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Mutapa top official in alleged abuse of office
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A senior executive at the Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF) has been accused of governance breaches and abuse of office, raising fresh concerns about accountability within Zimbabwe's sovereign wealth fund.
According to internal sources, Wilfred Tanyanyiwa, the acting general manager of Defold Mine, a mining subsidiary wholly owned by the MIF, faces allegations of nepotism, procurement irregularities and financial mismanagement.
Tanyanyiwa is accused of bypassing established recruitment procedures to favour associates. In one instance, insiders allege he disregarded the outcome of a professional recruitment agent's selection process for a legal officer post and imposed his own preferred candidate instead.
"He is overriding recruitment processes through nepotism. A case in point is ignoring the outcome of a recruitment agent's selection for a legal officer position," a source familiar with the matter said.
Allegations also extend to procurement and financial management. A long-running office rental dispute was reportedly settled through questionable means after the appointment of a new accountant, who authorised payments without proper documentation. The arrangement allegedly benefited a property owner described as a close friend of Tanyanyiwa.
"These allegations suggest potential conflicts of interest, favoritism, and irregularities in company processes," another source said.
When contacted, Defold Mine's human resources manager, Munyaradzi Mashiche, declined to comment directly on the matter.
"I am not allowed to talk to outsiders. All correspondence has to be through Mr. Tanyanyiwa," he said.
Efforts to reach Tanyanyiwa for comment were unsuccessful as his mobile phone went unanswered.
The MIF, formerly known as the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe, was established in 2014 to spearhead strategic national investments. In September 2023, it was renamed through Statutory Instrument 156 of 2023, which granted it broad exemptions from public procurement regulations and parliamentary oversight.
Today, the fund controls several state-owned enterprises across mining, energy, transport and agriculture — placing it at the centre of Zimbabwe's economic strategy.
The latest allegations, however, raise questions about transparency and governance at a time when the fund's vast powers and limited oversight are already subjects of public debate.
According to internal sources, Wilfred Tanyanyiwa, the acting general manager of Defold Mine, a mining subsidiary wholly owned by the MIF, faces allegations of nepotism, procurement irregularities and financial mismanagement.
Tanyanyiwa is accused of bypassing established recruitment procedures to favour associates. In one instance, insiders allege he disregarded the outcome of a professional recruitment agent's selection process for a legal officer post and imposed his own preferred candidate instead.
"He is overriding recruitment processes through nepotism. A case in point is ignoring the outcome of a recruitment agent's selection for a legal officer position," a source familiar with the matter said.
Allegations also extend to procurement and financial management. A long-running office rental dispute was reportedly settled through questionable means after the appointment of a new accountant, who authorised payments without proper documentation. The arrangement allegedly benefited a property owner described as a close friend of Tanyanyiwa.
"These allegations suggest potential conflicts of interest, favoritism, and irregularities in company processes," another source said.
When contacted, Defold Mine's human resources manager, Munyaradzi Mashiche, declined to comment directly on the matter.
"I am not allowed to talk to outsiders. All correspondence has to be through Mr. Tanyanyiwa," he said.
Efforts to reach Tanyanyiwa for comment were unsuccessful as his mobile phone went unanswered.
The MIF, formerly known as the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe, was established in 2014 to spearhead strategic national investments. In September 2023, it was renamed through Statutory Instrument 156 of 2023, which granted it broad exemptions from public procurement regulations and parliamentary oversight.
Today, the fund controls several state-owned enterprises across mining, energy, transport and agriculture — placing it at the centre of Zimbabwe's economic strategy.
The latest allegations, however, raise questions about transparency and governance at a time when the fund's vast powers and limited oversight are already subjects of public debate.
Source - The Standard
