Anti-corruption policy dialogue calls for reflection on current anti-corruption agenda in Bulawayo
Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ), in partnership with the Public Policy and Research Institute in Zimbabwe (PPRIZ), on Thursday, convened a significant Anti-Corruption Policy Dialogue which brought together stakeholders from government ministries, departments and officials, the private sector and civil society. The policy dialogue created a platform for stakeholders to critically reflect and forecast on the anti-corruption issues emanating in Bulawayo.
According to Transparency International’s annual corruption perceptions index, Zimbabwe scored 24 out of 100 and was ranked 149th among 180 countries in the 2023 index. Since 2012, Zimbabwe has been scoring between 20 and 24 out of 100, continuously causing worry of the country’s high perceived levels of corruption within the public sector.
During the policy dialogue, PPRIZ’s policy and research manager, Dr Wayne Malinga highlighted that, in Zimbabwe, some of the drivers of corruption include greed, poverty, income disparities, inadequate civil servants’ remuneration, lack of accountability and transparency, obstruction of justice, bloated public service and an opaque regulatory environment. Further emphasis was put on how corruption has affected Bulawayo as demonstrated by the poor economic growth, increased poverty levels, high unemployment rate, poor infrastructure, poor access to education, deindustrialisation, lack of basic services and social amenities, increase in space and land barons, and lawlessness. The nature of corruption in Bulawayo was tabled to manifest itself through misuse of council assets, abuse of office and power, existence of political patronage, lack of monitoring, rent seeking activities, violation of tender regulations; the acts of which have resulted in poor service delivery and prevalence of land barons.
A general consensus swept through the room as stakeholders reflected on how corruption has become cancerous to the point that the public has become even comfortable with paying bribes for services that should ordinarily be rendered to them. More so, due to the moral degradation that has occurred due to the cyclical manner in which corruption cultivates itself and endures, is how the public has become an active participant, motivated by greed and a chase for profit; an example being the common ‘mshikashika’, most of which are not road-worthy but continue to operate inconsiderate of the safety of its passengers.
Siphatho Ncube, director of Habakkuk Trust highlighted that the discussion of corruption should not only be directed to public institutions as private institutions also contribute to the effects brought by their corrupt operations, also demonstrated by the proliferation of tender-preneurs who secure tenders for profit and don’t deliver high quality and efficient services. Ncube further expressed how corruption is thriving because Zimbabweans lost a sense of why they fought for the country.
Khethiwe Tshuma, a Ntumbane resident expressed her pain on the rampant drug and substance abuse experienced within her community, and facilitated by known drug dealers who now seem to be above the law. This was also echoed by a resident from Gwabalanda who highlighted that within the community, a well-known drug dealer by the name ‘SaSne’, is always seen roaming around, also revealing how in cases where he has been arrested, he was released with impunity.
Dr Tobias Guzura, an academic, highlighted that Bulawayo has over the years been disempowered, resulting in poor service delivery and a culture which is characterised by indifference to corrupt activities.
“Our system has literally become a captured system which become accommodative of corrupt tendencies. You cannot imagine a scenario where a judge or a magistrate can actually pronounce a sentence against someone who is actually their keeper. The issue of low remuneration is central to everything, you cannot expect a prosecutor who is earning USD $300, which is taxed and has NSSA deductions where the USD $300 ends up being less than USD $150 and you expect that that prosecutor can be able to resist a carrot that is dangled before them, so they will find means and ways of doing a shady job in court so that the magistrate will dismiss the case. The system is so accommodative of corruption that it becomes difficult to eradicate it.
When you look at local authorities, in the past it was very easy for local authorities to perform because they could remunerate their employees, and they had various streams of income generation. Look at Ingwebu, all the beerhalls which have now been changed into church halls were thriving, they were a source of income for council and they could actually maintain their wage bill. Government started off by asking for what they called a levy, a beer levy, water levy, etc. Then they came up with a strategy that took away water rights from local authorities; they introduced ZINWA. So local authorities are now surviving from hand to mouth, their employees are no longer well remunerated so they will ask for kickbacks from residents who want any service from them. Corruption is being allowed; it is being permitted. Vehicle licenses used to be under local authorities; we created ZINARA. These are income streams that were taken away from local authorities, which means it’s now difficult for local authorities to remunerate their workers which becomes breeding ground for corrupt tendencies,” he highlighted.
A representative of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Nonhlanhla Ndlovu highlighted that often times, the public tends to expect some of these legal processes to be expedited and are aggravated when they perceive some cases being operated under a ‘catch and release’ banner, highlighting that there are certain legalities that should be considered when handling a case. To note also, is the lack of expertise within arresting and law enforcement officials to handle some cases presented to them, which will need experts in relevant fields to be consulted.
“When we are prosecuting, we need legal proof. Accused persons has no duty to prove his innocence. He actually has a constitutional right to remain silent if he chooses to. I must prove my case beyond reasonable doubt and ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ is a very high standard. When we talk of grand corruption, which seems to unnerve a lot of people; these are complex issues. Corruption is not done as simple as snatching a handbag and running. There are money flows, there are links, and sometimes companies are even used to hide some of these moneys. It’s an intricate web which means we need expert investigators.”
Effie Ncube, a human rights activist highlighted that to confront some of the tabled issues and to push the anti-corruption agenda, there is need to change the purpose of the State.
“The State is no longer the centre of service but the centre of accumulation at different levels; at the national level, at provincial level and at local authority level. There is need to ensure that the people at the office are the right people that will understand that corruption is not just a legal or crime issue but it is a human rights issue to the extent that it drives poverty, it drives food insecurity and so many things. As civil society, our task is to conscientise people as they go into election that the issue of eradication of poverty should be at the centre of the electoral issues that people should have in mind, asking themselves if the politicians are committed to eradication of corruption, from the president, to the parliamentarians, etc,” he said.
Ncube further emphasized that it is critical is to deal with institutional capacities of those that are tasked with fighting corruption including the police, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and NPA, sharing how other countries have a specialized police force that is well capacitated to fight crime, and recruit into people that have the relevant skills, like lawyers, accountants, etc.
“Above all, we need to move beyond that and deal with social norms that are anchoring corruption, because we have normalised it and it is now a way of life. In fact, if you’re corrupt and successful, you are a role model for many people. Lastly, we need to deal with things that exacerbate corruption like unemployment, and other things that cause people to be desperate to get any resource they can get; however, they can get it,” he advised.
In addition, Nonhlanhla Ndlovu expressed that NPA has an open-door policy and complaints mechanism which the public can explore to seek clarity or to make the authority aware of certain law inconsistencies that will be occurring in communities, giving an example that when someone is a repeat offender but is handled as a first-time offender, there is need for communities to raise alarm to that as that will affect their sentencing.
“When we function as courts, you are our supervisors because you know certain things that I may not know. If you see certain things, let’s not keep quiet,” she invited.
During the dialogue, there are many corrupt activities that were highlighted and were raised as a cause for concern especially for the future of children, youths, women, and marginalised communities. Within the education sector, the idea of extra lessons for children as young as ECD has become a norm, and in primary and higher education systems, some teachers have allegedly taken a selective approach to teaching with a bias to those that would have paid for extra lessons; actions which will prove detrimental to the education system.
The dialogue aimed to create a platform for stakeholders to critically reflect on the current anti-corruption agenda, to strengthen and expand collaboration of anti-corruption actors, and to encourage and influence multi-stakeholder commitment to fight against corruption.
