The United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Pamela Tremont, has strongly criticised the country’s high levels of corruption, warning that it continues to deter foreign investment and drain national resources.
Speaking in Harare this week during the 249th American Independence Day commemoration, Tremont described corruption as “a cancer” that is eroding Zimbabwe’s economic potential and increasing the cost of doing business.
“A strong stance against corruption is also imperative, as it is corrosive to an investment climate,” Tremont said. “I strongly encourage efforts to fight this cancer in Zimbabwe’s economy that robs the Zimbabwean people of the benefit of their precious resources and raises exponentially the cost of doing business in Zimbabwe.”
Her remarks come amid growing concern from both local and international observers about the worsening state of governance and transparency in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe continues to perform poorly on global anti-corruption indices. In 2017, the country ranked 157th out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), with a score of 22 out of 100. According to the latest CPI report for 2024, Zimbabwe’s score has dropped further to 21, placing it 158th globally — its worst ranking since 2015. The country now ranks as the most corrupt in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
The high-level graft is widely believed to be entrenched within state institutions, with critics accusing President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his inner circle of perpetuating corruption. Allegations of mismanagement and looting have persisted since Mnangagwa assumed power in 2017 following a military intervention led by then-Army General Constantino Chiwenga, now the Vice President.
One of the most prominent scandals under Mnangagwa’s tenure involved the controversial Command Agriculture programme, which watchdog groups claim saw an estimated US$3 billion unaccounted for during its early implementation.
Despite repeated promises of reform, Zimbabwe’s anti-corruption efforts have yielded limited results, and the continued deterioration of governance indicators has raised alarm among international partners and investors.
Tremont’s comments underscore the international community’s growing frustration with the lack of accountability and transparency in Zimbabwe’s political and economic systems.
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