FORMER cabinet minister, diplomat, war veterans’ leader and Presidential advisor — these are the titles associated with Zanu PF’s combative spokesperson, Christopher Mutsvangwa.
They are a mark of accomplishment.
When such personalities speak, no matter how far off the mark they may be, everybody listens. No amount of sugar-coating can shift people’s positions after hearing from eloquent individuals like Mutsvangwa.
This is especially so when the matter at hand involves potential plunder of public resources. Shocked Zimbabweans listened to his disclosures last week that hefty amounts of gold may have been looted under a botched deal between the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and an Arab state over a decade ago.
He was categorical as he spilled the beans to a stunned army of journalists during a press conference at the Zanu PF headquarters in Harare, telling them that US$5 million was involved, which never landed in State bank accounts.
Gideon Gono, central bank governor between 2003 and 2014, emerged out of retirement to defend the deal, saying it was above board and Zimbabwe never lost anything. He was backed by John Mushayavanhu, the current RBZ boss, who moved to calm flaring tempers, telling a Zimbabwe Independent organised post-monetary policy interface in Bulawayo that he had seen the books and no transgression seem to have been made. “You must not listen to social media claims,” Mushayavanhu said.
In the age of transparency and accountability, a mere defence of a high profile allegation made by a very senior official cannot be enough.
It actually fuels more suspicions and tensions. We cannot fault those who remain unconvinced by explanations without evidence. This is a country where a former head of state once revealed that US$14 billion worth of diamonds had been salted away. No action was taken, not even a probe.
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In the most recent episodes of unrestricted pillage, people with closer links to the ruling elite have been netted while attempting to spirit gold into notorious foreign backstage markets.
The list goes on and on.
To erase lingering doubts about the current allegations, authorities must do the right thing. They must publish all documents concerning the deal, illustrating how it was executed. In fact, this must have been done back in 2008. We must know how our resources are being used, and who is getting what. For a long time, those in positions of power have hidden behind laws like the Official Secrets Act to do as they please.
If this is the case with the Arab debacle, it is time such laws are reformed to reflect the age that we live in today.
Please give us the evidence now.
It is the right thing to do.
