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Deputy Minister Munacho Mutezo

Lloyd Gumbo Mr Speaker Sir
Recent revelations that Energy and Power Development Deputy Minister Munacho Mutezo coerced Zesa to deposit money into a Zanu-PF Manicaland Women’s League bank account vindicates long held views that some Government officials were abusing their positions to loot resources from parastatals, some of whom are on life-support.

Most, if not all parastatals, are loss-making and to imagine a Government official having the guts and insensitivity to demand that state companies like Zesa donate the little that they have in huge amounts like $40 000 to sponsor a provincial women’s league activity just goes to show how far some senior officials who are supposed to be custodians of people’s resources can go to satisfy their selfish interests.

If that isn’t criminal, then nothing is!

Hordes of Zimbabweans who commented on the story that was published by The Herald on Tuesday said the Zesa case was just a tip of an iceberg as it opened a can of worms about how some senior Government officials had a penchant for abusing parastatals for personal gain.

Mr Speaker Sir, it is common knowledge that Zesa has been struggling for a very long time.

Due to its insufficient supply capacity, the power utility has had to import some of the electricity from neighbouring countries but had power cut from those countries on several occasions for failure to settle its bill of importing that electricity.

This has resulted in erratic power supply which has affected the country’s economic sectors like agriculture and industry which further hamper socio-economic development.

Zesa is struggling to service its capital intensive archaic equipment yet someone does not care as long as their interests are served.

There is a major problem that needs to be addressed and clearly spelt out.

Some people when appointed into the executive see it as an opportunity to loot and line their pockets.

They never see it as an opportunity to serve Zimbabweans hence the problems bedevilling these parastatals where non performing boards and management are kept at these organisations for decades without anything tangible coming from them.

It is clear that some people are appointed into management and boards not because of their aptitude to serve in these organisations but their ability to willingly collude with their superiors usually those in the executive to fleece parastatals.

Like I have said in this column before, State-owned enterprises were originally established to generate resources for the Government to develop the rest of the economy.

But have they lived to their mandate?

Are their losses to do with the fleecing they are subjected to by politicians?

Isn’t it time to separate the State from the party?

Many parastatals complain about how they are coerced into making donations for party activities, with some of the proceeds going into some individuals’ pockets.

Some members of the executive have become infamous for demanding that enterprises under their domain settle their personal debts.

For instance, rumor mill has it that soon after the current Government came into office, a particular minister immediately demanded that SOEs under his control settle the debts the minister incurred during a family function. The same minister is said to have fleeced struggling SOEs during the inclusive Government era and at the fulfillment of time, these shenanigans will be exposed.

Honestly why should a parastatal buy a vehicle or house for a minister when they get those from Government?

Isn’t that tantamount to double dipping?

Ministers or their deputies who abuse their positions to fleece parastatals inevitably become stooges of management at organisations where they demand kickbacks.

For instance, if management buys a member of the executive a car or house, they know that minister will never act against them even when they commit a serious offence.

In that case, the ministers will be compromised resulting in further looting by management at the expense of the public.

Ministers will lose their authority and control as soon as they become complicit in looting public funds.

Management will deliberately breach the laws knowing the ministers’ hands are also dripping with looted funds.

Mr Speaker Sir, this cannot be allowed to continue if the country is to rid itself of expediency and start on a development path.

One begs to ask where Parliamentarians are when all these things are happening right in their face.

The new Constitution is alive to the fact that SOEs could be abused by those in authority hence Section 308 which makes approving unsanctioned expenditure a offence.

Subsection (2) says: “It is the duty of every person who is responsible for the expenditure of public funds to safeguard the funds and ensure that they are spent only on legally authorised purposes and in legally authorised amounts.”

The question then is whether the $40 000 budgeted for such donation or not?

How will the money be accounted for in the Zesa books?

One of the major mandates of MPs is to protect the Constitution.

They should justify their existence by protecting the Supreme law of the land by ensuring that public officials do not abuse their positions for self aggrandisement.

Armed with such a provision, legislators should be able to move motions to investigate ministers who abuse their positions regardless of one’s political party or factional allegiance.

Such a motion will allow MPs to vote on whether or not to investigate ministers who have complicit in corruption where Zimbabweans will be able to identify who is for or against them.

Section 308 (1) and (2) calls on officials responsible for expenditure of public funds and those in control of public property to ensure public funds are safeguarded and spent on legally authorised purposes and amounts and to safeguard the property to ensure its not lost, destroyed, damaged or misused respectively.

It is therefore important that Parliament expeditiously conform to the new Constitution which on Section 308 (4) states that: “An Act of Parliament must provide for the speedy detection of breaches of subsections (2) and (3) and the disciplining and punishment of persons responsible for any such breaches and, where appropriate, the recovery of misappropriated funds or property.”

Parliament should petition the responsible minister to make sure they immediately bring this Bill to the House because we cannot wait a minute longer while officials continue to abuse public funds.

It would be ideal for Parliament to check on all parastatals if they have not faced the same predicament that parastatals under the Ministry of Energy and Power Development claim to have been subjected to.

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