SINCE President Emmerson Mnangagwa took power following a military coup in 2017, an insidious form of cronyism has taken root and proliferated.
Crony capitalism, murky deals and high-level corruption have worsened.
Crooks, wheeler-dealers and naked opportunists masquerading as businessmen have crowded around the feeding trough, sucking the life out of the public purse by leveraging on their political connections.
In our exclusive report in these pages, we reveal how the Mnangagwa-aligned controversial dealer Wicknell Chivayo has creamed off a murky US$40 million tender at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec).
As we exclusively reveal, some of the invoices were clearly inflated. But before we even get there, Zec must answer this simple question: Did Zec ever float an open, transparent tender for the procurement of electoral materials?
There is glaring evidence that the Mnangagwa regime has subverted public institutions to facilitate cronyism. How did we get here?
The existing anti-corruption measures are not robust enough. One gets a sense that this situation is deliberately rigged to fail, for obvious reasons.
The absence of strong mechanisms to prevent and punish corruption has created an environment where individuals — notably the politically connected — can engage in corrupt acts with impunity.
Through political patronage networks, Zanu PF bigwigs and their untouchable runners are able to ride roughshod over the law.
The expansion of crony capitalism and patronage networks enables those with close ties to Mnangagwa to benefit unfairly from government contracts and resources. The corruption is facilitated by weak institutions.
A lack of independent oversight and accountability institutions gives the perpetrators carte blanche to amass ill-gotten riches unchecked.
Parliament is impotent. The opposition is comatose. The courts are compromised.
The “owners of this country” are so brazen that they do not waste any opportunity in flaunting their luxury cars and palatial mansions.
It is a vulgar form of conspicuous consumption, in-your-face, crude and unsophisticated, as if calibrated to mock the unwashed plebeians.
When the head of state makes a conscious decision to hobnob with dodgy characters, citizens have a responsibility to question his sense of judgment. Not only that—he opens himself to immense risk.
There was a heart-stopping moment at the recently held Zimbabwe International Trade Fair when the guest of honour, Kenyan President William Ruto, was placed in the company of ex-convict Chivayo.
It was an astonishing breach of protocol, with potentially tricky repercussions.
Mnangagwa’s unpolished conduct is vindicating his critics who have always argued that he lacks the stature and temperament required for high office.
That office demands gravitas, respectability and legitimacy.
