Minister Ziyambi Accuses Western Countries Of Aiding Corruption In Zimbabwe
Justice and Legal Affairs Minister, Ziyambi Ziyambi on Tuesday accused Western countries of supporting organisations that have been breeding corruption in Zimbabwe in a bid to create a negative narrative that President Emmerson Mnangagwa is corrupt.
Speaking at a late event to commemorate the African Anti-Corruption Day in Harare, Ziyambi said the sanctions imposed by Western countries on Zimbabwe taught the country to be self-reliant.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) event was held under the theme Strategies and Mechanisms for the Transparent Management of COVID-19 Funds. NewsDay Zimbabwe cites Ziyambi as saying:
In the case of Zimbabwe, the illegal sanctions and other regime change agendas against our country have taught us the need to purposely reduce dependency on contemporary projects under the tutelage of hegemonic Western countries. These entities often promise to improve the economic and governmental conditions of our countries, but they perpetuate conditions that foster an environment of scarcity under which corruption breeds.
Government is scaling up the roll-out of legal frameworks for the recovery of assets acquired through the proceeds of crime, combating money laundering, and carrying out lifestyle audits of public officials.
Officials from the European Union and the British embassy said they would respond to the issues raised by Ziyambi this Thursday.
Meanwhile, African Parliamentarians Network against Corruption Zimbabwe chapter chairperson Temba Mliswa called for transparency and accountability. He said:
It’s not a secret that corruption has taken over in terms of sanctions that have made us more disciplined to account for our resources. There is no good governance which protects the resources we have, and we are endowed with resources. The deals which are structured favour the investor and not the foreign person.
Zimbabwe has over the years been ranked among the countries with high cases of corruption.
