'Masimirembwa is the best there has ever been,' Obert Mpofu

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure development Mr Obert Mpofu today shocked parliament when he told members of the House of Assembly that controversial and corruption charges prone Godwill Masimirembwa is the best that the country has ever produced.

Answering a question at the question time to Minister by Members of Parliament on why he is always appointing the controversial former lawyer into government boards under his Ministry, Mpofu not only once but twice or three times insisted that indeed Masimirembwa was the best administrator and he will continue working with him. Mpofu started working with Masimirembwa when he appointed him to be Chairman of the National Income and Prices Commission, NIPC, under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce which Mpofu headed in 2008.

When Mpofu was appointed Minister of Mines and Mining Development, he also appointed Masimirembwa to chair the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation under his Ministry. In the latest government, Mpofu was appointed Minister of Transport where he immediately roped in Masimirembwa as chairman of the scandal hit government run Central Mechanical Division, CMED. Masimirembwa's latest appointment by Mpofu raised eye brows as he was appointed into the CMED following President Robert Mugabe's bashing of him as having corruptly got $6 million as head of ZMDC from would be Ghana investors.

Responding to the question, Mpofu was not even deterred by jeers from fellow parliamentarians including those of his party ZANU PF to insist that Masimirembwa was the best.

"Masimirembwa is the best that this country has ever produced," he said. "It is every minister's right to choose any one who they feel will best work with them and I choose him."

Minister Mpofu himself has also been accused by members of the public and other political leaders of massive corruption. He is certainly ranked amongst Zimbabwe's richest people and he has always attributed his riches to personal hard work not corruption. Asked for a prompt comment, a citizen by the name Memory Sibindi of Luveve described Mpofu and Masimirembwa's combination as the country's worst corruption combination.

"Mpofu is just running away from the truth. We all know that him and Masimirembwa are the most corrupt combination in the country," he said.

In his answer Mpofu dismissed all the corruption rumours levied against Masimirembwa.