So in typical Zimbabwe fashion there is a new scandal brewing.
Someone or some group of people were either negligent or corrupt within government and their professional guide association and in so doing, the professional examination questions and answers left their custody.
In reaction to that, no one in the association's leadership nor in government has been censured, punished, or apologized for any act. Instead, the association voided all the examinees test results and they must take the test again.
The damages so far are as follows:
1.) The guilty cheat may just study hard and pass the exam on 2nd try. Thus, if you hire any of these future professionals if you partake in a Zim safari, you may very well be hiring a corrupt cheater.
2.) The innocent that passed the test forever have a cloud over their heads. If they fail by a point or two on a second try, they will be fingered as cheaters rather than as a coincidence. The innocent have lost 6 months to 12 months of lifetime wages due to no misconduct of their own. Their lifetime wages will surely be reduced in some fashion also because forever it will be assumed "they were part of the cheater's exam era".
This is the challenge in Zim as they believe they cherish ethics above all else and thus out of an abundance of caution, are very willing to rob innocent people of their liberties to ensure that the bad guy gets away with nothing. Except so far, the only bad actor was the government and private sector leaders that couldn't maintain confidential custody of their examination. This is dangerous, flawed thinking that happens in Zim my friends. But even if you discount the victims, the test takers that did nothing wrong, you're left with a scary principle for anyone contemplating Zim tourism. Precedent. Zimbabwean's association and government have a demonstrable track record of erring on the side of robbing liberties from people and casting shade over anyone if it has any chance of protecting their image. This happened during Cecil, it could happen to any client and their professional as all it takes is an accusation, without evidence, to have them destroying someone's name and integrity to "err on the side of caution".
We must apply pressure on our friends in Zim and their organization that do not understand where this type of thinking leads. It's not just "un-American" in the notion that you must always presume innocence, but it is also cannibalizing to the hunting community. It suggests in Zim they will eat their own without concrete evidence if it allows the organism of hunting to survive. Eventually, after many more amputations, the host will be but a stump, everyone having been expelled by mere accusation rather than after a charge, trial, defense, and if merited, a conviction. This type of thinking should concern any hunter because you could be the next innocent accused, not tried nor convicted, that can be discarded out of an abundance of concern for the appearance of ethics.
Here is their letter. The closing comment is "Ethics are everything". Perhaps in Zim, but elsewhere in the world justice for the innocent is everything. In the Arab world there is a saying "If anyone slays a person, it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people". This parable certainly applies to jurisprudence in the hunting community. To impune without evidence, harming one innocent, is to condemn the whole industry.
Someone or some group of people were either negligent or corrupt within government and their professional guide association and in so doing, the professional examination questions and answers left their custody.
In reaction to that, no one in the association's leadership nor in government has been censured, punished, or apologized for any act. Instead, the association voided all the examinees test results and they must take the test again.
The damages so far are as follows:
1.) The guilty cheat may just study hard and pass the exam on 2nd try. Thus, if you hire any of these future professionals if you partake in a Zim safari, you may very well be hiring a corrupt cheater.
2.) The innocent that passed the test forever have a cloud over their heads. If they fail by a point or two on a second try, they will be fingered as cheaters rather than as a coincidence. The innocent have lost 6 months to 12 months of lifetime wages due to no misconduct of their own. Their lifetime wages will surely be reduced in some fashion also because forever it will be assumed "they were part of the cheater's exam era".
This is the challenge in Zim as they believe they cherish ethics above all else and thus out of an abundance of caution, are very willing to rob innocent people of their liberties to ensure that the bad guy gets away with nothing. Except so far, the only bad actor was the government and private sector leaders that couldn't maintain confidential custody of their examination. This is dangerous, flawed thinking that happens in Zim my friends. But even if you discount the victims, the test takers that did nothing wrong, you're left with a scary principle for anyone contemplating Zim tourism. Precedent. Zimbabwean's association and government have a demonstrable track record of erring on the side of robbing liberties from people and casting shade over anyone if it has any chance of protecting their image. This happened during Cecil, it could happen to any client and their professional as all it takes is an accusation, without evidence, to have them destroying someone's name and integrity to "err on the side of caution".
We must apply pressure on our friends in Zim and their organization that do not understand where this type of thinking leads. It's not just "un-American" in the notion that you must always presume innocence, but it is also cannibalizing to the hunting community. It suggests in Zim they will eat their own without concrete evidence if it allows the organism of hunting to survive. Eventually, after many more amputations, the host will be but a stump, everyone having been expelled by mere accusation rather than after a charge, trial, defense, and if merited, a conviction. This type of thinking should concern any hunter because you could be the next innocent accused, not tried nor convicted, that can be discarded out of an abundance of concern for the appearance of ethics.
Here is their letter. The closing comment is "Ethics are everything". Perhaps in Zim, but elsewhere in the world justice for the innocent is everything. In the Arab world there is a saying "If anyone slays a person, it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people". This parable certainly applies to jurisprudence in the hunting community. To impune without evidence, harming one innocent, is to condemn the whole industry.
