INDIVIDUALS and companies that illegally externalised
significant amounts of money from the country are known and will be prosecuted
if they do not heed a three-month amnesty extended by President Emmerson
Mnangagwa this week, a senior government official has said.
Zimbabwe is currently in the grips of a serious foreign
currency crisis blamed by the authorities on a wide trade deficit as well as
the smuggling of cash to offshore havens. Last year, the central bank said as
much as US$1,8 billion has been funneled out of the country in 2015 alone.
Mnangagwa, sworn in as president last week after former
president Robert Mugabe stepped down under pressure from his party and the
military, has promised economic reforms and tough action against graft.
On Tuesday, the new president announced a three-month
amnesty under which illegally externalised funds could be brought back into the
country with no risk of prosecution for those involved.
Misheck Sibanda, the chief secretary to the President and
Cabinet, told reporters that the expiry of the moratorium would be followed by
arrests and prosecution of culprits.
“After February, legal action will be taken and arrests
will be made. The looters are known,” Sibanda said.
Sources with knowledge of the matter told The Financial
Gazette yesterday that the net could catch high-profile individuals, many with
political links and some with close ties to the new president.
Mnangagwa’s statement also hinted at the political profiles
of targeted offenders.
“Activities linked to Operation Restore Legacy have, among
other issues, helped uncover cases where huge sums of money and other assets
were illegally externalised by certain individuals and corporates,” Mnangagwa
said.
The military operation, which eventually forced Mugabe’s
resignation after a week-long stand-off that saw the army effectively taking
control of government, targeted the former president’s closest allies.
Announcing the operation on State television in a pre-dawn
statement, major general Sibusiso Moyo said the military was targeting
“criminal elements” around Mugabe.
The former president was, however, granted amnesty from
prosecution, in a deal that eventually secured his exit.
However, former finance minister Ignatius Chombo, taken
into captivity by the military in a nocturnal raid on his Harare home, has
since been arraigned in court and faces charges of corruption, fraud and
criminal abuse of office.
In June, then finance minister Patrick Chinamasa told
Parliament that government had
commissioned a probe into externalisation of
forex.
“We are in touch now with the authorities in countries
where our money is being externalised. So, sooner or later, we should have
information on who is externalising money,” Chinamasa said.
Mnangagwa, a veteran of successive Mugabe governments, has
used his first week in power to strike a different tone from his long-time
boss. Critics have long accused Mugabe of condoning graft, especially among his
top officials, during his 37 years in power.
Mindful of another criticism leveled at Mugabe, whose
governments were typically big, Mnangagwa has also promised to run a leaner,
more efficient administration.
“I am currently in the process of putting together a new
government structure, which should essentially be leaner,” Mnangagwa told
senior government officials in a meeting on Tuesday.
“This, of course, will entail the merging of some line
ministries in order to remove functional duplications as well as contain
unnecessary expenditures, so as to enhance productivity and efficient delivery
of service.”
Mnangagwa is believed to be working on a Cabinet that could
halve his predecessor’s. Mugabe’s last administration had 29 Cabinet ministers,
three ministers of state, 25 deputy ministers, 10 provincial ministers and 24
permanent secretaries. This could see the downgrading of some current
ministries to departments headed by directors-general, while some, such as the
two education ministries, would be combined.
Similarly, the agriculture, land and environment functions
look set to be under one ministry. Other portfolios targeted for radical
changes, or outright abolition, include foreign affairs, information,
information communication technologies, transport and infrastructure
development, small to medium enterprise development, youth and indigenisation,
women’s affairs, water, cyber crime mitigation, arts, sport and culture as well
as local government.
“I want to assure you that no one will be laid off, except
those who have reached retirement age. Those whose ministerial posts will be
abolished will be re-skilled and reassigned to other areas in the public
service,” Mnangagwa said on Tuesday.
“Our people have endured economic hardships for over two
decades, and now expect this new government to turn things around, within the
shortest time possible.” Financial Gazette
0 comments:
Post a Comment