, ingovernment aimed at coordinattroduce public service delivery ing and implementing electronic reforms such as E-Government, (E-Government) for the citizens, and put in place strong and indebusinesses and within governpendent institutions in order to ment for improved service delivery is therefore a welcome move. If promote the ordinance of reason well implemented, it will improve for the common good. the efficiency of running governMukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

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Corruption - An Albatross Around the Neck of Zimbabwe’s Economy Albert Dhafana

The United Nations agencies

lace. Transparency International Zimbabwe note in their 2019 have frameworks which provide report that corruption remains a a guide in terms of understandkey governance and development ing the discourse of the develchallenge confronting Zimbabwe. opment of nations. The United Nations Development Programme There is agreement from the majority of the sections of society (UNDP) for example measures that corruption has in the last 15 development in terms of how years progressively become an public resources are used for the endemic problem in Zimbabwe. In benefit of the generality of the 2018, Zimbabwe scored poorly on citizens of a given country. The the Corruption Perception Index effects on the national economy are disastrous in instances where (CPI) rankings at 22, confirming unsustainably high levels of there is misuse of public office, power or authority for private ben- corruption in the public sector.

The (CPI) ranks 180 countries efits through undesirable means like extortion, bribery, nepotism, and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, influence peddling, fraud, speed according to experts and business money or embezzlement. people, giving each a score from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very Morris and Klesner writing on clean). the subject of corruption focusing on Mexico explain how the ill practice deviates from serving the Shades of Corruption in Zimbabwe common good. This is the violation of formed rules governing the In order to fully appreciate how corruption has negatively affected allocation of public resources by economic development prospects, officials in response to offers of financial gain or political support it is necessary to point out the various forms in which it becomes (Camerer, 2001). The Catholic manifest. This becomes important Social Teaching identifies the deliberate structures of sin, which when the various dimensions of human well-being such as health, are created by power bearers in access to clean water, education the uneven and unfair allocation and other subjective dimensions of public resources. Through arof life such as self-reported bitrage and rent seeking tendenwell-being and happiness are cies, individuals and institutions use their influence to appropriate considered. to themselves goods and services Bribery intended for the general popuMukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

A number of writers are in agreement that this is the most common and frequently occurring corrupt practice. Bribery is a payment, in money or in kind, that facilitates a corrupt relationship. It could be a determined sum of money or quantified percentage of a contract on behalf of the state or public enterprise which distributes benefits to individuals, businessman or clients connected with the system. In South Africa, this was later termed ‘tenderpreneurship’ as a result of the activities of politically connected individuals who benefited illegally through the government tender system. In Zimbabwe, individuals with connections to politicians have formed cartels in the fuel , maize or grain distribution chains, government subsidized agricultural inputs and major government capital projects. Various parliamentary portfolio committees of the Zimbabwean government have proven the existence of these cartels, exposing the damaging effects on the economy. Zimbabwe’s office of the Auditor General has been consistent in exposing the apparent cases of bribery, often done covertly, in the public tender system.

Fraud Masri (2006) explains that fraud involves manipulation, distortion of information, facts and expertise by public officials who seek to draw private profit. The discipline of 13

law identifies three types of fraud, namely, actual, criminal and bank.

Actual fraud according to The Black’s Law Dictionary is a concealment or false misrepresentation through a statement or conduct that injures another who relies in it in acting. Criminal fraud is that which statute has illegalized and subjects the offender to criminal penalties such as fines and imprisonment.

Bank fraud refers to the criminal offence of deliberately executing or attempting to execute a scheme or artifice to defraud a financial institution by means of a false or fraudulent presence, representation or promise. A case in point in Zimbabwe is that of 1998 when the United Merchant Bank in the widely reported Boka Banking Scandal floated fake or fraudulent Cold Storage Commission bills. This caused serious problems in the payments system of the country when a number of politically exposed persons (PEPs) drew out large and unsupported loans thereby depriving innocent and unsuspecting depositors of hard earned savings.

Many banks like Century Bank, Intermarket, Trust Bank folded in subsequent years due to malpractices like insider loans all bordering on fraud. Public enterprises like the Zimbabwe National Roads Authority (ZINARA) have been in the news recently for wrong reasons as directors and management fleeced the parastatal through underhand dealings.

ity to power and influence. The Grain Marketing Board of Zimbabwe resources have been used to enrich politically connected and public officials: one example is the diverting of subsidized grain and roller meal meant for vulnerable groups to the black market and high rewarding export markets like the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Embezzlement This involves the illegal taking or conversion of money and property by those who are not entitled to them but who abuse their proxim-

Nepotism/Favouritism This is the granting of positions and or benefits to relatives and friends regardless of their abilities. Nepotism happens when

Extortion and Abuse of power According to Makumbe (2009), extortion and abuse of power account for 14% of corruption in Zimbabwe. Extortion is an act of utilizing one’s access to a position of power and knowledge, either directly or indirectly to demand unmerited cooperation or compensation as a result of coercive threats. Abuse of power is the improper use of authority by someone holding public office.

There have been reported cases in public utility enterprises like Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) and Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) where some directors and managers coerce and improperly use their authority to gain financial favours from service providers.

During the Zimbabwe Land Reform Programme, there were many reported cases of mainly white farmers who were coerced into paying large sums of money as ‘protection fees’ in order to save their farms from invasion.

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officials favour relatives or friends for positions in which they (the officials) hold some (or sole) decision making authority. Whilst there are many such cases in the private sector, their occurrence in the public sector is prominent because of the extant and prevalence.

Drivers of Corruption i)Bureaucracy In a number of countries and especially in developing countries like Zimbabwe, the role and functions of the state are executed through the use of a host of rules and regulations. For example all business processes require licences, permits and authorisations where more than one government department is involved.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) notes that regulations and authorisations provide a monopoly to officials who have authorization and inspection power.

Whilst bureaucracy is necessary in the conduct of public affairs, if left unchecked it creates space for arbitrage activities by corrupt officials who deliberately delay processes for purposes of extortion.

Reports are awash in the public media of how citizens struggle to access essential documents like birth certificates and passports.

The system is fraught with middlemen and facilitators who are connected to influential people. ii)Weak Governance Systems The lack of political will in instituting necessary reform of the public service in developing countries has resulted in institutional controls becoming a 14

hindrance to economic development. Power is centralized in one or very few people, resulting in bottlenecks and long delays in decision making. Corruption has become institutionalized in a number of public enterprises characterised by weak rules, too much discretionary powers and lack of transparency. There really is no incentive for good behavior.

