Media doing its part but wheels of justice are simply not turning

In terms of confronting high-level corruption head-on, the media is doing a far better job than the three estates of government put together. The Executive, legislature and judiciary are yet to show us their political will in tackling corruption, economic crimes and abuse of power.
And because of that, whatever stones the media are turning to expose the rot, they are ending just there — on the pages. So from the sidelines, I ask: What good is the written word when it cannot stand up and walk in court? What good is having the Anti-Corruption Commission of Zimbabwe (ACCZ) if it has neither teeth of its own, nor backing from relevant quarters? Is it just another token?
We see more arrests of the media for writing about abuse, than we see of the actual content and subjects of their writing!
If we are to be the democratic State that we claim to be, the Executive, judiciary and legislative have to flex their muscles and show us their stamina in dealing decisively with issues of national concern, of which corruption, abuse of power and economic crimes are high on the list.
On many a selected case, the course of justice is simply not taking its course. The wheels of justice are not turning at all on some sacred cows in our midst.
The latest revelation in a series of alleged abuses of power and rampant corruption is that Mines and Mining Development Minister, Obert Mpofu, allegedly asked “for a cut” in some mining deals involving Core Mining director, Lovemore Kurotwi, and former Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation chief executive, Dominic Mubaiwa, who are in the courts for a fraud case. If the reports are anything to go by, the Honourable Minister is supposed to have said in Shona the equivalent of: “Gentlemen, I have done my part, can you now pay me”, after the signing of some Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the court heard.
This is not the first time Honourable Mpofu has been fingered in some shady circumstances. His very wealth has been questioned. For a man who is heading up the ministry that has discovered new riches through the gems in Marange, the alleged coincidence of his ballooning  personal wealth has raised eyebrows, and not to leave a stone unturned, the media has brought this to the attention of the public.
At the weekend, we read of two senior ZANU-PF politburo members, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Didymus Mutasa, and his Indigenisation and Empowerment counterpart, Saviour Kasukuwere, being allegedly linked to Israeli and Russian underworld gold and diamond dealers who were recently deported after a raid on their hideout in Harare’s Glen Lorne suburb.  Will the wheels of justice turn to get to the bottom of this? Even if it is to acquit — we would like to know that no stones are being left unturned.
While the three above-mentioned ministers’ alleged abuse of national resources and misdirection of national wealth are not the only ones that have allegedly  “stolen” from the people, what makes their privileged access to and abuse of the gems a cause of highest and immediate concern is that the issue of mineral wealth in Zimbabwe has become a particularly sore spot. After more than a decade in hunger and general economic hardships, all of us mere mortals though unconnected as we are, have been waiting to see the trickle down benefits of the newly discovered wealth. But years down the road, we are still waiting for substantial improvement in the quality of life. Not even significant service delivery or infrastructure development worth writing home about has been realised for the general public to enjoy even in the very area of Marange, Mutare, and the greater Manicaland in whose backyard the gems were discovered. Some tokens, yes, but we need to see more.
The media, being the watchdog that it is, seeking accountability of people in public office, has pointed all that out. Even the State media too, in some softer instances that are not too close to the hub of the real political power, has reported on high-level corruption too. But what has the Executive, judiciary and legislature done about it?
Every once in a while, the judiciary may make some noise, but just when we wait anxiously to see the outcome, the noise fizzles out into squeaks and before we the masses know it, dead silence follows. And all is swept under the carpet. The Executive, judiciary and legislature go mum, turn the other way and it’s time to move on for all of us. Moving on to where?
Certainly not moving on to the case of Local Government Minister, Ignatius Chombo, whom we have heard, through the media, that his alleged cases are prosecutable and all it needs is for the President to allow it and off to jail he goes.
Let no one hold their breath on account of it. We are yet to see such arrests. He is but, another sacred cow remember? High in the echelons of power in the sacred party.
And yet because of the media, our public conscience is littered with numerous names of people in high offices being swirled around for this or that other abuse of power. ZESAgate, Asiagate and several other “gates” mean anything to anyone?
Yet the ACCZ is in place. For all its work, the ACCZ’s teeth are yet to be seen. But be that as it may, without political will and support from the three arms of government in the fight against the rot, the ACCZ may just be there as a token.  What with all the grandstanding around issues of public coffers and public resources!
It all points to governance.  How is the governance in this country? How is the executive governing? Separation of powers? For as long as the judiciary and legislature are not independent of the Executive, we can expect more of the same.

– Maggie Mzumara is a media, communication and development specialist, who writes in her personal capacity as a social analyst. She can be contacted on maggiemzumara@yahoo.ie. Catch her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @magsmzumara or visit www.maggiemzumara.com