(NEWZIMBABWE) Corruption author of Zimbabwe's ills

COMMENT - Check out: Syndromes Of Corruption, by Michael Johnston.

Corruption author of Zimbabwe's ills
by Tendai Huchu
23/06/2009 00:00:00

AS THE Prime Minister winds down his tour and sets aside his begging bowl for the moment, one of the questions that must be in people’s minds is: What now? The amounts pledged are so miniscule compared to the US$8 billion or so that is estimated for the country’s reconstruction project.

Since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, the country has received billions for dollars worth of aid from Western donor nations but the ordinary man on the street never gets to realise the benefits of this funding.

Transparency International in 2008 ranked Zimbabwe number 166 out of a possible 180 on its corruption index, drawing it in the same league as countries like Uzbekistan, Sudan and Cambodia.

Corruption sucks the wealth from the nation into individuals’ pockets. There can be no doubt that as Morgan Tsvangirai seeks to have the sanctions lifted, a number of ministers eagerly wait to access their ill-gotten wealth stashed in Swiss accounts.

The erosion of basic values of decency that has happened since independence is astounding, but it can be traced back to leadership failures at the highest level. The quiet abandonment of the leadership code and the relentless accumulation of wealth by the politicians opened the floodgates. Now, corrupt tendencies are part of the very fabric of the Zimbabwean society. It is now the norm to pay bribes and this is accepted as part and parcel of everyday living.

From customs officials, the police, driving inspectors, bankers, religious ministers, petrol station attendants -- every member of society who can con or rob their fellowman does so with impunity.

In itself, corruption is an unavoidable symptom of a system that lacks accountability. Zimbabwe has effectively dismantled any checks and balances that could be used to hold public office holders to account for their behaviour. Elections are useless as a way of removing corrupt officials since as they are more based on political parties and personalities than issues and ideas. This means there is no incentive for politicians to check their conduct as they have nothing to fear from the public.

This leaves two minor options, judicial interventions and media intervention. As is the case now in Zimbabwe, the law enforcement arms of government like the police and attorney general’s office are politicised and compromised. There is a reluctance to indict senior officials who are discovered to be corrupt. In the rare occasion that an individual is convicted, then the presidential pardon can always be invoked.

The last option on the cards is the media. The term, Fourth Estate, popularised by Thomas Carlyle in the late twentieth century, does justice to the importance of the media in a free society.

Public opinion and the possibility of being exposed can have the effect of embarrassing officials to do the right thing. There was a time when Zimbabwe had a pool of professional investigative journalists, the 1988 Willowgate Scandal is an example of how effective they were in bringing to the surface the excesses of the state. The small, vibrant free media that once was is no more. It has largely been relegated to cyberspace because of the repressive policies pursued by Robert Mugabe’s government.

Journalism is no longer a lucrative or safe career option. The effective dismantling of free media in Zimbabwe means that the risk of exposure for the corrupt is nullified.

Of all the elements that have led the country to the state it is in now, corruption has had the most devastating impact. One can only hope that the media reforms proposed by the current parliament will not only be passed, but fully implemented. A reformed media must take the lead because it will be years before the judiciary and executive can be purged of corrupt elements.

The country has no hope of improvement if the scourge of corruption is not dealt with effectively. This has to be done across the board, from the president right down to the lowest level.

As Charles Caleb Cotton once said, “Corruption is like a ball of snow, once it's set rolling, it must increase.”

In Zimbabwe’s case, that ball of snow is now an avalanche. - mrhuchu *** yahoo.com