This Anti-Corruption Helpdesk brief was produced in response to a query from a U4 Partner Agency. The U4 Helpdesk is operated by Transparency International in collaboration with the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre based at the Chr. Michelsen Institute.
Query
Can you please provide an overview of corruption, including the sectors/areas of government which have the highest corruption risks, and anti-corruption in Zimbabwe?
Purpose
Preparation for an up-coming in-country workshop in Zimbabwe.
Content
1.Overview of corruption in Zimbabwe
2.Sectors most vulnerable to corruption
3.Governance structures and anti-corruption efforts in Zimbabwe
4.References
Summary
Zimbabwe was effectively a one-party state, ruled by Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF, until the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) outpolled ZANU-PF in the violence-affected elections of 2008. A fragile and acrimonious power-sharing deal reached after the polls started to resolve the country’s economic and political crisis, and brought relative calm and economic stability to Zimbabwe. The coalition succeeded in agreeing a new constitution which was approved by referendum ahead of fresh elections in July 2013 in which 90-year-old President Mugabe was re-elected to his seventh five-year term.
In spite of recent constitutional reforms, the country continues to face major governance challenges, manifested through various forms of corruption, ranging from petty, bureaucratic and political corruption to grand forms of corruption involving high level officials. Corruption is also characterised by the deeply entrenched system of political patronage, the tight grip of the ruling party over the security forces, and the history of political violence, repression and manipulation.
Authors
Marie Chêne, Transparency International, [email protected]
Reviewers
Tapiwa Uchizi Nyasulu, Transparency International, [email protected]
Date
21/04/2015
