By Wisdom Mumera
Harare, Zimbabwe – The scarcity of employment and poor investment in the country are the direct results of high levels of corruption, according to ZANU PF MP Daniel Shumba who was speaking at a Transparency International event in Harare on Wednesday.
Shumba, who was once a shareholder in Econet Wireless and founding shareholder with Royal Bank, bemoaned the acute levels of corruption in the awarding of mining contracts, a situation that has resulted in little benefit for the country.
“The subject of corruption in the awarding of mining contracts is affecting our country at alarming levels. The extraction industry is suffering from corruption through dodgy contracts and under invoicing.
“(Resultantly) Corruption is scaring away investment and reducing creation of employment. It wastes the talent of an entire generation, and restricts innovation and creativity”, he said.
Shumba said corruption has infiltrated society to the deepest levels.
He said almost every facet of life is now prone to corruption including churches, which is quite sad because it’s a cancer that is difficult to cure.
A recent report by Global Witness revealed that Zimbabwe’s Marange diamonds were corruptly siphoned by a coterie of government personnel, Chinese investors and security agents leading to a $15 billion loss reported in 2015.
According to research findings Africa loses over $50 billion through corruption per year.
The 2016 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2016 details that over two-thirds of the 176 countries and territories fall below the midpoint of the scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
The global average score is a paltry 43, indicating endemic corruption in various country’s public sector.
Zimbabwe has been ranking lowest on the corruption scale in the Southern region for the past years and was once rated the third most corrupt nation in Africa.