The Ideas Party Of Democracy has pledged to fight corruption if elected into power in the 2023 elections stating that all political leaders will be forced to declare their assets before assuming office.
In an exclusive interview with 263Chat, the party’s Secretary for Administration, Vimbai Munhuru said her party represents the new type of politics which is people-driven, transparent and restores dignity.
She noted that IPD is tasked with building a government from people’s ideas
“We want to fight corruption right from the top going down and not the opposite. Every leader will be made to declare their assets before they assume public offices. Corruption has gone way ahead of sanctions in our country to an extent that Sanctions now sound like a broken record.
“We want to bring back the integrity of every Zimbabwean, restore transparency, restore dignity and pride to our people and name. Bring real leadership and do away with rulership,” she said.
Corruption has been a stumbling block on ensuring the country recovers from the economic quagmire that it finds itself in.
Although President Emmerson Mnangagwa has pledged, on several occasions, to deal with the vice, the scourge has remained predominant, especially from top government officials.
The setting up of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) had instilled hope but its failure to deal with key figured implicated in corrupt activities has left millions of Zimbabweans disappointed.
Munhuru added that IPD will fill in the vacuum that has been left by other parties who have failed to challenge Zanu-PF’s stronghold to power.
“We are getting into politics to fill in the vacuum which has been created by other political parties before us. We need to restore human rights in our country, freedom of expression and freedom of association, freedom of worship in a corrupt-free environment,” she added.
The party also took a swipe at sanctions which it said are affecting the daily lives of ordinary citizens.
“As a party, we condemn the continued suffering of our people because of sanctions, it is our wish to see them removed and we pay our attention to corruption as it is an internal devil,” Munhuru added.
Zimbabwe’s economy has been stagnant for two decades due to economic sanctions imposed by western countries.
Meanwhile, IPD has also pledged to push for youth and women empowerment through availing projects that will benefit communities.
“Empowerment of the youth and women is our major goal. 75 per cent of our country’s population is the youth yet their participation in the economy is about five per cent. We will address this anomaly by making sure the youth and women are given stakes in mining, agriculture and manufacturing. Private government partnerships will be forged,” the party said.
