THE fight against corruption appears to be doomed, if the new statistics are anything to go by.
Calls have been made over the years for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to turn the screws in the fight against the vice, but the situation continues to worsen.
The 2024 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released early this week shows that Zimbabwe is sliding backwards when it comes to fighting graft.
According the 2024 CPI, Zimbabwe scored 21 out of a possible 100 points, down from 24 points in 2023, highlighting a decline in transparency and accountability.
Zimbabwe performed below the sub-Saharan average CPI of 33 and the global average of 43.
The highest Zimbabwe has scored since 2016 is 24 points.
Mnangagwa’s administration has been accused of high-level corruption since he came to power on the back of a military coup in 2017.
Citizenry has always complained that even efforts being made by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission are not making a difference.
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They say only the small fish is being caught and if big fish finds itself in the net, it’s because someone is settling political scores.
There have been reports of high-ranking government officials being involved corruption.
Some have been arrested, prosecuted and sent to prison.
Others have escaped the gaol and are walking scot-free to date.
The poor, who cannot afford to pay their way out of trouble, are imprisoned for lengthy periods.
We have ministers who were jailed for corruption.
A good example is Prisca Mupfumira, arrested for corruption involving US$95 million from the State pension fund.
When the trial was about to start, she claimed that she was suffering from a mental illness which rendered her unfit for trial.
After successfully evading trial over the US$95 million pension fund embezzlement citing insanity, Mupfumira was in 2023 certified fit to run for a Parliamentary seat by Zanu PF.
Former Cabinet minister Petronella Kagonye found herself doing time in prison for stealing 20 laptops that were meant for schools in Goromonzi South constituency.
She was sentenced to 36 months in prison before 12 months were set aside for five years on condition of good behaviour.
A further eight months were suspended on condition that she restituted US$10 000 for the laptops she stole.
In April 2021, former Energy and Power Development minister Samuel Undenge, who was jailed for an effective 36 months for abuse of office in 2018, was released on a Presidential clemency order.
Undenge was incarcerated for corruptly hand-picking a public relations company owned by former Zanu PF legislator Psychology Maziwisa and former ZBC news anchor Oscar Pambuka to render services to Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC).
The project did not go to tender and the fraud cost ZPC US$12 650.
If high-profile individuals are arrested for engaging in corrupt activities, prosecuted and found guilty, they must, indeed, see the inside of a prison.
Those in power must not use the political card to influence decisions in the courts of justice.
They must not dictate how much time a person spends in prison.
This deters would-be offenders and ensures impunity is nipped in the bud. There should be no sacred cows in the fight against corruption, if we are to see Zimbabwe’s rakings improving.
The fight should start from the top and there must be commitment as well as political will.
