News / National
Zanu-PF officials fingered in Trust scheme scam
03 Mar 2014 at 08:08hrs | Views
TWO traditional leaders Chief Kiben Bvirindi Zimunya and Musavengana Ndanga are likely to be charged with contempt of court after they told Parliamentarians on Thursday that some top Zanu-PF officials were interfering with community share ownership trust schemes, but declined to name the culprits.
The two chiefs and their delegations had been summoned to appear before the Justice Mayor Wadyajena-led Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Indigenisation, Youth and Economic Empowerment to give an account of the challenges facing community share ownership trusts.
Zimunya is a trustee of the Marange Zimunya Community Share Ownership Trust in Marange while Ndanga represented the Tongogara Community Share Ownership Trust in Shurugwi.
From the oral evidence they put forward to the committee, Chief Zimunya said some Zanu-PF bigwigs had influenced some diamond mining companies in Manicaland to withhold the outstanding $1,1 million owed to the trust.
Last year, five diamond mining companies in Marange made President Robert Mugabe to present a $1,5 million dummy cheque to the community share trust, but only released $400 000 into the trust's account.
Said Zimunya: "I cannot say out the names, but why is it that the outstanding $1,1 million is not coming? It is because people have been interfering. Why is it that the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) are failing to recover the money? Did you investigate as a committee?"
During his presentation, Chief Ndanga also said there were some "sensitive politburo names" who were interfering with the Tongogara Community Share Ownership Trust, but when asked to mention the names he refused.
Zimunya later presented a newspaper cutting implicating Zanu-PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa as one of the top party officials interfering with the scheme.
He, however, told the committee that former Zanu-PF Manicaland chairman Mike Madiro had collected some vehicles from Mbada Diamonds, but refused to give further evidence on whether the vehicles were meant for the community share ownership trust.
Ndanga later disowned his earlier claims, courting the ire of the committee members who warned that he could be charged with contempt.
"If you come here to play with MPs and say there is evidence that some Zanu-PF big fish have been interfering and then later you say you cannot disclose their names, the committee will charge you with contempt of Parliament," said Wadyajena.
The committee ordered the chiefs and journalists out, saying they were deliberating on whether to charge the two with contempt of Parliament.
The two chiefs and their delegations had been summoned to appear before the Justice Mayor Wadyajena-led Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Indigenisation, Youth and Economic Empowerment to give an account of the challenges facing community share ownership trusts.
Zimunya is a trustee of the Marange Zimunya Community Share Ownership Trust in Marange while Ndanga represented the Tongogara Community Share Ownership Trust in Shurugwi.
From the oral evidence they put forward to the committee, Chief Zimunya said some Zanu-PF bigwigs had influenced some diamond mining companies in Manicaland to withhold the outstanding $1,1 million owed to the trust.
Last year, five diamond mining companies in Marange made President Robert Mugabe to present a $1,5 million dummy cheque to the community share trust, but only released $400 000 into the trust's account.
Said Zimunya: "I cannot say out the names, but why is it that the outstanding $1,1 million is not coming? It is because people have been interfering. Why is it that the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) are failing to recover the money? Did you investigate as a committee?"
During his presentation, Chief Ndanga also said there were some "sensitive politburo names" who were interfering with the Tongogara Community Share Ownership Trust, but when asked to mention the names he refused.
Zimunya later presented a newspaper cutting implicating Zanu-PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa as one of the top party officials interfering with the scheme.
He, however, told the committee that former Zanu-PF Manicaland chairman Mike Madiro had collected some vehicles from Mbada Diamonds, but refused to give further evidence on whether the vehicles were meant for the community share ownership trust.
Ndanga later disowned his earlier claims, courting the ire of the committee members who warned that he could be charged with contempt.
"If you come here to play with MPs and say there is evidence that some Zanu-PF big fish have been interfering and then later you say you cannot disclose their names, the committee will charge you with contempt of Parliament," said Wadyajena.
The committee ordered the chiefs and journalists out, saying they were deliberating on whether to charge the two with contempt of Parliament.
Source - newsday