It has now been tacitly accepted in Zimbabwe that ‘mbudzi inodya payakasungirigwa’(one benefits from what surrounds them).

economy Since gaining political independence in 1980, Zimbabwe has been dogged by many corruption scandals, for example Zisco Steel Blast Furnace Scandal of 1987, iii)Transparency of Rules, Laws Willowgate Scandal in 1988, and Procedures Housing Loan Scandal of 1999, Nyoni (2017) notes that rules VIP Housing scandal of 1996, define the standards on how and the yet unexplained diapeople interact with each other monds and command agriculture and it places constraints on the scandals from 2013 to 2015. behavior of individuals and that The painful effect of corruption of the group and broader collecin Zimbabwe, which the busitive. Rules in themselves do not ness sector has lamented, is the prevent the possibility of corrupt increased cost of transaction. activities and yet the absence of In a highly corrupt society, besuch rules creates the ideal concause of low levels of information ditions for corruption. In Zimtransparency, there is fertile babwe, the lack of the rule of law ground for rent seeking behavior. and administrative predictability Information asymmetry makes contributes to corruption. The the prices of goods and services ruling elite and their cronies have very high, and in all cases beyond captured state enterprises and use the reach of the majority thereby this as a power retention and con- compounding vulnerability. Zimsolidation mechanism. Politicians babwe scores lowly on the ease of at the national and local level doing business matrix because regard their positions as vehicles of red tape in public entities to economical self-sufficiency, entrusted with facilitating investthus the end justifies the means. ment into the country. Delays The ethical capital of most public and barriers in granting licences officials in Zimbabwe is very low and permits in fact results in because power is regarded as an capital flight. A 2017 Report by escape route from poverty and ZIMSTATS, a government agenother challenges associated with cy showed that 71% (10 million non-performing economies. people) of the Zimbabwean popEffects of Corruption on the ulation was classified as living in Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

poverty. The gap between the rich and the poor is widening, and it is a grave source of concern because most young people are losing out on time as they miss out on opportunities. Most of the problems the country faces are traceable to corrupt tendencies and activities mainly in the public sector. The risk of civil strife is very high under the circumstances. With weak governance institutions, the country cannot meaningfully participate in the family of nations.

With such a tag the country risks becoming a failed state.

Recommendations There seems to be renewed vigour in fighting corruption at the national level. The setting up of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and the current discourse on the development of a National Anti-Corruption Strategy in Zimbabwe are steps in the right direction. However there still lacks tangible political will to fight corruption as well as make the relevant institutions truly independent. Policy makers need to move from mere rhetoric to sincere and honest action in tackling corruption through convincing investigation and unabated prosecution.

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The Cultural Feeders of Corruption Fr Alberto Pedro Maquia SJ Introduction T he word corruption, according to Joseph Samuel Nye (1967, p.

419) is defined as “the behavior that deviates people from the formal tasks of a public office for private interests, (...) gains or status by violating laws for such interests ”. Tevfik Nas, Albert Price and Charles Weber (1986) consider corruption as any illegitimate use of public power or authority for benefit. This is a standard definition that is widely accepted today (Svensson, 2005; Méon and Weill, 2010). Corruption as the use of public goods for private interest can take a wide range of forms, such as fraud in tenders, embezzlement of funds and purchase of votes (Klitgaard, 1998). Ignorance of the common good, lack of personal responsibility, nepotism, tribalism and

greed feed corruption.

Corruption as a cultural problem Corruption is not only an institutional or eminently political problem. It is also a cultural one in which one chooses to be corrupt. Culture is the set of artistic, social, linguistic and behavioral manifestations of a people or civilization. It is observed that culture is linked to commonplace behaviour, which happens frequently and stops causing amazement. However, we should not confuse the commonplace with the acceptable, if it breaches ethical conduct.

According to Lenon (2018) small acts of corruption are common all over the world, and in many African countries, they are often “praised”. These acts are a com-

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monplace part of people’s daily lives. But we know that as rational beings people are endowed with the choice not to be corrupt. The question that arises is: What needs to be done by countries facing this cultural problem in order to have honest and credible members of the executive and the legislative who are worth electing since both the voters and those who assume to political offices share the same culture?

A given society’s culture that has loopholes for corruption directly affects the political system.

Corruption and Human Choice Corruption is rooted in life flowing from human nature or as an isolated act. J Patrick Dobel (1976) points out that the unanimous agreement among theorists

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about the source of systematic corruption lies in certain patterns of inequality and lack of social cohesion. This leads to decline of trust, loyalty and consideration among citizens within a state.

Dobel clarifies that in the strict sense most corrupt acts require an individual’s moral choice and depend on the level of human avarice and malice. However, state corruption results from the consequences of individuals interacting within systematic and permanent inequalities of wealth, power and status. Such inequalities are always unjust and corrupt. However, the mere end of inequality does not ensure the elimination of corruption since it is part of the human condition. But generally, state and individual corruption go hand in hand. That is why the solution to this problem lies both in the moral education of the people and in their participation in the political process accompanied by greater economic fairness.

Often corruption originates from financially successful individuals and their allies who operate in a porous environment. Corruption as a form of group behavior is more difficult to detect than an individual act. This is often the case in developing countries where bureaucracy reinforces the sovereignty of politicians rather than the supremacy of good administration. In fact, political corruption is largely responsible for administrative corruption, which is the use of official positions for private gain (Hope, 1987).

Corruption vs Good Administration

counter-force.

These causes result in the creAccording to Calil Simão (2011) ation of dysfunctional systems political corruption corresponds ranging from unnecessarily to “the use of public power for pri- raising the costs of government vate benefit, promotion or presexpenditure to exporting corrupt tige, or for the benefit of a group behavior to other institutions, or class, in a way that constitutes a which puts pressure on and violation of the law or of standards influences other officials. Adminof high moral conduct ”. Administrative corruption undermines istrative corruption is an illegal public service professionalism act committed by a public official and frustrates honest employees, in the exercise of civil service or affecting their performance and arising from it. This is contrary to reducing their productivity. the basic principles of public adCaiden and Caiden (1977) highministration. Simão also says that light institutional or systemic “the act of improbity qualified as deviations as the most important. administrative (act of administra- When an organization becomes tive improbity), is impregnated corrupt, or corruption becomes with dishonesty and disloyalty”. an acceptable means of transactSimão (2011). ing official business, systemic corruption dominates the orAccording to Kempe Ronald ganization’s way of operating, Hope (1987) the proliferation destroying public credibility and of corruption is due to the folorganizational effectiveness. Violowing: a) absence of a work lation of the laws becomes the rule ethic in the public service, lack of of conduct, and there is a growing commitment and responsibility, discrepancy between the written associated with disrespect for rule and the actual conduct of rules and regulations; b) poverty employees, where violators are and inequality, forcing individprotected, and non-violators are uals to tolerate or even become penalized. involved in corrupt actions; c) inefficient leadership and disciSystemic corruption blocks all pline on the part of politicians, efforts to reform and modernize due to the weak notion of what bureaucracy, leading to the loss the national interest is; d) expan- of moral authority. It expands opsion of the role of the State and portunities for organized crime, bureaucracy, with an increase in encourages violence, undermines the employee’s discretion, which political decisions, produces inefgives room to abuse of power; e) ficient use of resources, bringing cultural attitudes and patterns of advantages to the unscrupulous behavior that favour traditional while disadvantaging society. It orientations over modern ones; therefore needs to be fought. f) the existence of a weak public Therefore, the relational strucopinion, which does not act as a ture on which corruption is based Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

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is essentially asymmetric due to the unequal positions of the actors, which allows for abuses of power. Corrupt practices tend to benefit those who have sources of relationships that allow them to obtain benefits through nepotism.

Because of the secrecy surrounding such practices, contamination is widespread. Corruption expands through the perversion of the system itself.

