THE African Parliamentarians Against Corruption (APNAC) Zimbabwe charter has called on the Executive to take recommendations of Parliament seriously, especially pertaining to senior government officials fingered in corruption.
BY VENERANDA LANGA
New APNAC chairperson James Maridadi yesterday said the MPs’ anti-corruption body would be firm even when dealing with corrupt legislators, some of whom have been fingered in illicit land deals.
“The Executive must act on government officials fingered in corruption, and the most recent case is that of Mines secretary Francis Gudyanga, who the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy recommended must be dismissed from the public service,” Maridadi said.
“Gudyanga must be recalled because the Mines committee is doing that on behalf of the people that elected MPs into Parliament.”
The Mines secretary was last week implicated in the Mines Committee report as involved in illicit financial outflows in the mining sector and as wantonly infringing corporate governance rules where he appointed himself in a one-man board at the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe and abused funds to the tune of $4 million.
Maridadi lamented lack of political will in the country to deal with corruption although cases of corruption had been made public by Parliamentary portfolio committees and the media.
“Those supposed to deal with corruption are not doing anything about it, and the Gudyanga issue is a test case, and if he stays one more day in office, it is an indictment on this government, especially the Executive.”
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The Mabvuku-Tafara MP said during his tenure as APNAC chairperson, he would ensure it becomes an organisation for the people.
He said APNAC would be very stern on corrupt MPs, giving an example of Chitungwiza South MP Christopher Chigumba, who was fingered in a report by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government as one of the country’s leading land barons.
“People went to war for land, and that is what our national heroes like Herbert Chitepo died for, and for an MP to take land and make it his own is treasonous. I do not know what he is still doing in Parliament,” Maridadi said.
He said APNAC would begin several outreach programmes about corruption and target institutions of higher learning, schools, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, the Justice ministry and the police.
