Zimbabwe loses an estimated $2.8–$3 billion annually to corruption, with $1.8 billion lost through illicit financial flows and $1 billion through internal corruption.
This amounts to nearly half of the national budget.
Such staggering losses are reflected in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, where Zimbabwe scored a dismal 24 out of 100 in 2023, ranking 149th out of 180 countries globally.
The consequences are felt across all sectors: from healthcare and education to infrastructure and employment opportunities.
With nearly half the budget siphoned off by corruption, it is no surprise that millions of Zimbabweans cannot afford basic necessities.
This systemic failure is compounded by the government’s inability—or unwillingness—to hold perpetrators accountable.
The lack of meaningful action against high-profile corruption cases underscores the complicity of those in power.
Perhaps the most insidious consequence of this governance failure is the normalization of dependency.
Zimbabweans are being conditioned to view handouts as an acceptable way of life.
Public displays of charity by the ruling elite, often accompanied by pomp and ceremony, send a troubling message: that survival depends on the benevolence of those in power.
Even those who are not destitute are not immune to this culture of dependency.
Prominent personalities openly accept and beg for gifts, including luxury vehicles, from individuals with questionable reputations.
We now feel privileged to receive something back from those who stole from usBy Tendai Ruben Mbofana
Watching the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is torturous on many levels.
The programming is woefully poor and substandard, while the news coverage is unapologetically biased and partisan.
This once-thriving broadcaster, admired across the region, has become a disgraceful propaganda tool for the ruling ZANU-PF party.
Ironically, in its fervent attempt to prop up the government, ZBC inadvertently exposes the extent of Zimbabwe’s decline under ZANU-PF rule.
Every day, viewers are bombarded with reports of communities receiving handouts from government officials or their allies.
These donations are often presented as a fulfillment of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s mantra of “leaving no one and no place behind.”
Yet, these gestures only highlight how Zimbabwe has been reduced to a nation of beggars, reliant on aid to survive.