Towards Eradicating Corruption For the possible eradication of corruption Bayle (1970) suggests that a policy be adopted to contain the grossest forms of corruption while waiting for changes in circumstances to remove the functional utility of such practices. This is an essentially passive strategy influenced by the belief that corruption will not have harmful consequences that hinder progress.

Corruption can be eradicated by exhorting and reviving solid morals. Hence the need for the acceptance of the common good as the end of the particular persons that exist in the community, as the end of everything and the end of any of its parts (Gandra, 2000). In other words, the good of the community is the good of the individuals who make it up.

The individual desires the good of the community insofar as he represents his own good. Thus, the good of others is not strange to the good itself.

Ignorance of the common good as the primary particular good is a neglect of the dignity of the

human person, since human dignity is not a particular good, but a common good inherent in all men. This means that human dignity is a proper good of each and every person that makes part of society. That is why totalitarian political forms involve the denial of the common good by undermining the dignity of the human person.

The understanding of the common good as the basic requirements for decent human life requires personal responsibility.

This implies the maturation of the individual who is capable of recognizing one’s own mistakes in order to deal with one’s immaturity so as to create opportunities for personal and professional growth.

The lack of a sense of the common good as a principle for upholding the dignity of the human person and personal responsibility in public affairs generates nepotism as well as clientelism, which comes into play.

The other sequel to corruption that is most prevalent mainly in African societies is tribalism. It involves the exclusion or marginalisation of those who do not belong to one’s tribe or ethnic group. It is the instrumentalization or manipulation of ethnic identities in order to derive certain benefits (Coulon, 1997).

Tribalism is evidently a phenomenon that seriously affects African societies. Through the tendency to over-value and give priority to one’s family, tribe, neighborhood, or village, tribalism blindly leads the continent to disaster. This attitude causes a person to devalue Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

or ignore the good effort or contribution made by someone who does not belong to one’s group of preference.

If Africa is to firmly establish itself on the path of development, the psychological work of cleaning the African mind of nepotism, tribalism and corruption must be enhanced. To this end, family and school based education needs to play an effective role in the promotion of morals against corruption. If education does not play its proper role as a driving force for social change, development will continue to be a postponed dream for Africa.

Conclusion In conclusion, we can categorically affirm that corruption is an evil that affects the whole of society. It affects the provision of public services as well as the social and economic development of many countries in the world, particularly in Africa. It erodes the dignity of citizens, deteriorates social life and compromises the lives of the present and future generations. The fight against corruption requires a cultural and behavioral revolution for all citizens, because societal change depends on the development of individuals that compose it. So working against corruption in isolation is ineffective. One of the main weapons in the battle against corruption is education.

Only with the formation of conscientious citizens committed to ethics, morals, citizenship and honesty, can we build societies free from corruption.

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The Great Adversary of Any Economy John Saviour Tuyishimire

The fundamental questions that

each and every economy seeks to solve is what, how and for whom to produce, these are recognized as being critical in any economy.

They are then answered in an environment of scarce resources which unfortunately, should be allocated to the unlimited human wants and needs. Hence, the need for households, firms and governments to work together in trying to answer these questions.

The problem of scarce resources results in economic agents making choices, which means some alternative has to be forgone while others are preferred. Economics is, therefore, a social science concerned with combating the fundamental economic problem of scarcity in the condition of unlimited human needs and wants of different society players.

The type of economic system determines how resources are allocated to satisfy the needs and wants. There are basically four types of economic systems, namely, the traditional economy, free market economy, command economy and mixed economy.

The traditional economic system is the most traditional and ancient types of economies in the world.

Each member of a traditional economy has a more specific and pronounced role, and these societies tend to be very close-knit and socially satisfied. In a command economic system, a large part of the economic system is

controlled by a centralized power.

In a free-market economy, firms and households act in self-interest to determine how resources are allocated, what goods get produced and who buys the goods.

However, no truly free market economy exists in the world. A mixed economy is a combination of different types of economic systems. Most economies of the world, including Zimbabwe’s, are mixed where the invisible hand of the market (forces of demand and supply) and the government play a role.

expected way of doing business especially in the public sector. If a civil servant still goes to work today it is not because of the salary but the opportunities to enhance his or her paltry income with corrupt acts using the organization’s resources” Tizor (2009).

The statement above makes it clear that corruption has become the order of the day in Zimbabwe and this has been worsened by the harsh economic environment that has bedevilled the economy in recent times. For an economy to function properly, the government Most economies have, in recent has to play an important role to times, been riddled with a modern make sure that the economic funeconomic problem of corruption. damental questions are answered Even the Bible referred to it as in an effective and efficient way. a great sin: “You shall not take Below, we briefly explain some a bribe, for a bribe blinds the of the roles and how failure by clear-sighted and subverts the government to play these roles has cause of the just.” (Exodus 23:8) made corruption thrive.

It has been regarded by many as an economy’s great adversary due Regulation to the damage it causes to the The regulatory role of governtotal functioning of the economy. ment involves regulation of Corruption has affected how the various businesses and economic fundamental economic questions activities by directing the busiare answered in different econnesses with sets of controls. As omies. Corruption has risen to such, failure by government to unprecedented levels in Zimbaregulate economic activity may bwe, as according to Transparen- result in some businesses and cy International (TI), Zimbabwe is individuals taking advantage of ranked 158/180 countries using the loopholes and involving themthe Corruption Perceptions Index selves in corrupt activities like 2019. bribery, money laundering, and tax evasion among others.

“With the Zimbabwean economy in the doldrums, corruption has Distribution become an accepted and almost Resources should be distributed Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

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ernment should create an effective legal framework, enforcement branches and an independent effective court system.

equally among the citizens to avoid income inequalities hence government ought to play a distributive role in an economy. This role is usually centred on political grounds, hence politicians end up abusing their power in resource allocation, favouring their supporters. Favouritism is a type of corruption. As such, an economy without distributional justice makes corruption thrive.

Despite this, arguments have been pointed out by early economists such as Bayley (1966) and Huntington (1968) that government is a standard recipe for aiding corruption hence they advocated for removal of government in any decision that is made concerning the economy. Government restrictions on economic freedom are likely to reduce competition and thus encourage corruption. This they argue, would bring about efficiency in the market as all decisions would be made by the invisible hand.

One would want to put all these fundamentals into a one umbrella term, ‘weak institutions’. Institu-

It is unfortunate that citizens have found corruption as a way to grease the wheel instead of realising that it sands the wheels of progress. This to them, increases the speed of getting a service or even a way to acquire the service, be it in queues for passports, fuel, roller meal, cooking oil or cash, etc. Government, amongst tions are defined as rules of the other things, has to reform its game when expanded, as formal public administration and finance and informal rules that govern the management through measures environment for economic, social that can help increase transparand political change (North, ency and accountability which in 1990). As such, one would meaturn will help prevent the abuse sure the quality of institutions by of discretional powers by officials looking at the level of corruption in accordance with the Princiin a country. Where there are pal-Agent Theory. This also, can poor institutions, the level of corbe done through an act of governruption is high. The government ment empowering the citizens, for therefore, has to consolidate its example, community monitoring institutions if they are to deal with initiatives, which would improve the rampant levels of corruption the quantity and quality of public in Zimbabwe. service, reduce leakage of funds hence contributing to the detecCombating corruption remains tion of corruption. a key challenge in Zimbabwe despite the introduction of the Corruption is, in fact, a multidinew Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption rectional process. On one hand, Commission members and several the provider benefits, while on campaigns made by the commisthe other the recipient is remusion. Stemming corruption must nerated too, and both would be start at the top, with high-ranking aware of the deed that remains government officials demonhidden. There is need for all strating an intense desire to end stakeholders to work together so corruption. If law enforcement that they try to overcome this, and agents cannot arrest and severely for that to happen, the benefit of punish those found engaging in a corruption free economy should corrupt activities, there will be no outweigh the benefits of a corrupt end to corruption. There is need economy so that all players choose to ensure that the corrupt are to comply. punished. To attain this, the govMukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

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Biblical Prophets’ Anti-Corruption Vocation Fr Fani Magwidi OFM

Since the beginning of creation,

basically because future events are formed by present reactions.

