Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Africa

Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa Opens Amnesty Window for Return of Stolen Funds

Emmerson Mnangagwa, center, is sworn in as President at the presidential inauguration ceremony in the capital Harare, Zimbabwe Friday, Nov. 24, 2017. Mnangagwa is being sworn in as Zimbabwe's president after Robert Mugabe resigned on Tuesday, ending his 37-year rule. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, on Tuesday announced a three-month amnesty window for the return of public funds illegally stashed abroad by individuals and companies.

Upon the expiry of the amnesty at end of February next year, the government will arrest and prosecute those who have failed to comply, Mnangagwa said in a statement.

Mnangagwa was sworn-in as president on Friday and promised to tackle corruption, which had become endemic under former president Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule.

“Those affected are thus encouraged to take advantage of the three-month moratorium to return the illegally externalised funds and assets in order to avoid the pain and ignominy of being visited by the long arm of the law,” Mnangagwa said.

Zimbabwe’s new president is under pressure to deliver, especially on the economy, which is in the grip of severe foreign currency shortages that have seen banks failing to give cash to customers.

Mnangagwa told heads of government ministries on Tuesday that he was putting together a “leaner” government, which would see the merging of some departments to enhance efficiency.

Critics say Zimbabwe has a bloated civil service, which chews more than 90 percent of the national budget.

Mnangagwa, however, said only workers of retirement age would be laid off. He promised to rebuild the economy and improve the livelihoods of Zimbabweans.

“My government will have no tolerance for bureaucratic slothfulness, which is quick to brandish procedures as an excuse for stalling service delivery to citizens, investors and other stakeholders,” Mnangagwa said in a statement read to the government officials.

After recovering under a unity government between the ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition between 2009 and 2012, the southern African nation’s economy has unravelled with the unemployment rate above 90 percent.

Mnangagwa is expected to announce a cabinet this week, with all eyes on whether he breaks with the past and names a broad-based government or selects old guard figures from Mugabe’s era.

An official at parliament said Mnangagwa had asked for curriculum vitaes of ZANU-PF legislators on Tuesday as he moves to put the new cabinet in place.

Meanwhile, deputy parliament speaker Mabel Chinomona told the house that she had been informed by ZANU-PF that the party had recalled five legislators from parliament, indicating the five had been dismissed as ZANU-PF lawmakers.

The members, all linked to the G40 group that supported Mugabe’s wife Grace, include former ministers Savior Kasukuwere, Jonathan Moyo and Ignatius Chombo, who is facing corruption charges in court.

__________

Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng

Copyright 2017 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Related

Africa

One of Zimbabwe’s most influential diplomats, Uebert Angel, who was charged with a gold-smuggling scheme, has reportedly been stripped off his diplomatic status, Daily...

Africa

Grace Mugabe, the widow of Zimbabwe’s longtime former ruler Robert Mugabe, has challenged a court order to exhume her husband’s remains for reburial at...

Africa

Zimbabwe’s government on Saturday imposed a national lockdown with immediate effect, following a surge in Covid-19 cases, creating a major problem for most citizens...

Africa

Zimbabwe’s leader on Thursday appealed at the United Nations for support to end Western sanctions, saying that they set back development goals. In an...

Copyright ©