THE Zimbabwean government was handed a stake in Kuvimba Mining House in order to pay compensation to white farms, said Bloomberg News citing an announcement by the country’s treasury.
The government didn’t say who made the donation.
“On 18 December 2020 government secured $250m towards the compensation process through the donation of a shareholding in equal value in a mining asset – Kuvimba Mining House, to a special purpose vehicle specifically created to raise funds for the global compensation agreement,” the statement read.
Bloomberg said Kuvimba had been shrouded in controversy since Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced its formation. Its assets are the same as those held until at least late last year by Sotic International, a company linked to Kudakwashe Tagwirei, an adviser to Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Tagwirei was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2020 because of allegations he bribed government officials and used political influence to win lucrative state deals, said Bloomberg.
David Brown, the former CEO of Impala Platinum, is CEO of both Kuvimba and Sotic. He has said he plans to step down, without giving a date.
Zimbabwe’s government has said it directly owns 21.5% of Kuvimba and smaller shares are held by an array of state companies, bringing state control to 65%, said Bloomberg News. Ncube has repeatedly declined to say who owns the rest. No details of how much was paid or how the assets were acquired from Sotic have been given.
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