MDC Alliance deputy chairperson Tendai Biti yesterday
claimed dismantling the infrastructure of State capture would not be an easy
task, as it involved first dealing with the ruling Zanu PF, which he said was
the source.
For the past two weeks, some businesspeople with strong
links to the Presidium, among them Sakunda Holdings boss Kudakwashe Tagwirei,
have been at the centre of controversy following revelations that they were
firmly controlling levers of power through capturing the country’s leadership.
The matter has dangerously divided the ruling party, and
leaders were seemingly edging towards acrimony, which has created fierce
factional wars in Zanu PF.
The Harare East legislator yesterday said Zanu PF, in
itself, reflected State capture through the conflation of government business.
He said the first step would be to address this conflation
and institutional reforms would follow.
“There has to be serious political reforms, serious
political institutional and constitutional reforms to make these institutions
independent,” he said.
Biti said there has to be an understanding of State capture
because it is multi-faceted other than having a few individuals reportedly
calling the shots.
“We are faced with a situation where the State and its
institutions are totally owned, privatised and monopolised by a system, by a
few people and so here you have multi-levels of State capture. The first one is
clear takeover of the State by Zanu PF,” he said.
“There is total party-State conflation. Zanu PF and the
State long ago mingled, every civil servant is made subordinate to Zanu PF and
that is why many of them end up being Zanu PF MPs. When you look at Zanu PF
itself, what is it serving?
“It is serving the interests of the military and it is the
ultimate owner and inventor of State capture, but these are just a few people
who are less than 20. They are interested in power retention and resources.”
The former Finance minister said those same characters were
involved in black market forex trade, fuel shortages and have vast gold claims
and inviting some dubious moguls to invest in the country.
“These are the same people who are in incestuous deals with
the Chinese and the Russians. You have to study and unpack,” he said.
Biti said Parliament had a limited role in breaking the
infrastructure of State capture, as it was largely controlled by Zanu PF.
“Parliament can play a role, but ultimately, the Parliament
itself is subject to whoever has a majority there and the majority is Zanu PF.
You cannot exclude it from captured institutions from that point of view,” he
said.
In Zanu PF, already, senior officials have come out guns
blazing against individuals fingered in capturing institutions of the State.
Newsday
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