The late Vice-President Joseph Msika set an honourable example that is rare in Zimbabwean politics of honesty and staying away from corruption.
NewsDay Comment
Msika’s $320 000 estate is quite modest compared to the property other politicians in Zanu PF own and this is an example his former colleagues can learn from.
So far from what we have seen, Msika left all his property to his wife and children and we have not heard of any conflicts emanating from the division of the estate and what a breath of fresh air this is.
No one is perfect and Msika received a lot of brickbats for the insults he directed to the then nascent MDC, which he should not escape criticism for. Far from smearing lipstick on a frog, we are also reminded of his calls for peace on farms, that occupations should stop and war veterans should be ejected from the land they had invaded at the height of the land reform programme in 2000.
Msika, who was acting President at that time, was overruled by President Robert Mugabe, who returned to the country to subtly encourage the invasions. There are many examples of Msika’s level-headedness and willingness to oppose the system he was part of for so many years. We are not saying politicians should be poor, a $320 000 estate is hardly a sign of poverty, but what is needed is clarity on what they own and how they acquired it.
A lifestyle audit and declaration of assets should be the centrepiece of public life and politicians should learn that you can be a senior government official without having to be filthy rich, which is often a result of nicking from the public purse.The late Vice-President Joseph Msika set an honourable example that is rare in Zimbabwean politics of honesty and staying away from corruption.
Msika’s $320 000 estate is quite modest compared to the property other politicians in Zanu PF own and this is an example his former colleagues can learn from.
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So far from what we have seen, Msika left all his property to his wife and children and we have not heard of any conflicts emanating from the division of the estate and what a breath of fresh air this is.
No one is perfect and Msika received a lot of brickbats for the insults he directed to the then nascent MDC, which he should not escape criticism for. Far from smearing lipstick on a frog, we are also reminded of his calls for peace on farms, that occupations should stop and war veterans should be ejected from the land they had invaded at the height of the land reform programme in 2000.
Msika, who was acting President at that time, was overruled by President Robert Mugabe, who returned to the country to subtly encourage the invasions. There are many examples of Msika’s level-headedness and willingness to oppose the system he was part of for so many years. We are not saying politicians should be poor, a $320 000 estate is hardly a sign of poverty, but what is needed is clarity on what they own and how they acquired it.
A lifestyle audit and declaration of assets should be the centrepiece of public life and politicians should learn that you can be a senior government official without having to be filthy rich, which is often a result of nicking from the public purse.
