New levels of corruption rock Zim
The regime has done it again and this time it’s in black and white.
When many thought the Gold Mafia expose would curtail their looting for a while, at least in the public eye, the opposite has happened.
On Friday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed into law a new legislation that will keep details of some procurement in the health sector under wraps.
“It is hereby notified that the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe has, in terms of section 3(6) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act declared the following to be of national interest and shall not be publicly disclosed; construction equipment and materials, biomedical and medical equipment, medicines and drugs, vehicle including ambulances, laboratory equipment, chemical and accessories, hospital protective equipment and repairs and maintenance services of hospital equipment and machinery.”
The move shocked many who questioned the reasons for hiding this kind of information if not for looting.
In 2021, a local media house unearthed a scandal dubbed Covid-Gate involving millions of dollars where the Health Minister awarded a tender to a company that charged US$24 (P240) for a surgical mask when the most expensive at the time was only US$4 (P40).
The Minister was later sacked but the directors of the company, who were linked to the first family, got away with the crime and the millions.
“Why does the government hate transparency? Whose interests are being protected? Why create this massive scope for looting,” demanded opposition spokesperson, Fadzayi Mahere on Twitter.
Aptly summing up the feelings of many, one Livingstone Mau wrote, “The most painful part is that they do it brazenly. These guys don’t even have half a teaspoon of shame. The floodgates to loot have been opened….”
Perhaps the most painful part, however, is that people will make a noise on social media and in their private conversations but that’s where it will end.
Some have spoken about challenging the legislation in court and time will tell if that will happen or if the noise will fizzle out and die a natural death. Then again, going to court could very well prove futile, a waste of time and money.
One Nqobizitha Mlamboa put it perfectly when he said, “This is unconstitutional, but again they are everything: they are the army, they are the police, they are judiciary.”
Meanwhile, the government says it has set up a committee to investigate why prices of 14 basic goods especially bread, flour, cooking oil and mealie meal keep going up.
They stubbornly choose to ignore the fact that prices are only going up in the local currency and not the US dollar, meaning our Zim dollar long became worthless.
Our highest denomination of ZWL$100 cannot even buy a sweet and they don’t want to acknowledge the fact our currency is as good as dead.
