Government this week woke up from the deep slumber saying it was probing individuals involved in the illegal smuggling of Zimbabwe’s gold.
The response by Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa comes after Al Jazeera has been broadcasting a documentary detailing money laundering and the illegal shipment of the yellow metal.
Issues of namedropping came into play in the documentary that has so far had only two parts released and some of the names dropped have been that of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and some close to him.
Mnangagwa has been vocal ever since he took office declaring zero tolerance to corruption and his message has received takers so far.
The stance by the government as amplified by Mutsvangwa this week in the wake of the damning documentary brings hope that the President remains true to walking the talk in the fight against graft in general and gold smuggling in particular.
The people remain hopeful that action, as said by Mutsvangwa, will be taken against known gold smugglers and this presents a golden opportunity for the government to show its intolerance to corruption.
In the episodes that have been broadcast Ambassador at Large Uebert Angel is recorded boasting he would launder over US$1bn in a diplomatic bag.
Angel’s assistant Rikki Doolan told the undercover reporters to pay a US$200,000 facilitation fee to meet President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
This has drawn the ire of citizens, shocked by the magnitude of money laundering.
Until Mutsvangwa’s statement on Tuesday, Zimbabwe’s response has been dismal with government and ruling party officials stampeding to discredit the documentary in a classic case of shooting the messenger.
This had put the Mnangagwa administration on the spotlight especially after Angel and his assistant told the undercover reporters that they had easy access to his office.
This gave the impression that the duo was doing the President’s bidding.
For a country that is burning the midnight oil under the re-engagement programme, image is key especially as Zimbabwe is luring investors under the Zimbabwe is open for business mantra.
Government’s communication has been in shambles due to lack of coordination between the Office of the President and Cabinet and the Ministry of Information.
This has seen the two offices issuing contradictory statements if the case of the submission of the delimitation report is anything to go by.
Tuesday’s statement was a re-affirmation that Zimbabwe wants to tackle graft head on with Mutsvangwa saying the government “has directed relevant organs to institute investigations into issues raised therein”.
“Any person found to have engaged in acts of corruption, fraud or any form of crime will face the full wrath of the law,” she said.
Mutsvangwa said “boastful behaviour and name-dropping by some personalities featured in the documentary, seeking personal gain and glory should never be taken as enunciation of government policy”.
The government should go beyond threats and update the nation on the outcome of a probe by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) on Angel and gold dealer Ewan MacMillan.
Last month, the FIU instructed the Insurance and Pensions Commission to get as much information as possible from the insurance industry players on Angel and MacMillan’s insured assets held or disposed of by the two directly or indirectly through companies or trusts for the period between January 1, 2020 and March 21,2023.
The Al Jazeera documentary has given Zimbabwe the platform to plug loopholes that have haunted the minerals sector. And it is never too late to do that.
