HARARE
–
Catholic
bishops
have
warned
that
Zimbabwe
is
“doomed”
if
authorities
fail
to
arrest
rampant
corruption,
while
also
urging
the
government
to
focus
on
“bread
and
butter
issues”
instead
of
the
preoccupation
with
extending
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s
term
of
office.
Rising
poverty
across
the
country
is
“not
accidental,”
the
bishops
said
in
a
scorching
March
3
pastoral
letter,
but
a
result
of
poor
management
of
the
country’s
resources.
“We
are
all
worried
about
the
situation
in
the
country,”
the
Zimbabwe
Catholic
Bishops’
Conference
said.
“Politically,
instead
of
focusing
on
bread
and
butter
issues
we
are
caught
up
in
distractions
such
as
the
‘third
term’
conversations,
something
that
has
brought
with
it
divisions
and
unnecessary
diversions
from
the
things
that
do
matter.”
The
bishops
said
Zimbabwe’s
economy
was
“not
faring
well”
adding:
“Businesses
are
closing
and
many
people
are
losing
their
jobs,
and
the
few
who
are
still
lucky
to
be
working
are
burdened
under
the
regime
of
taxes.”
The
bishops
identified
corruption
as
a
stumbling
block
to
Zimbabwe’s
path
to
progress.
“Corruption
is
rampant
and
seems
to
be
out
of
control.
At
the
rate
at
which
it
is
taking
place,
cutting
through
various
sectors,
the
nation
is
doomed.
One
wonders
why
the
corrupt
seem
uncensured
and
even
rewarded
whilst
haemorrhaging
the
nation.”
The
bishops
noted
a
widening
gap
between
the
poor
and
the
rich,
which
has
deepened
poverty.
“Few
individuals
seem
to
be
benefitting
from
the
wealth
of
the
nation.
We
would
like
to
remind
our
people
that…
poverty
is
not
accidental,
but
a
result
of
particular
choices
and
systems.”
Institutions
that
perpetuate
human
suffering
and
injustice
should
be
evaluated
in
relation
to
“their
contributions
to
cultures
that
promote
the
common
good,”
the
bishops
said.
Zimbabwe
needs
to
undergo
a
period
or
“conversion,”
the
bishops
said,
“one
that
begins
with
and
goes
beyond
individual
change
to
societal
change
that
brings
true
freedom
and
shared
national
progress.”
The
bishops’
conference
is
made
up
of
seven
Catholic
bishops
who
head
branches
in
Mutare,
Harare,
Hwange,
Bulawayo,
Gweru,
Masvingo
and
Gokwe.
Its
current
president
is
Reverend
Paul
Horan,
bishop
of
the
Mutare
diocese.
Catholic
bishops
have
been
outspoken
over
Zimbabwe’s
direction
under
Mnangagwa,
who
came
to
power
through
a
military
coup
in
2017
promising
political
and
economic
reforms.
Mnangagwa’s
government
now
stands
accused
of
overseeing
rampant
corruption,
rights
abuses
and
economic
mismanagement.
A
plan
by
his
supporters
to
amend
the
constitution
and
extend
his
term
beyond
2028
when
his
second
and
final
term
ends
has
drawn
widespread
condemnation.