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Stephen Mpofu, Perspective

The Government’s no tolerance noose which no doubt makes some corrupt maggots wish they were not born in the first place, must of necessity be widened to rope in rampant business profiteers and instability —prone political hooligans intent on worming their way into power by the back door and with both of these elements endangering peace and stability which are imperative values for our country as well as for any other state on the globe.

What the above suggests in essence is that any organisation, be it a business entity or a political organisation, that by their actions stand as hindrances to a stable economic environment or/and to national harmony should be made to face the wrath of the laws of our country and be stockaded  to protect national stability and with that unimpeded economic emancipation of our motherland.

Which suggests that big talk against wrong- doers but unaccompanied by action is viewed by offenders as weakness by the powers that be and therefore acts as an incentive for any political or economic aggravation to continue unimpeded.

That is probably why in the past talk against corruption became a mere talk show with some of those in positions of responsibility in government as well as in the private sector pilfering resources of their employer for personal good because they were convinced that Big Brother was not watching them.

In the circumstances, it will surprise no one should evidence come to light that the offenders blew large sums of money, probably amounting to millions, for safe keeping in foreign bank accounts, or had the money stashed in safes in their homes or even in some local banks in order to fatten the cats and their kittens.

But now after President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently inaugurated a new team of anti-corruption sleuths some heads have started to roll and many more might go the same way as the anti-corruption campaign intensifies.

But, of course, cases against any suspects must be proved beyond any reasonable doubt for the courts to stockade the offenders and with that isolate the potential targets from innocent publics.

Right now the ordinary Zimbabwean finds life in this country intolerable as prices of goods and services keep rocketing as though intent on reaching the moon because businesses are not swayed by mere talk or threats unaccompanied by strong-handed action by the State to end the profiteering madness.

In fact it would be seen as though  the Government, when announcing that it will increase the pay of its workers  to cushion them against price increases, is desperately trying to catch up with the price hikes stampede by businesses.

Because of no controls of any sort by the State to protect the public, some schools have unilaterally increased fees according to complaints by the education authorities who ought to approve such increases in the first place.

Jungle law — whereby businesses or other organised entities do as they please without looking over their shoulder to discover if anyone is watching them — certainly does not augur well for democracy which, commonly defined, means government of the people by the people for the people and with civilised standards enforced by a country’s laws being followed to the letter. 

As things stand right now with get-rich-quick motives driving some businesses and in the process leaving ordinary Zimbabweans poorer, the Government is seen by the impoverished in our society as being powerless to protect them and, driven by insatiable power hunger opposition political parties are wont to take advantage of the love-lost situation prevailing to organise the aggrieved against the rulers.

The above necessarily calls for the right economic fundamentals in place to act as a fillip for economic growth and with that more generation of wealth to saturate the population and trigger happiness and national unity.

The President has lately said such economic fundamentals are now in place to trigger economic growth for Zimbabwe to become a middle income economy by 2030.

Obviously,  the general public expects to see those economic fundamentals producing wealth for everybody with, for instance, work for pay projects being introduced in drought-stricken areas to cushion the general public in the wake of the widespread drought the country is experiencing.

That way there will be no need for those in opposition to the ruling party to call for protests that paralyse cities.

As a matter of fact protests that are likely to turn violent with loss of lives in some cases do not augur well as a legacy for future generations of rulers.

On the contrary, Zimbabweans must be made to realise that a culture of round table negotiations to solve whatever needs to be resolved among our people is the way to go for peace and stability to endure among us.

That is what any mature democracy is expected to embrace as its culture and legacy for future generations of rulers.

λ In last week’s article headlined “Zimbabwe’s liberators deserve better,” we inadvertently left out a section at the beginning of the second paragraph so that it read: “Adversaries and across many fronts — eluding ambushes by rebel Rhodesian troops, brushes with snakes, absorbing mosquito bites and atrocious weather conditions . . . instead of: “Corroborated accounts against adversaries and across many fronts — eluding ambushes by rebel Rhodesian troops, brushes with snakes, absorbing mosquito bites and atrocious weather conditions . . .”

The omission changed the intended meaning.