God is always at work in the making of history. Man, by his reaction to God now, influences the course of future events. So, the permanent value of prophecy lies in the fact that revelation is at work in history while humankind contributes too.

When we look at prophets today, as they should be looked at, God has not left humanity to they are supposed to be living itself. He maintained a cordial reexamples of the impact of God lationship with human beings. In on human life. In them we should spite of the unfortunate incident see people who have experienced of humanity’s disobedience reGod. The core of prophecy lies corded in Genesis, which marred not in the fact that a prophet is a this relationship, this did not moral leader, or a teacher – but destroy it. God evolved a master in the fact that he presents to this plan of salvation, which unfurled age the tension between God and through the years and was made a man. God is the focal point of known to humankind through the In whatever world one may find oneself, the basic inequality in existence and of experience. So prophets! human existence, the unfairness the prophet is the person in whose own life the contradictions of In the biblical narrative we notice of things, corruption, violence, human experience are incarnated. that prophets became known pri- injustice, suffering and all sorts of ailments torment people. At The prophet is indeed God’s voice marily as the mediators of God’s the present moment the world ... one who stands in God’s presrevelation to his people throughis gripped by the pandemic of ence. He can confront God on beout the ages. Unfortunately the coronavirus, which has claimed half of his people, and often does word ‘prophet’ has become such thousands of lives. Unfortunately, [cf. Amos 7, 2]. He is also God’s a generic term that embraces the it may appear as if the world does witness, not his own witness; his many and various ways humannot make sense, and man can feel task is not to announce, but to kind has endeavoured to comlost in it. Prophecy then becomes bear witness or testimony; to be! municate with the supernatural.

A prophet does not need to prove Even so, it is regrettable that some an exegesis of this human existence; an effort at interpreting anything. He makes God present, of these means are objectively man and his world from the and when you meet God the decioutright weird, even queer and Divine perspective, that is, the ex- sion becomes yours! A very good degenerative. In most cases, esistence of a God involved actively example of this is Elijah; who is pecially here in Zimbabwe, some with his people. This is why the the prototype of prophecy. He is people are inclined to think of a prophetic message often appears often designated ‘ish ha ‘elohim prophet as one who is orientated as one long tirade against sin and – man of God. This is so, because towards the future, predicting loose living. So the essence of he brings together God and man. what is to happen in the future! the prophetic vocation is that the In fact that is not the case. The prophet sees the world from God’s Biblical prophecy is also conmessage of the biblical prophet point of view. Accordingly, for ex- cerned with everyday holiness. A is essentially for the present. He ample, when they hold forth about prophet must be a persona religiospeaks to the actual situation of man’s conduct, as in the case of sa – a religious person – one who his people, and this explains the corruption - they cannot see it as is considered a model of holiness, tone of urgency throughout all scholarship and closeness to God. the prophetic literature. Without relative guilt. The prophet has to see it from God’s point of view!

Biblical prophets set the standoubt, some biblical prophets on dards for the entire community occasion made predictions, but Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

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– so should modern day prophets!

Certainly, the one thing that is critical about the prophetic vocation is that you can ignore the prophet’s preaching or message, but you cannot ignore the prophet. The prophet’s message and word, then is one of challenge and response.

His main vocation is to declare, not to achieve. Like I have already said, he does not need to predict - as we seem to see happening in our contemporary society.

essential of that religion. In our contemporary society, corruption has become a huge concern. If the culture of corruption is breeding death in the community, the prophet’s voice need to be heard – since the voice of the prophet is the voice of God!

Nevertheless, prophets must first be true disciples of their faith.

In fact, it is their deep love for their tradition that allows them to criticize this malady called The mission of the prophet is to ex- corruption. Faith and deep love hort. He announces God’s disdain for God is almost always the against injustice, corruption or any hallmark of a true prophet. And malice of any nature. In the case of if they criticise corruption, their biblical prophets, they were not, in deepest motivation is not negafact, creators of a new theology or tive but profoundly positive. The of a new religion. Instead, they were dualistic mind presumes that if products of a religion already estab- you criticize something, you don’t lished. They were people who lived love it, but the opposite should be within a given tradition or culture, said. There is a major difference but who saw straight to the one between negative criticism and Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

positive critique. The first stems from the need for power; the second flows from love.

Institutions, especially some political ones, often prefer loyalists to prophets. Some people would be seen to be uncomfortable with those who point out their shortcomings or imperfections, but human consciousness does not emerge at any depth except through struggling with our shadow and contradictions. It is in the struggle with our shadow self, with failure, or with wounding that we are transformed and break into higher levels of consciousness. People who learn to expose, name, and still thrive inside of a world filled with contradictions are what we would call prophets. They are both faithful and critical.

Prophets are people who speak 22

out when others remain silent.

They criticize their own society, their own country, or their own religious institutions. Sometimes this leads inevitably to tension and even some measure of conflict between the prophet and the establishment. In the Hebrew Scriptures we see how the prophets clashed with kings and sometimes priests too. Jesus was painfully aware of this tension or conflict in the traditions of the prophets.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you ... for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets” [Luke 6:22-23].

Jesus also saw those who killed the prophets in the past as the ancestors or predecessors of the scribes and Pharisees [Matthew 23:29-35].

The tension or conflict is between authority and experience. True prophets are not part of the authority structure of their society or their religious institution.

Unlike priests and kings, prophets are never appointed, ordained, or anointed by the religious establishment. They experience a special calling that comes directly from God, and their message comes from their experience of God: “Thus says the Lord God.”

to practice the same spirituality as Jesus would entail learning to speak truth to power as he did— and facing the consequences.

From what I have been trying to highlight, certain general conclusions on the scope and characteristics of prophets and prophecy may be drawn. A prophet is appointed by God. This person is responsible only to God, whose word he was chosen to communicate. This is his raison d’etre.

In this way, he can confidently come to any person, and point the finger to say ‘Thus say the Lord God’. And since the prophetic insight is a Spirit-inspired understanding of some aspect of the life of the community, it has of itself an importance even beyond the limits of the actual, and local, historical community, that is the first recipient of the word.

