[miningmx.com] – TWO Zimbabwean ministers accused of corrupt and irregular business practices regarding an empowerment deals between the government and Impala Platinum (Implats) may be probed by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).
The allegations of corruption also extend to other foreign-owned mining companies operating in the country.
Implats, Aquarius Platinum and Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) – which mine platinum in Zimbabwe – have concluded “non-binding’ agreements to transfer 51% of their local shares to black Zimbabwean groups.
Finalisation of the deals, expected by June have been thrown into doubt following revelations that the ministers responsible may have irregularly carried out such deals.
Empowerment minister, Saviour Kasukuwere and mines and mining development minister, Obert Mpofu have been fingered by the anti-graft body for alleged irregular conduct and suspected corruption in the finalisation of empowerment deals.
The anti-corruption body says it will forge ahead with the probe and will seek to obtain a search warrant to search offices of Mpofu and Kasukuwere as well as those of the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) to obtain documents that may provide further proof of this.
“The commission is convinced that there was abuse of public office and that officials acted irregularly,” a source told Miningmx.
“Certain companies would have benefited financially from advisory services which were never put to tender and also, the minister responsible for the legislation did not seek authorisation and clearance from the central bank,’ he said.
The probe, said officials, has been prompted by alleged flaws in the empowerment deal for Zimplats. Information at hand shows that the anti-graft body will likely also seek to ascertain empowerment deals for other foreign owned companies.
Political pressure has been swirling for the anti-graft body to halt its probe into irregularities around Zimplats’ empowerment deal.
Last week, the body had a search warrant obtained from a court turned down while Zanu PF apologists have been queuing to dismiss the commission’s capacity and authority to probe the two ministers and the indigenisation implementing board, the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB).
Zimplats officials would not comment on the new developments, which analysts say could result in the company having to restart its bid to comply with Zimbabwe’s empowerment policy.
President Mugabe has already said that he wants the new shareholders to get Zimplats shares without monetary compensation.
“As ZACC, we are not prompted by political considerations, but by reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed . . . the individual and political diversity of the commission would make a political sectorial agenda difficult to pursue or achieve,’ said Goodwill Shana, spokesperson for the anti-graft body.
The indigenisation policy is central to Zanu PF’s re-election bid in voting expected to take place in July this year. NIEEB officials have denied the allegations of irregularly concluding the empowerment deals.
NIEEB chairman, Mike Nyambuya has said: “NIEEB believes that it has undertaken its mandate in terms of the Indigenisation Act in a transparent and open manner.’
Eddie Cross, an MDC MP Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said yesterday that foreign companies “cowed by years of Zanu PF bullying and threats simply took reactive action and capital fight accelerated’ while “inward investment stopped’.
This has affected the mining sector in Zimbabwe a major contributor to the country’s economic turn-around efforts following years of decline which were characterised by hyper-inflation. Mugabe is pushing through the empowerment drive to win voted in elections that are expected in July.
Kasukuwere said last month that he will seek to make corrections to the mistakes pointed out by Mugabe during a televised state interview in which he said the minister erred by accepting that Implats get monetary payment for the shares ceded under the controversial policy. “We will implement what the President has said.’
