What do you think they are stealing in Zimbabwe these days? One of the most thefted items in African nations is … foreign aid. It does not seem to matter whether it is food, drink, medicine or books.

According to boston.com, Zimbabwe’s education ministry is investigating how school text books donated by the U.N. children’s agency wind up in the hands of bookstores and street vendors. How bad does this suck? This is just like food supplies being sold in grocery stores.

The United Nations Children’s Fund has supplied 22 million books since late 2010 after a decade of economic meltdown that left many schools without teaching materials. In many schools book sharing was common.

The government claims it is working hard to find the culprits and will prosecute them to the full-extent of the law. Somehow, the undercurrent of government corruption leads me to believe this crime will go unsolved – just like almost every other major theft of aid!

The books, stamped and identifiable, sell for up to $10 on the street or $20 in a bookstore. A main teachers union says teachers may be stealing them to make up for poor salaries of about $220 a month.

The joint schools program with UNICEF ended acute shortages of books and made Zimbabwe the only country in Africa with an estimated ratio of one book per student.

Of course UNICEF is well-aware of the possibility of theft and branded the books in an effort to keep them from being stolen. The books were stamped with UNICEF and education ministry emblems and the legend “Not For Sale.’’ Each delivery was signed for and accounted for by principals at registered state schools.

Shameful behavior by our fellow man. Stealing is wrong on every level. Stealing foreign aid is especially wrong. These were intended to help educate the youth, an act that may have generated a more literate and educated society for the betterment of all.