Most basic of all to the prophet is the covenant faith, his religious tradition. Again here, Elijah remains an example of how zeal for the Covenant must be the theological core of the prophetic tradition. Just as Elijah experienced an actual return to the source of the Covenant [1 Kings 19, 9ff] by encounter with God at Sinai, so the prophet is one who remains in spirit faithful to his theological We have seen how boldly and radi- sources. In this sense, the prophet cally Jesus spoke out against the is not really an innovator, but a assumptions and practices of the renewer; one who sees to the core social and religious establishment of the religious reality. of his time. He turned their world upside down. The conflict that True prophets arise not of their this created became so intense own accord but are constituted so that in the end they killed him

by God. It is God’s concern for his to keep him quiet. Any attempt people, their well-being that God Mukai -- Vukani Vukani No.74 No.76 || October April 2020 Mukai 2019 ||

raises prophets to give his message to His People. The distinguishing criterion of a true or false prophet then becomes the source and content of his message. Therefore the source of all true prophecy is God’s concern. It is this concern which initiates the prophetic movement in the Bible. God speaking to Moses, in the book of Exodus says “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt ... I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings and I have come to deliver them from the Egyptians ...

So come I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites out of Egypt ....” (3, 7 – 10) This is indeed the source of true prophecy, God’s loving concern.

Prophets must be sensitive to what God wants now, in their own situation in world history and can be interrogated by men. It is a fact that human history is dominated

by God, in that he gives man the option of meeting him in his own history and finding there the economy of salvation. This is the mission of each individual among God’s people. Biblical prophets were neither ‘progressives’ nor ‘conservatives’, ‘radicals’ nor ‘rebels’; they served neither king/president nor political group. They were witnesses to divine justice. If they were influenced at all from outside it was by the desert tradition, and Covenant tradition: of care for the widows and the poor, the homeless and the oppressed, and those of any class who were victims of social injustice and corruption!

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National Development: Kick out Corruption A Personal Concept of Development at St. Rupert Mayer Mission - Makonde (Thoughts of a dry brain in a dry season waiting for the rains)

Fr Chrispen Matsilele SJ

Human beings are meaning

making beings. Meaning making is sensible if our lives transfigure, transform and impact positively on the lives of others. St. Rupert Mayer’s development embodies this ethos, in my view. It is meant to be an experimental example for promoting a self-sustaining mission in the twenty-first century through which other missions would easily model themselves.

National development can be considered as the ability of a nation-state to positively transfigure, transform and impact the social wellbeing of its people: comprehensive medical care, quality education, meaningful infrastructure (transportation and communication networks), clean safe water, food, reliable-sustainable-effective sources of energy and necessary freedoms among others.

St. Rupert is a Catholic mission in

the Diocese of Chinhoyi entrusted to the Jesuits. It is located on the rich soil hilly-countryside of Chief Chigaro in Makonde, about 80km from Chinhoyi town and 208km from Harare. It is one of the poorest missions run by the Society of Jesus in Zimbabwe serving the poor community of Makonde.

The Jesuits I worked with at the mission namely Trust Dekwende, Caswell Machivenyika and Frank Taruona embarked on the rough road to experiment with the idea of turning St. Rupert into a centre of excellence and meaningful development. The development plan was to speak to the following key areas: quality education (boarding school), medical care (through the hospital), food (through farming), reliable sources of energy (solar, bio-digesters and biogas production), and clean water (boreholes) among other Mukai - Vukani April 2020 2020| | Mukai - VukaniNo.76 No.74 || April

possibilities.

Boarding School and Creation of a market for Agricultural produce St Rupert Mayer Mission runs a primary and secondary school.

Both are day schools. The two schools serve a community that exhibits a general negative attitude towards education so the rate of children dropping out of school and getting married are very high. Running a meaningful value addition education in Makonde is a mammoth task because of the harshness of the place. So it has always been almost impossible to retain skilled manpower in the two schools and the hospital. This made the situation worrisome.

The victims of this non-retention of skilled manpower are moreoften-than-not, the pupils and the patients from the local community that the mission serves. Given that situation, running day schools was non-sustainable. The mission initiated a 600 capacity boarding 24

school project. The project deliverable objectives are: 1.

Provide value education for the locals by mixing them with other students from far. Through this mixing, it is hoped that a cross-pollution of ideas between the local, Makonde pupils and those from outside can bring about a fusion of horizons and help enlarge the local pupils’ worldviews. In the same vein, this would also expose those from outside to the reality of the pupils from the local community.

and for the mission’s agricultural produce. Food was going to be one of the greatest needs for boarding students; hence the idea of reviving the community irrigation systems in order to supplement what the mission through its farming projects would not be able to meet. Once the local community members are enabled to make money by taking advantage of the mission as a market for agricultural produce, then they would be able to pay school fees for their children. When I first arrived at St. Rupert Mission, almost up to 75% were unable to pay schools fees. This situation made it untenable to run a meaningful mission high school.

far.” More than 20 pupils have gone through this scholarship program to date. The idea was simple: transfigure, transform and impact the most talented but economically challenged children of the local community and change the future.

Food, Water and Energy – the Heart of Development

The introduction of the mission boarding school with approximately 600 pupils called for food, water, energy and more so, waste management. Though very poor, 2.

To be the center through the mission is blessed with plenty which the pupils’ lives are transof water from Mpfuri River and 115 formed through quality educahectares of wonderful arable land. tion. Once were able to transfigSo we embarked on farming in the ure, transform and impact the Scholarship program form of crop and small animals proyoung generation, then the entire duction. The larger picture in the community, which lags behind The boarding school developed a small animals project was to jointly other communities, would never scholarship program. Because of do chicken production with friends remain the same. poverty education was not among where St. Rupert was to have a 50% the priorities of the locals. So the shareholding. The proceeds from 3.

To make the mission’s boarding school, from a humble this enterprise would help sustain high school self-sustaining and beginning, developed a scholarthe mission. This idea was to be be able to retain highly skilled ship programme targetting local based on the Monastery model in teachers and members of staff. pupils from economically chalupper Austria in which the commulenged backgrounds. As a Jesuit nity would play a very pivotal role.

4.

To foster through it the Priest, I used to get US$100 as The development would involve core of Ignatian spirituality of pocket money per month. I used a process that first empowers the MAGIS (i.e., to do more and to be it to pay school fees for the poormission, the local community then more) and experiment with value est students who happened to other missions in Chinhoyi Diocese education that the Jesuit Educabe gifted. Moved by the plight of before expanding to other diotion Office of the in Zimbabwe – the students I sought help from ceses. This way, we could create a Mozambique Province advocates Hans an Austrian friend. He self-sustaining Church by turning particularly towards marginalized became proactive and through the entire mission into a nexus of children and communities. This him 3000 Euros was raised and development. Fr. Gillie mooted this is intended to turn the frontier the Fr Richert and Br Lisson SJ idea to me when I discussed with into a world of opportunities and Scholarship was established. They him about impactful development. better service. say, “when you walk alone you He is a man ahead of his time in walk very fast but only go short terms of vision.

5.

To provide a market for the distance but when you walk with local community’s agro-business others, you walk slowly but go To deal with the serious problem of Mukai April 2020 2020 | | Mukai- -Vukani VukaniNo.76 No.74 | | April

25

energy at Makonde, we proposed to build bio-digesters and biogas facilities in order to avoid using none-renewable sources of energy like firewood and coal. Sewer waste within the entire mission was to be used for this purpose. The residual from the bio-digester would be manure for crops, trees and grounds in the mission. In this regard, the mission worked closely with a university in Germany (Technical University of Munich—TUM). Currently, there is a lot of deforestation taking place in Makonde. Our vision was to expand this idea of producing biogas to the local community so that they too could produce energy for cooking, heating and lighting.

