PUBLIC MONEY FOR PRIVATE PALACES: PAY BACK EVERY CENT NOW

I am tired of watching ZANU PF leaders treat the country like their personal bank account. The new findings about nearly US$400 000 in public money used to upgrade the private home of the Senate President are not just “bad optics”. They are a serious scandal and they demand action right now.

This is not a debate of parties. It is about law, ethics, and basic honesty. The Auditor-General’s reports and the investigation show a clear pattern: procurement rules were broken, proper tender processes were avoided, and public funds were pushed toward private comfort. That is abuse of office. It is also a direct insult to citizens who are already suffering in a broken economy.

People cannot find jobs. Hospitals lack medicine. Schools struggle. Councils fail to collect rubbish. Prices keep rising while wages stay low. Then we are told there is money to fix up a powerful person’s private residence. What message does that send? It says ordinary people must tighten their belts, while those in power loosen theirs, and laugh about it.

Zimbabweans have seen this movie before. In South Africa, public money was used to upgrade Jacob Zuma’s private home. The matter went all the way to the highest court. The result was clear: the money had to be paid back. Accountability was enforced, not negotiated. That is how a country protects its dignity and its laws.

The same standard must apply in Zimbabwe. If public funds were used for private benefit, the beneficiary must pay back the money. No one should be protected because of rank or title. There cannot be one rule for the poor and another rule for the powerful. If the office is senior, the duty to be clean is even higher.

What makes this worse is the place where it happened. Parliament is supposed to be the nation’s watchdog. It should question ministries, expose waste, and protect taxpayers. If Parliament becomes a center of corruption, then a painful question comes up: who will guard the guardians?

That is why I demand clear steps, not speeches. We need a full and independent forensic audit of Parliament. It must cover procurement, asset upgrades, fuel allocations, and every “discretionary” expense that can be abused. We need immediate investigations by ZACC into every transaction flagged by the Auditor-General, without fear or favor. We also need equal scrutiny of all senior parliamentary office-holders, including whether similar public spending was done at the Speaker’s residence or offices. And full cooperation with the Public Accounts Committee, with no secrecy, no obstruction, and no pushing the media out.

Accountability cannot be selective. Anti-corruption cannot be a slogan used only against opponents, while comrades are protected. If we want to build a serious nation, the law must bite everyone, starting at the top.

This scandal is also happening at a dangerous time. Parliament is being presented as the engine for major constitutional changes under the so-called 2030 Agenda. A Parliament stained by corruption has no moral right to ask Zimbabweans to accept big changes, especially changes that could extend anyone’s stay in power. You cannot rewrite the social contract while stealing from the people.

Zimbabweans deserve better. Public money must serve public good, not private luxury. Those responsible must account. And where money was wrongly taken, it must be paid back now—every cent, with consequences, and with public proof that the repayment has been made.