ZIMBABWE must move beyond rhetoric and begin impounding looted public assets if it is to demonstrate genuine commitment to fighting corruption, Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) has said, warning that promises without enforcement will not shift entrenched perceptions.
In an exclusive analysis of the country’s performance on the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the watchdog noted that although Zimbabwe made modest gains over the decade to 2020, the upward trajectory proved fragile.
Scores deteriorated sharply between 2021 and 2024, before registering only a marginal recovery in 2025.
TIZ said Zimbabwe’s future performance will hinge on the enforcement of existing laws, accountability in high-profile cases and credible asset recovery.
“Strengthened coordination between investigative, prosecutorial and oversight bodies is essential, alongside transparent communication of progress on high-profile cases and asset recovery,” TIZ said.
For investors and multilateral lenders, the CPI serves as an early warning indicator of governance risk. It influences sovereign risk premiums, access to credit and decisions on long-term capital allocation.
According to TIZ, Zimbabwe’s CPI score rose gradually from 20 in 2012 to a peak of 24 in 2020, a modest but notable improvement that reflected incremental strengthening of public sector integrity frameworks.
“The adoption of the 2013 constitution marked an important milestone by entrenching principles of accountability, transparency and institutional oversight, which positively influenced expert assessments of governance quality.”
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The 2017 political transition, which saw the military step in to remove the late long-time ruler Robert Mugabe and usher in President Emmerson Mnangagwa, also generated optimism about prospects for reform.
Authorities launched high-profile investigations and pledged a renewed commitment to tackling graft, while seeking to re-engage international partners and financial institutions.
“These initiatives increased external scrutiny of public financial management and governance practices, while early public sector reforms and digitalisation efforts, though limited in scope, signalled intent to reduce discretionary decision-making and improve service delivery,” TIZ said.
Collectively, it said, these developments contributed to a temporary improvement in Zimbabwe’s CPI score and international standing.
However, the gains proved short-lived.
Between 2021 and 2024, Zimbabwe’s score slid from 24 to 21, pushing the country back towards the bottom tier of global rankings.
In 2024, Zimbabwe ranked 158 out of 180 countries surveyed, a position that reflected heightened concerns among experts and business leaders over governance quality and corruption risks.
A slight uptick to 22 in 2025 suggests cautious movement in the right direction. But TIZ warned that the broader trajectory still points to persistent scepticism about the effectiveness of anti-corruption reforms.
“The recent decline is also attributable to a persistent gap between formal policy commitments and practical enforcement,” it said.
“While Zimbabwe has adopted a range of anti-corruption laws, strategies, and institutional frameworks, enforcement remains weak and inconsistent, leading to perceptions that reforms are largely symbolic rather than transformative.”
High-profile corruption allegations, particularly in public procurement and the extractive sector, have continued to surface without commensurate accountability outcomes, reinforcing perceptions of impunity, TIZ pointed out.
“These governance challenges have been further compounded by prolonged economic instability, which heighten incentives for rent-seeking behaviour and erode public sector integrity,” it added.
Over the past decade, Zimbabwe has consistently performed below the sub-Saharan Africa regional average, despite establishing multiple reform frameworks.
The CPI measures perceived levels of public sector corruption, drawing on expert assessments and business surveys.
It captures bribery, diversion of public funds, abuse of office and weaknesses in accountability mechanisms.
TIZ emphasised that the CPI should be viewed as a proxy indicator of governance integrity rather than a comprehensive audit of all corrupt practices within a jurisdiction. Methodologically, it aggregates multiple independent data sources, reducing bias and enabling consistent trend analysis since 2012.
As such, the index remains one of the most influential global governance barometers, shaping donor engagement, investment decisions and reform agendas.
TIZ also noted that increased public debate and media scrutiny following the launch of post-2017 reforms and the National Anti-Corruption Strategy may initially have worsened perceptions by exposing more governance failures.
Over time, however, sustained enforcement and visible accountability are required to shift expert opinion, the watchdog noted.
