By Obert Gutu
On Tuesday, May 12, 2015, a very tragic and upsetting event took place in the National Assembly in Harare.
The thoroughly discredited and immoral Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Debt Assumption) Bill was passed by the Lower House of Parliament after the rogue and illegitimate Zanu PF regime shamelessly took advantage of its stolen and ill – gotten Parliamentary majority in the National Assembly.
The illegal passing of this obnoxious and odious piece of legislation violates every tenet of a decent Parliamentary system.
The passing of this Bill effectively means that the suffering and toiling masses of Zimbabwe are going to take over the debt in the sum of US$1,3 billion that largely arose from the loans and other goodies that were dished out to senior Zanu PF cronies and other politically well – connected individuals; particularly during the tenure of one Gideon Gono as Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
These are private debts that personally benefitted the very few people who were lucky enough to be able to access those loans and other benefits such as farm implements.
It is on public record that some very senior members of the crumbling and collapsing debt -ridden Zanu PF regime accessed millions of dollars worth of personal loans from the Reserve Bank.
These loans did not benefit the majority of the people of Zimbabwe. These were private and personal loans that went straight into the pockets of a few Zanu PF fat cats. And now the pauperised and poverty – striken people of Zimbabwe are being made to take over the personal debts of a few corrupt and lazy Zanu PF functionaries!
The long and short of it is that the Zimbabwean tax payers, who are already over – taxed, are being literally forced to pay for the loot that that was taken by the Zanu PF ruling elite.
Little wonder, therefore, that the Zimbabwean economy is comatose and continues to permanently reside in the intensive care unit. The Zanu PF regime is indeed a threat to national security.
The Zanu PF criminal and corrupt cabal has bastardised the institution of Parliament by rail – roading such an obnoxious piece of legislation in the National Assembly.
However,the MDC is not at all surprised by this rapacious and greedy behaviour on the part of the beleaguered and faction – ridden Zanu PF regime. The collapsing and illegitimate Zanu PF regime is simply behaving true to its form. A leopard never changes its spots.
Several Zanu PF Members of Parliament who personally benefitted from the Reserve Bank loans and farming implements, were shamelessly allowed to participate in the Parliamentary debate and they even voted in the subsequent event that led to the passing of this odious piece of legislation.
In a normal and functional Parliamentary system, those Members of Parliament who personally benefitted from the Reserve Bank loans and the farm implements scheme should not have been allowed to participate in the debate and in the subsequent vote.
They should simply have recused themselves. This is what is expected from decent and honourable Members of Parliament.But then, who doesn’t know that corruption and self-aggrandisement are an intrinsic part of the ZanuPF regime’s DNA?
The entire process was fundamentally flawed, illegal,unprocedural and unconstitutional. Precisely because of the afore-mentioned reasons, the MDC is going to pursue the option of taking this matter up with the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe.
What is even more disturbing is the fact that inspite of repeated demands by MDC Parliamentarians,the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Patrick Chinamasa, stubbornly, illegally and arrogantly refused to divulge the names of the various persons who benefitted from the Reserve Bank loan and farm implements schemes.
No attempt, whatsoever, was made to recover the loans from the individuals and companies who had directly benefitted from these corrupt schemes.The Zanu PF regime should,therefore, be held solely responsible for running down and ransacking the once vibrant Zimbabwean economy.
The MDC does not tolerate and/or condone corruption at whatever level.We are committed to restoring the political and economic integrity of Zimbabwe and putting the country back on a sustainable development path.
As a social democratic party, the MDC pursues values and principles that advocate for a developmental trajectory that would replace the Zanu PF regime’s deeply entrenched system of corruption, thievery, marginalisation, exclusion, patronage and cronyism.
To this end, the MDC shall always endeavour to establish and maintain social and, economic justice for all the people of Zimbabwe regardless of race, colour or creed.
Obert Gutu is the national spokesman for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Morgan Tsvangirai