Imagine a community completely turned away from cutting trees for energy!

ruption is personal deification: “I, Me and Myself.” This is a lack of vision beyond self. The corruption hubris begins with how we chose our leaders. When we choose leaders with no vision, we actually baptize corruption. Leaders with no vision spend most of their time destroying men and women with vision. They surround themselves with non-vision loyal subjects.

The highest form of corruption, which is a disservice to national development, can be captured in the following observation: When you kill someone’s vision, it is not him that suffers but the people that depend on him. There is much evidence of sycophants in Zimbabwe due to lack of vision beyond oneself, destroying of individual vision and nepotism.

In such an environment, national Corruption and how it kills vision development will never live to see in Zimbabwe a new day until there is political and personal metanoia to kick out For national development to occorruption. cur, indeed, corruption should be kicked out first. At the heart of cor- Conclusion

Mukai -- Vukani Vukani No.74 No.76 | April | April2020 2020 Mukai | |

In conclusion, development that is capable of transfiguring, transforming and impacting the wellbeing of the nation should always start with an individual vision, which then moves to the family, the community and the nation-state. For us, meaningful and impactful development was to start first within St. Rupert Mayer Mission, moving towards the immediate community of Chigaro and to the far outstations of the mission, then the Church in Chinhoyi Diocese before it become national. The success of missions is the success of the communities and the success of the communities is the development of the nation – state, if government takes a leaf from such endeavours.

The Church can drive this change and development that we want to see. But national development is impossible without striving to kick out corruption in its different subtle forms.

26

Corruption of the Heart

Fr Chris Chatteris SJ

In the Spiritual Exericises, St

one leads to all other vices.’

sun aboard multimillion-dollar yachts, the losers’ lives are blighted Ignatius of Loyola, the founder Well, all this rather scary imagery by sewage, eviction and disease. of the Jesuits, puts before the Certainly, St Ignatius was not retreatant some of the issues that may come from the imagination of the European Middle Ages, wrong when he argued that the must be faced if one is serious but when we look at how the pull love of money can lead to ‘all other about following the Lord. He of money and the things money vices’. When you start to read about asks the one doing the retreat to can buy continue to ensnare and the lifestyles of people who have imagine Jesus and how he gradestroy people in our own time, benefitted from corruption you ciously invites his followers to be we should perhaps take it more begin to see more of these. Often his companions and to share his seriously. After all, consumerism there is a compulsive and insatiable life. This will involve at the very is the air we breathe. need to spend, shopaholism drivleast poverty of spirit, or detachen by a desire to flash and flaunt ment from riches, and maybe also Take a recent example which is extremely expensive material goods actual poverty. unfolding as I write - that of the before the world. The shamelessThis is all very nice, but Ignatius daughter of the former Angolan ness of such people who delight in is a realist and he introduces a President. Isabel dos Santos, said sweeping through the streets in sobering note by also asking the cars worth millions past people who retreatant to imagine the opposi- to be Africa’s richest woman, is accused of having amassed a forare struggling to eat one meal a tion to all goodness to whom he tune estimated at $2.2 billion by day is truly breathtaking. One feels refers chillingly as ‘the enemy of corrupt deals involving the coun- that there must be a terrible, inner our human nature’ and whom he try’s national oil company. I would emptiness that they are desperately describes graphically thus: ‘the maintain that in a world with mil- trying to fill with more and more chief of all the enemy in the vast lions living in absolute poverty, stuff. plain about Babylon, seated on a great throne of fire and smoke, his no one is worth $2 billion, even if they have worked hard for it.

The loss of their own human digappearance inspiring horror and In this case, however, the money nity is lost on them. Surrounded terror.’ seems to have been stolen. How it by fawning hangers-on, many of was all done has been revealed by their imagined friendships are The retreatant is then told about a ‘dump’ of information dubbed based solely on their bottom line. the tactics with which this ‘enthe ‘Luanda leaks’. The fallout Should the money and the power emy of our human nature’ tries from this revelation has already that goes with it disappear, all these to ensnare us. Ignatius writes, begun; one banker who was fair-weather friends fade away fast.

‘Consider the address he makes involved in the flows of money has I wonder how Mrs Mugabe’s social to them (his servant-devils), how calendar is looking today, comhe goads them on to lay snares for apparently committed suicide.

Apart from the greed involved pared with when her husband was men and bind them with chains. here, it is the callous disregard still alive and in power.

First they are to tempt them to for one’s poor compatriots which covet riches that they may the makes the moral outrage all the We rightly reserve a special conmore easily attain the empty more understandable. As one demnation for the heartlessness and honours of this world, and then commentator put it, ‘While the blindness of the corrupt in developcome to overweening pride. The ing countries because they become first step, then, will be riches, the winners enjoy the luxuries of living in London, partying in super-rich at the expense of the second honour, the third pride.

Mediterranean resorts and winter desperately poor. The corrupt of From these three steps the evil Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

27

Playing Chess with Other People’s Life Theresa Sanyatwe

the wealthier nations may not cause the poor of their own countries as much immediate misery as the poor in the developing world but the wider damage that can be done by corruption in rich and powerful countries may ultimately be worse than that wreaked by our local criminals.

For example, President Trump is clearly in a corrupt relationship with the energy lobby in the United States of America. The coal, oil and gas corporations have backed

his presidency with their money and now he is repaying them for their support by dismantling health and safety regulations. He is also singing their tune about how climate change is a hoax or isn’t really a problem. He is even willing to go to Davos and give a speech for them which flies in the face of the best climate science.

By this corrupt behaviour he is doing nothing less than putting the planet at terrible risk because whereas humanity desperately needs the leadership of the United States to tackle the climate crisis, Donald Trump, locked into his own corrupt interests, resists all rational and moral calls to do anything at all. The things he is doing and the things he refuses to do are clearly causing great damage to the planet and he does not care.

Actually he even seems to take a malicious delight in mocking the science and the desperate calls of those concerned about this greatest of human crises. Blinded by wealth and power and with a heart completely closed towards the rest of humanity, he is a terrifying Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

picture of narcissism.

Catharsis is called for in these extreme cases, a thorough cleansing of the rot. Truth is the essential cleaning agent, as the Luanda leaks episode demonstrates. Or, to change the metaphor, clear light must be shone in the dark places where all these dirty deals are made. In that light we may begin to understand how hearts, including our own, can become, as St Ignatius warns us, prone to ‘all other vices’.

28

Chess is a fascinating mental game. It requires one to think carefully about the moves to make in defence or in the offensive in order to attain a position of advantage to win. In a game of chess there are pawns, knights, bishops, king and queen. The aim of the game is to protect one’s king while trying to capture the opponent’s king. In doing that the pawns and all other pieces are sacrificed for the safety or defence of the king. In the strategy of defending the honour of special pieces the pawns are sacrificed.

