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Zimbabwe's positive move on the TI Corruption Perception Index an "apparent move" Transparency International - Zimbabwe (TI-Z)
November 19, 2009

Transparency International's popular annual Corruption Perception Index commonly known as the CPI was launched on 17 November 2009. Zimbabwe's score moved up as Zimbabwe became number 146 along with Cameroon, Ecuador, Kenya, Russia, Sierra Leone and Timor Leste with a score of 2.2 of a possible 10. This is a 0.4 improvement from 2008 where Zimbabwe had a score of 1.8 and was number 160 of 180 countries surveyed.

This is a positive sign for Zimbabwe however perceptual the index maybe as perceptions, especially those of international investors, donors, as well as international business have over the years come to refer a lot to the ranking of the survey. TI Zimbabwe, along with many other Zimbabweans is encouraged by the score. It is of course hoped that this points to improved governance especially in the areas of public financial management and public service delivery. The question TI Z is posing for the government and public is whether we can attribute this improvement to the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU), shaky as its foundations may be?

The question cannot be immediately answered and requires further investigation however TI Zimbabwe's past Chairperson, Professor John Makumbe shared his immediate reaction to the scores and the slight improvement in the ranking. Professor Makumbe has called the improvement an "apparent [upward] movement" that can only marginally be attributed to the change of governance structures through the inclusion of the two MDC formations. While this has contributed to the improved levels of accountability and transparency; the improvement so far, has largely been in appearance. The improved levels of transparency for example may be as a result of closer scrutiny of government than they has been before as evidenced by Mrs Chisi's Comptroller and Auditor General's special report of the first quarter of 2009.

Professor Makumbe is however of the view that the first and foremost reason for the apparent decrease in corruption is that there is in the current environment nothing to steal. Officially the State has been bankrupt since December 2008. The dollarization of the economy also helped to kill off currency speculation that was driving hyperinflation and corruption.

Second, he proffers that the virtual collapse of industry and commerce, mainly the manufacturing sector and mining sector have meant little interface between public - private enterprises, and even between private and private. The interface between public - private is usually where most grand corruption takes place. In addition investors have shied away from Zimbabwe because of poor or seemingly politically motivated regulations. Another important point cited by the Professor is that in the last nine months, most support has come to government and the public sector through credit lines that are difficult to manipulate by corrupt individuals.

If corruption is an opportunistic crime there appears to have been less opportunities in 2009 to be corrupt because of the dollarization, State bankruptcy, lack of investors, and the improved scrutiny on government spending seem to have all frustrated opportunities for corruption.

The CPI refers to the perceptions of the degree of public sector corruption in a country as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges from 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt). In the speech launching the 2009 CPI, the TI International board Chairperson Mrs. Huguette Labelle commented that corruption blocks operations of good governance and long term economic sustainability. There is a need for independent and competent investigative and oversight bodies. Her speech highlights that poor countries, fragile and unstable states such as Zimbabwe tend to linger at the bottom of the index pointing to the huge toll in their capacity to govern. To stem corruption strong oversight from parliament, a well performing judiciary, independent and properly resourced audit and anti corruption agencies, vigorous law enforcement, transparency in public budgets, revenue and aid flows as well as space for independent and responsible media and a vibrant civil society are critical. Where these are weak, corruption spirals out of control, resulting in mercenary individuals looting state resources consequently leading to a loss of trust in all public institutions. Mrs. Labelle's appeal to the investors and donor community is that they should not shun the lowest scoring countries but rather that the index is an indication of their need for continued support in the strengthening of these institutions of governance. She also calls on the investor and donor communities to be vigilant of their own processes and accountable of their own actions to the same degree they demand of beneficiaries.

The Government and people of Zimbabwe are all stakeholders in the fight against corruption to ensure that the country is saved from the scourge that has spiralled out of control in the last 10 years. The governance of our institutions and recovery of the nation is dependent on how much we invest financially, politically and morally into ridding our country of all forms of corruption for positive development to start to take place. Adherence and implementation of international instruments such as the UN Convention against Corruption, AU Convention for the Prevention and Combating of Corruption and Related Crimes and the SADC Protocol Against Corruption need to be monitored closely by all stakeholders.

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