Further shortcomings include the lack of provision for penalising persons who obstruct officers in the execution of their duties, or those who provide false information; the recruitment of Zimbabwean citizens only; and restricting officers to men or women who are over 40 years old. Senior officers in the new commission, such as the chairperson, his or her deputy, commissioners and officers also remain vulnerable to legal action under the wording of the legislation, which also fails to make provision for the protection of informants and whistleblowers.
Rampant disregard of ethics Zimbabwe witnessed an unprecedented onslaught on its national integrity systems during 2003–04. Critical shortages of basic commodities, such as fuel, basic food stuffs, foreign currency and bank notes, added significantly to the ‘culture of corruption’. The worsening economic crisis played a fundamental role, but there was no serious consultation between the government and other stakeholders to resolve the crisis. The most regrettable development is that almost everyone from every section of society was involved, voluntarily or involuntarily, actively or passively, in some form of corrupt activity. Most people had little choice but to obtain basic commodities on the illegal parallel market. The same scenario applied to the availability of foreign currency, as reflected by the large number of cases that came before the courts in 2003–04. Most businesses and banks traded foreign currency on the black market, and even state institutions did so. New types of business flourished while the rest of the economy went down. Banks declared ‘super’ profits and the profession of asset management became suddenly attractive. It was only after December 2003 that it came to light, following the announcement of the new monetary policy by the Reserve Bank, that most banks and
asset management firms were not as sound as they had conveyed to the public. Most asset management firms were revealed to be shams calculated to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.2 There is now a crucial need for the country to begin rebuilding confidence by sending a clear message that corruption will be dealt with severely. What has always been lacking is the political will. The reason for the apparent change of attitude by the government is, however, subject to conjecture. One view is that the current anticorruption drive is genuine, as demonstrated by the number of cases in the courts, but many observers believe it is merely cosmetic and intended to sway public opinion ahead of the 2005 general elections. A further dimension to the argument is that the recent revelations by the new governor of the central bank presented the government with an opportunity to blame the current economic turmoil on corruption, rather than on the failure of its own policies. Regardless of the motive, however, most Zimbabweans hope the initiative will go beyond the general elections and any possible change of political leadership. The regulation of asset management firms, banks and money transfer agencies is now the domain of the Reserve Bank, and requirements have been made much more stringent to ensure that only persons of good business repute, and entities with adequate resources and buffer funds to provide client security, are registered.3 There have been positive signs at last that there is political will to fight the endemic problem of corruption in Zimbabwe and that the government may be yielding to recommendations from civil society and the private sector on appropriate anti-corruption strategies. Demand for anti-corruption information is also on the rise across Zimbabwe as citizens become more questioning about the shortages of basic commodities, foreign currency and bank notes experienced during the last 12 months.
Idaishe Chengu and Webster Madera (TI Zimbabwe)
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