Henceforth, playing chess with other people’s life is an analogy used here to express the art of the manipulation of the other people in trying to achieve certain status in life. The poor and the vulnerable are sacrificed for the benefit of those in high ranks and status in society. This portrays lack of responsibility, accountability and transparency in all situations of life. In such circumstances human life is disrespected and injustices swizzes souls of innocent people.

For Christians, human beings are created in the Image of God; so human life is a sacred gift from God, which must be valued, respected and protected. Therefore, any form of manipulation of human persons for personal goals is morally wrong. The Second Formulation of Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative states, “Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any oth-

er, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end” (Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, 1993).

Some people violate others by adopting lifestyles that are driven by the desire for self-gratification.

In the world of literature different authors portray different types of corruption and the response to that ‘pandemic’. George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1983) portrays different types of corruption. Mr Jones of Manor Farm mistreated animals at his farm. Consequently, they rebelled against him and overtook the farm from him. The pigs became administrators and drafted rules to keep animals united and to protest against human beings who had mistreated them. The rules were as follows: 1.

Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

2.

Whatever goes upon four legs, has wings, is a friend.

3.

No animal shall wear clothes.

4.

No animal shall sleep in a bed.

5.

No animal shall drink alcohol.

6.

No animal shall kill any other animal.

7.

All animals are equal.

But the pigs nocturnally altered some of the rules to suit their intention, “NO animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets”, and when challenged by other animals they defended themselves by saying that, a bed merely means a place to sleep in and the rule was Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

against sheets, which are a human invention. We have removed the sheets from the farmhouse beds, and sleep between blankets. One of the pigs in charge was expelled from the farm. Their new leader, Napoleon, who became even more corrupt, led to the downfall of Manor Farm.

Musengezi, a Zimbabwean author, portrays another type of corruption in the play The Honourable MP (1987). The play features the protagonist Shakespeare Pfende, who is a member of parliament.

Pfende brags about having upper class friends like ministers, diplomats and directors of multi-national companies, who respect him for his status. Pfende’s snobbery and exhibitionist character is depicted when he boasts of buying a television, tape and radio from France for his girlfriend Isabella, even though these items are locally available. Pfende does not pay import duty, and intimidates customs officials who dare question his imports.

Pfende’s materialistic appetite and disregard for his duties infuriates people, yet he wants them to vote for him. A teacher reports to the villagers of the constituency that Pfende bought himself a European mansion, three brand new cars and a farm at Beatrice. When the MP finally meets the angry people a peasant bluntly tells him that he is a cheat who does not deserve to represent the people.

He is accused of hiding in the city.

A peasant woman draws Pfende’s 29

attention to a group of scrawny children dying of kwashiorkor, diarrhoea, hunger and thirst.

ic implications. The economic problem is also a moral problem.

Francis Bacon is said to have justified his corrupt practices on When Pfende responds violently the argument that everyone did by threatening to shoot the wom- it. He was the unlucky one who an with a pistol, the teacher jumps got caught. In other words, if the and kicks the pistol away with whole system is corrupt, then, is it his right foot. Taking the pistol justifiable for a particular indiand pointing it at the MP, the vidual to be caught and tried? Of teacher announces that Pfende is course, just because every thief in under citizen arrest for preaching the world cannot be caught (or has socialism during the day and prac- not been caught) does it mean that tising capitalism at night. Pfende a caught thief will not be puncollapses and faints. One of the ished? (Marbaniang, 2019). peasants who undresses the MP complains that: ‘he stinks like a The Catholic Church lists greed pile of rotten bones’. as one of the seven deadly sins.

The Latin word for greed is Armah’s The Beautyful Ones Are avaritia, from which comes the Not Yet Born (1968) portrays one English, avarice, meaning an exman’s effort to resist corruption tremely strong inordinate desire, and to stay clean. The novel’s to get or keep money or possesprotagonist encounters various sions. In our society today, there people such as a bus driver, his are people who attempt to justify fellow railway workers, a timber corruption on empirical and pragmerchant who attempts to bribe matic grounds. Some go to the him and his wife Oyo. Everywhere extent of claiming that corruption he goes he encounters moral, functions as the grease of ecophysical and spiritual corruption, nomic growth (Pierre-Gillaume for instance the bus driver who Meon & Khalid Sekkat, 2005). steals from the company. With However, contemporary empirigreat forcefulness using misshap- cal studies show that corruption en language, Armah mocks all is not seen as grease but as sand that is rotten in the world of hypo- on the wheels of growth (Johann crites; lost opportunities, and the Graf Lambsdorff, 2017). enormous economic gap caused Burmese economist U Myint by the few with all the money and proposes a corruption equation power through either bribing or that predicts corruption as a embezzling. result of economic and political opportunity minus accountability.

At the root of pandemic of corThe equation is: C=R+D-A. In ruption is the desire for personal, this equation C stands for Corfamily, ethnic or class advantage. ruption, R for Economic Rent, D This inherent desire to preserve for Discretionary Powers, and A oneself and those of one’s kind for Accountability. Economic rent has serious moral and economis defined as the extra profit that Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

someone tries to earn due to his or her advantageous position in any situation of life. For example, if a secretary does not forward a file, it may never reach the desk of the manager or director, so, he or she seeks some extra profit over and above their salary, thus benefiting themselves because of the position they hold. A similar experience has become rife in Zimbabwe. If that secretary also possesses some discretionary powers to decide whose file to attend to and not to attend to, then the sum of his or her powers and positions add up to a high potential for corruption (U Myint, 2000). Myint also points out that, if there is no proper mechanism to hold the secretary accountable for his or her actions, then his/ her powers are almost absolute, and, power without accountability tends towards corruption. In the words of Lord Acton, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. One can imagine the havoc that corruption can let loose on a nation when such unaccountable and unmonitored powers and positions are given to administrators, managers, directors, or any office holder of high rank in Zimbabwe country today.

Thus, Myint says, “The equation states that the more opportunities for economic rent (R) exist in a country, the larger will be the corruption. Similarly, the greater the discretionary (unrestricted) powers (D) granted to administrators, the greater will be the corruption.

However, the more administrators are held accountable (A) for their actions, the less will be the cor30

ruption, and hence a minus signs in front of A” (U Myint, 2000).

In the modern scheme of understanding, corruption is defined as an interest, private or public that is out of place or is in the wrong place. In the words of Mary Douglas (2003), “Shoes are not dirty in themselves, but it is dirty to place them on the dinning-table; food is not dirty in itself, but it is dirty to leave cooking utensils in the bedroom, or food bespattered on clothing…” We see many holders of high ranks and those who possess special status in our country today confusing roles. Many people have become opportunistic.

Corruption is normalised at the expense of human dignity. Best practices of governance have been buried under the deep sea of immorality and injustices. Innocent souls are sacrificed like pawns in a game of chess to defend the status

of privileged people in our society today. They are meant to celebrate and clap hands while they are sprayed with chilli in their eyes.

They are covered with lies and cunning whilst the players of the game protect their special pieces as experienced in chess game.

In conclusion, we can draw lessons from the Bible about the possibilities of reformation and restoration. Anything that remains stagnant rots; hence the call for reformation and resto-

ration. When corruption is rife, it undermines not only individuals but also systems with the effect that education standards plummet; the judicial system convicts the innocent and let the criminals go scot-free. In such a scenario people will no longer rely on integrity but on who they know or how much they can pay. Ordinary people easily become the pawns that are sacrificed on the altar of greed in the corruption chess game.

