The ManicaPost
Chenai Mutasa Post Correspondent
THE self-righteous ‘party of excellence’ — the MDC Alliance led by Mr Nelson Chamisa — has egg on its face following the recent land scandal exposés in the councils it leads.
Sadly, MDC fanatics somehow believe that there is a Zanu PF hand in all of this.
But an ancient Japanese proverb says, “A fish rots from the head.” In this case, Mr Chamisa is that head and his type of leadership is influencing how the councillors are running the local authorities.
The opposition party’s relentless search for political relevance, its officials’ corruption and national sabotage, among a host of other septic political gimmicks, clearly indicates that the MDC-A politicians are in this for money, nothing else.
It is now more than clear that Mr Chamisa joined politics then corruptly found himself in the corridors of power for all the wrong reasons, particularly for wealth and financial gains.
As cases of corruption grab the limelight, the usually vocal party has all of a sudden gone into hiding, failing to justify the land scams implicating most of its leadership.
According to a forensic audit done by the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing which was released in February, the MDC-Alliance councillors at Mutare City Council acquired commercial and residential stands for free, thereby prejudicing the local authority of potential revenue.
MDC-Alliance secretary for local governance, Mr Sessel Zvidzai, confirmed the Mutare land scam.
Mr Zvidzai, said: “The party was shocked to find out that those who had just joined council now had a fleet of vehicles and expensive houses.”
In Harare, Mayor Councillor Herbert Gomba has also been implicated in some land scandals.
According to a damming land report, out of all 45 councillors in Harare, only two councillors — Councillor Ian Makone and Councillor Tracey Chagarisa – are not implicated in the fraud case.
Ironically, at the beginning of this year, Mr Chamisa initiated the setting up of the Integrity and Accountability Panel (IAP), headed by Advocate Thabani Mpofu, to sniff out possible corruption within the MDC-A led Harare City Council. One wonders how the land scam never came to light.
Did they miss this or it was conveniently swept under the carpet?
This is just a tale of two cities — Harare and Mutare. What is happening in the other MDC-A led local authorities?
The MDC officials have run towns and cities to the ground due to corruption. Councils were running efficiently until the MDC took over at some of them. Service delivery immediately nosedived in major cities such as Bulawayo, Gweru, Chitungwiza, Norton, Mutare and Harare.
Harare’s latest water disaster, which saw the Government intervening, speaks volumes about the poor management at the local authority. Imagine, the country’s capital city had run out of water!
As the local authority bosses allocate each other stands and squander funds that are meant for service delivery, the MDC-Alliance led councils have turned into dirty ghettos. Meanwhile, they continue to blame Zanu PF for everything.
It is time for the few remaining MDC supporters to appreciate that all offenders should face the full wrath of the law.
Corruption is corruption, regardless who is involved. Politicisation of corruption should stop. As a country, there is need for systemic corruption to be dealt with without pointing fingers at each other.
In years gone by, the MDC under the late Mr Morgan Tsvangirai would set up corruption committees. Back then, the MDC was already corruption ridden. Years down the line, the party is still struggling to contain it.
In the year 2010, the MDC set up a commission to probe corruption amongst its councillors, legislators and ministers after several of them had been implicated in corruption scandals.
Among those accused included the then Energy and Power Development Minister Elton Mangoma, co-Home Affairs Minister Giles Mutsekwa and Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Murisi Zwizwai, only to mention a few.
History now seems to be repeating itself with Mr Chamisa’s brother, Mr Starman Chamisa and Mr Chalton Hwende leading the train.
It seems like the opposition party’s ‘corruption committees’ are just a gimmick to divert residents’ attention. If the party is sincere about its anti-corruption endeavours, why not work with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission?
They are clearly not serious about fighting corruption.
Otherwise how do you explain the MDC officials’ passion for legally representing suspects in corruption cases?
Lawyers within the MDC have gained notoriety for taking up corruption cases to defend those accused of it.
When Engineer Walter Mzembi was facing corruption charges, Mr Job Sikhala was his lead counsel. Professor Welshman Ncube took up former Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko’s battles with Government.
For as long as MDC-A’s politicians continue chasing money, corruption will remain etched in their way of doing business. Government, on the other hand, will continue dealing with this vice decisively.
