Transitional Justice: No Impunity For Corruption And Other Crimes Of Greed

Transparency International Zimbabwe welcomes the historic power-sharing deal reached by the three political formations under the mediation of President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa yesterday. Transparency International Zimbabwe (TI-Z) and indeed the people of Zimbabwe across the political divide now hope that the new deal will pave the way for the resolution of an economic meltdown seen in the world’s highest inflation of more than 11million percent, deepening poverty amid severe shortages of food and every basic survival commodity.

TI-Z calls upon the political leadership to swiftly implement the September 11th Agreement and set aside all forms selfish interests and ease the long suffering of the people of Zimbabwe. TI-Z calls upon the three political formations to have lasting commitment to the Agreement.

Being mindful that the September 11th Power Sharing Agreement will set in motion a period of transition in Zimbabwe, TI-Z also joins the Human Rights NGO Forum, NANGO and other progressive civil society organizations in Zimbabwe in calling for transitional justice as a critical step towards national healing and restoring democracy and good governance in Zimbabwe. TI-Z unreservedly endorses the resolutions of the Civil society conference on Transitional Justice – The options for Zimbabwe convened by the Human Rights NGO Forum on 9 -10 September 2008 in Harare.

Transitional justice includes five areas of concern- prosecutions; truth telling; reconciliation; reparations and institutional reform. TI-Z is particularly concerned with institutional reform with a view to promote transparency, accountability and integrity in national institutions of governance. Pillars of national integrity like the Judiciary, Parliament, the Auditor General’s office, the Attorney General’s office, Civil society, media and the electoral commission must be reformed to guarantee legitimacy, independence and efficient discharge of their mandate. The culture of corruption, greed and self-aggrandizement must be eradicated in public institutions if the hope of transition to a more democratic and prosperous nation is to be kept alive. Any transitional process or mechanism that does not uphold the values of transparency, accountability and integrity is bound to fail from the start.

Corruption is the antithesis of development and therefore as Zimbabwe steps into an era of transition, TI-Z calls upon all stakeholders to step up the campaign for ‘zero tolerance on corruption’. Meanwhile, TI-Z also notes with regret that there are those that have committed serious crimes of corruption plundering national resources and abusing their authority at will but have not been made to account for their actions. Such perpetrators must be held to account in the interest of justice and fairness, and there should be no impunity for such crimes.

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Transparency International Zimbabwe is the independent national chapter of Transparency International; a global movement against corruption whose headquarters is in Berlin. We exist to promote good governance by fostering a culture of accountability, transparency and integrity through research based advocacy, public education/awareness, policy advice and monitoring. We are measured through endorsement from our stakeholders.

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