The recent arrest of Bulawayo’s Deputy Mayor, Edwin Ndlovu, and the Chairperson of the city council’s Finance and Development Committee, Councillor Mpumelelo Moyo, on bribery charges, apart from sparking public outrage, has reignited discussions on corruption in Zimbabwe.
The two officials are accused of soliciting a $20 000 bribe from Tsitsi Mapfumo, a coordinator for Labenmon Investments, in exchange for facilitating the allocation of 5.6 hectares of land for a cement mixing plant.
Remanded in custody until November 29, 2024, the duo’s arrest has been hailed by some as a positive step, but residents argue it is far from sufficient in tackling Zimbabwe’s entrenched culture of corruption.
For many residents, corruption in Zimbabwe is nothing new and needs systemic changes such as stronger institutional frameworks, transparent governance practices and severe penalties for offenders.
“It’s endemic across the country, not just in city councils but also in government institutions,” said Douglas Mandaza, a concerned citizen speaking on CITE’s X space show -This Morning on Asakhe held on Monday.
Mandaza lamented how corruption has become normalised, ingraining itself into everyday life. “Police officers get bribes from drivers, there are land deals, corruption is actually a pandemic. We are trying to get easy things but it is shady,” he said.
“We have seen demolitions in Harare, where some have probably built the houses for years and spent life savings but we continue to try to get this land fraudulently. Tomorrow, the same people are crying when the city council does investigations and comes back to demolish.”
Mandaza’s sentiments highlight the cyclical nature of corruption, where weak enforcement mechanisms and an apparent lack of political will have enabled the practice to thrive.
He also criticised the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), mandated to combat graft, as a “white elephant” for its perceived ineffectiveness in securing high-profile convictions.
Residents also linked corruption to deteriorating service delivery in Bulawayo.
“We have rains but there is poor drainage, water is clogged everywhere. With corruption, you may gain today but suffer in the long run,” Mandaza added.
Another resident calling himself James Bond, expressed dismay at the state of governance.
“We thought new councillors will do something better and put residents first but corruption is continuing. Corruption is not good for the image of the city,” he said.
“If more investigations come, more may be implicated.”
Bond also highlighted the broader governance crisis, stating, “If the rot starts at the top, the bottom will also rot.”
Rutendo, another resident, stressed the role citizens play in perpetuating or curbing corruption.
“How many of us have the guts to do what Tsitsi did in terms of unravelling this corruption that was about to happen because many at times we want to blame authorities, the government and ZACC but we also need to understand that corruption is a two way (street), ” he said.
Rutendo also pointed out the challenges in prosecuting corruption cases.
“Corruption cases are very complicated especially when they get to the court of law, usually there is little evidence because this is a smart game and at times the connotation is ZACC is not doing due diligence,” he said stressing the need for lawmakers to strengthen systems together with the judicial service.
One recurring criticism is the absence of stringent sentencing for corruption cases. Dr Delta Ndou, a governance expert, believes the current legal framework does little to deter offenders.
“When I saw the story, I was not surprised and that is alarming. Corruption is now unsurprising due to weak institutional frameworks and lack of checks and balances. City councils sometimes don’t have skilled personnel or administrative capacity or financial expertise so this creates so much inefficiency and allows room for exploitation,” she said.
“Part of the reason why corruption is so endemic is there are no strong deterrents. If someone is tried in a fair process, found guilty and sentenced to 25 years, do you think their appetite to be a corrupt councillor will be sustained? I don’t think so.”
Dr Ndou said there was stringent mandatory sentencing for livestock theft but for corruption, “people get a slap on the wrist most of the time.”
“Apart from the corrupt parties themselves, the processes are easy to corrupt, you can corrupt the police, magistrate and get away with it. We have weak institutions and weak mechanisms for deterring corruption,” she said.
Dr Ndou called for systemic reforms, including transparency measures such as e-governance portals to track council spending.
“Robust oversight mechanisms, both within councils and from civil society, are essential. We must empower organisations that focus on good governance without inviting undue government interference,” she said.
“Certain city councils have transparency portals where they allow citizens to track local government spending and obviously that fosters accountability.”
Malzaz Maruvha argued corruption has become a cultural norm, tracing its roots back to the early years of Zimbabwe’s independence.
“In 1986, Thomas Mapfumo sang about corruption, and even then, it was shocking. I remember Kumbirai Kangai having been implicated in the GMB scandal. At the time he could have given every household in Zimbabwe a million but he and those who were implicated were not prosecuted,” he claimed.
“That set the bar and tone of the symptom or the illness that we have now as a country because there is nobody who has been prosecuted.”
Maruvha emphasised the need for accountability at all levels.
“Corruption comes from the top. Leaders must be accountable and responsible for their actions. We have to unlearn some of the things we have learnt in the 44 years and we have to have watertight systems at leadership level,” he said.
Some residents remain sceptical about whether the arrest of Ndlovu and Moyo will lead to meaningful change.
Bernard Muchemwa voiced concerns about the challenges of proving corruption in court.
“Obviously people are corrupt, they need to be arrested and I hope investigations were done and prove beyond reasonable doubt that there is a case but my only fear is corruption is a very hard crime to prove because there is a lot of cover-up,” he said.
“In most cases, people are let go because they cover up their tracks. The whole corruption food chain, starting with arresting officers, to the prosecutor and magistrate, along the food chain -somewhere there could be breaks there.”