Vision Statement

Mukai- Vukani (“Arise”) magazine for the Jesuit Province of Zimbabwe-Mozambique serves as a magazine for theological reflection for Jesuits in the said Province and their friends. It seeks to help in finding the direction of life in the light of the Word of God at any given time. In this way the magazine facilitates dialogue among Jesuits and their friends based on study, prayer and discernment.

Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

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Universal Apostolic Preferences -A Pastoral Perspective

Companies have Vision State-

ments that describe what they desire to be and achieve for a specified period of time. Accordingly, the Society of Jesus has four Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs) that can be taken as its Vision Statement for the next ten years, although the mission of the Jesuits is broader than these UAPs. The Society of Jesus is inviting all people of good will, its collaborators, and Jesuits around the globe to pay particular attention to the UAPs. They have the potential to transform and re-create our attitudes and inner lives; the way we do things and the state of our being in the world. I would like to offer a reflection on these UAPs and also suggest some ways of responding to them as individuals and institutions.

1. To show the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and Discernment.

Under the Principle and Founda-

tion in his Spiritual Exercises, St Ignatius Loyola highlights that, “Human beings are created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by means of doing this to save their souls…” (Spiritual Exercises #23). St. Ignatius realizes that human beings were/ are created by their Creator and Master, who endows them with a mission so that they may be united with Him at the end of their lives on earth. From the perception of the Principle and Foundation, God is placed at the center of the ‘being’ and ‘doings’ of humanity.

It makes perfect sense then that the first UAP focuses on showing others the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and Discernment. Just as our physical bodies require some exercises to keep fit, our souls, through Discernment inspired by the Spiritual Exercises, need to keep fit. Today more than ever, the way to God does not seem apparent, and in

Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

Fr Emmanuel Kaparasa SJ

some instances, His presence has been questioned. It would not be surprising to find people who ask Jesus like Thomas, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way? (John 14:4b). Is the way to God well-defined today for all in the midst of the mess in the world, the chaos, corruption, the 2019 experience of Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi and today the COVID-19 pandemic?

The Society of Jesus thus seeks to show the way to God amidst all these changing and challenging circumstances through the Spiritual Exercises and Discernment.

Recollections, tridua, retreats, workshops, and talks ought to be intensified for the next ten years for the formation and renewal of individuals, parishes and their subdivisions like zones and sections as well as various institutions in view of the UAPs within the Ignatian spirituality and tradition. As such Jesuits and their collaborators need to live up to the suggested notion that, “we want to accompany people as they discern complex choices in the social, economic, cultural and political spheres” (jesuits.global: Universal Apostolic Preferences).

For his part, Pope Francis, in ratifying the preferences, commented that the first preference, with its focus on God and spirituality, is primary – ‘without this prayerful outlook, the rest doesn’t work’ 32

(Phillip Endean, 5) 2. To walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice.

In our world today the gap between the poor and the rich continues to widen, and walls around our houses continue to ‘grow’. A culture of consumerism, individualism and separatism has now become the order of the day. This UAP invites us all to be the voice of the voiceless in our communities and our countries. Although Jesuits are already known for their ‘option for the poor’, for the next ten years, an invitation is being made to deepen the process of humanizing those that have been dehumanized by systems and individuals. It is a call to cherish again the Image of Him who created us all to be respected in all by all. We are reminded by this UAP of the book by Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed of 1968, which seeks to restore the humanity of both the oppressed and the oppressor.

So something has to be done, and it begins with me and you, as

in the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which Jesus is always sending every one of us ‘to go and do likewise’ the most charitable thing (Luke 10:37). It is paramount to look around and be conscious of the circumstances of others and then ask oneself how can to improve other people’s livelihood. How can I assist in the redemption of others? How can I be like Jesus in giving life to others? Who do I vote for? Am I aware that I am partly responsible for the actions of those whom I vote for?

3. To accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future.

In Christus Vivit (Christ is Alive), the Post-Synodal Exhortation on the ‘Synod on Young People, Faith and Vocational Discernment’, 3-28 Oct 2018), Pope Francis asserts that, “Christ is alive! He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world, and everything he touches becomes young, new, full of life. The very first words, then, that I would like to say to every young Christian are these: Christ is alive and he wants Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

you to be alive! He is in you, he is with you and he never abandons you. However far you may wander, he is always there, the Risen One. He calls you and he waits for you to return to him and start over again. When you feel you are growing old out of sorrow, resentment or fear, doubt or failure, he will always be there to restore your strength and your hope” (#1&2).

I think the Society of Jesus is spot on with the Pope in trying to accompany the young people to realize that if Christ is alive, then they are alive as well since He lives in them. A person robbed of one’s hope-filled future is a person robbed of one’s life. What then is our call in light of the young people? Is there anything that I can do for and with them?

In order to meet the demands of this Third UAP, Jesuits are inviting adults to join in accompanying the youths to discern good possibilities for life and to discover their inner calling amidst the turmoil of the world today. Pastors ought to establish useful relationships with the young people, and parents with their children. Can more be done? Although young people are different from the older generation, they are not a threat that has to be admonished always, but rather they are a generation that needs to be appreciated and guided with respect for their dynamism and diversities. As adults, in accompanying the young people, are we ready to learn more about the youth related challenges, problems and realities so that we can accompany them effectively? Adults should prepare them33

selves through workshops to offer appropriate accompaniment the young people in creating a hopefilled future.

4. To collaborate in the care of our Common Home.

Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, which resonates with many of us, observes that, “the earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth. In many parts of the planet, the elderly lament that once beautiful landscapes are now covered with rubbish [….] Frequently no measures are taken until after

ing and cleaning our common home for her to be habitable for those who will come after us.

Let us take responsibility, re-cycle trash, conserve energy, use environmentally friendly energy sources and other eco-friendly products. There are, on the one hand, simple practices that individuals have to be aware of such as paying attention to how much water one uses to brush teeth, take a bath (I am in no way against bathing), wash a car, switching onand-off electrical gadgets appropriately. On the other hand, how can our communities, schools, people’s health has been irreversparishes and institutions initiate ibly affected” (#21). When God some good practices in relation finished the work of the initial to our common home, such as creation, he saw all that he had separation of unwanted materials created as very good (Genesis in view of re-cycling waste? How 1:31). I wonder if God can still say as individuals and collectively can the same today. Can we confidentwe challenge the ‘throwing away ly say we have been responsible culture’? In the end let us constewards who are conscious that tinuously ask ourselves about the they have to hand over this comstate of the habitat we are going to mon home to future generations? hand over as our common home to Handing over, yes, we shall do, our children and grand children. but in what kind of a state?

Accordingly, this UAP invites us all to dialogue and find ways of re-building, conserving, protect-

Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

In a nutshell, as we reflect and attempt to implement these four Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus for the next ten years we must constantly ask: What is my contribution, and what is going to be my contribution? If these UAPs are closely analysed, one can come to the conclusion that they call us to some conversion. They are not just telling us what to do but rather they go further to invite us to a certain way of being. Our ‘being’ in the world can be different if we follow them with conscientious love of God and neighbour.

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Mukai - Vukani No.76 | April 2020 |

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