Mnangagwa walks his talks, plots corruption crackdown
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is living up to his word of hitting the ground running after moving swiftly to crack down on rampant corruption. To show gravity, the move has come before he even appoints his cabinet, a key arm which will help his execute his strategy in government.
In a statement issued today the President said the government is extending a 3 months moratorium within which individuals and corporates involved in the malpractice of illegal externalisation of assets should voluntarily redirect the funds back to Zimbabwe without any charges preferred against them, failure of which will result in arrests.
He alleges that the military initiated Operation Restore Legacy which initially targeted the then President’s closed aides, has helped uncover cases where huge sums of money and other assets were illegally externalized.
In his speech at the inauguration, Mnangagwa sternly warned corrupt public officials which he vowed to put in order. He also highlighted the need to tackle the cash crisis head on through deliberation of sustainable measures.
A move to restore externalized is double edged as it both improves the liquidity situation as well as help reduce corruption in the highly corrupt country. How far deep he may go remains to be seen as the President has been part of the system which has presided over massive public sector corruption.
IN 2015 Zimbabwe lost $1.8 billion through externalisation of funds and the Panama papers of 2016 revealed a long list of over 200 Zimbabwean private citizens mainly whites and corporates involved in illegal externalisation of assets.
