Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday promised zero tolerance in his government’s push to punish corruption that stifled political freedom and economic growth under Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule.
Mnangagwa, giving his first state of the nation address since he assumed power last month following a de facto coup that ousted his 93-year-old predecessor, has sought to draw a line under years of endemic corruption and impunity.
Under pressure to deliver results, especially on an economy crippled by severe currency shortages, Mnangagwa said reforms of a bloated state sector would be launched in early 2018.
With opposition parties calling for widespread political reforms before an election next year, he repeated a promise that his government would do everything in its power to ensure a credible, free and fair ballot.
“Corruption remains the major source of some of the problems we face as a country and its retarding impact on national development cannot be overemphasised,” Mnangagwa told a joint sitting of the country’s two houses of parliament.