In a virtual address on corruption, the former Finance
minister accused government officials of concentrating on accumulating personal
wealth at the expense of ordinary citizens.
“Corruption in Zimbabwe is dominated by the roving bandits.
The challenge with the Zimbabwean roving bandits is that they leave nothing for
the ordinary citizen. That is why Zimbabwe is extremely poor when it is
generating billions of dollars,”he said.
“It’s only them and their children who are benefiting when
the majority are surviving on US$0,25 per day. Corruption has become the
greatest threat that our country faces. It affects every sphere of Zimbabwean
life. It has become a threat to the existence of Zimbabwe itself as a nation.”
Biti said each year, gold worth US$1,5 billion is smuggled
out of the country, mainly to South Africa and Dubai for the benefit of the
elite.
He added that Zimbabwe was losing other resources worth
US$3 billion each year to corruption, excluding losses from illicit financial
flows.
“We are now ranked by Transparency International-Zimbabwe
as the 20th most corrupt country in the world. What is shocking is that we have
overtaken countries that have been traditionally associated with extraction
such as Nigeria. At this rate in which corruption is accelerating in the
country, I have no doubt that we will overtake every country in Africa,” Biti
said.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has established the Special
Anti-Corruption Commission in his office to improve efficiency in the fight
against graft, but critics have said the institution is being used to fight his
political enemies. Newsday
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