Mnangagwa linked Zuva still has fuel service licence

Yesterday we reported that the government revoked service stations licence for Zuva Petroleum accusing the company of overcharging customers. It has come to light that the licences that were cancelled were for three Glow Petroleum stations.

In a Press Briefing to the Media after today's Cabinet meeting, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Monica Mutsvangwa said, "Government has withdrawn trading licences of some fuel service stations who were caught engaging in irregular trade practices."

The Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting wrote on twitter that, "Yesterday we erroneously reported that three @zuva_petroleum fuel service stations had their licences cancelled for overcharging fuel. As a matter of fact, the licences that were cancelled were for three Glow Petroleum stations. We apologise to @zuva_petroleum for the error."

Yesterday we erroneously reported that three @zuva_petroleum fuel service stations had their licences cancelled for overcharging fuel. As a matter of fact, the licences that were cancelled were for three Glow Petroleum stations. We apologise to @zuva_petroleum for the error. pic.twitter.com/z7IOhM6fRI

— Ministry of Information, Publicity & Broadcasting (@InfoMinZW) October 31, 2018

In the public domain, source claim that it was highly possible that Mnangagwa was one of the mysterious shareholders in Zuva.

At some point, it was reported that Zuva Petroleum assets had been bought by a company owned by FBC Holding chief executive officer, John Mushayavanhu, but later reports started suggesting that the banker was just a font for a British-based commodities firm, Glencore Holdings.

Woble Investments, which is owned by Mushayavanhu, and his wife, claimed to have bought a 51 percent stake in Zuva petroleum from London-listed Masawara Plc, to whom the BP & Shells assets had been sold before they were rebranded to Zuva Petroleum.

Many suspected that Masawara had also been a front for Mnangagwa's Glencore friends and the whole convoluted transaction was just meant to confuse the public even more.

Last year a report by the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) suggested Masawara never owned the Zuva shares in the first place and that it was a front for Glencore, which funded the purchase and is again the financier of Woble's purchase of the same shares.

Reports also linked the secretive transaction to one Ketani Joshi, who has substantial interests in FBC Bank led by Mushayavanhu.

Ketani is a member of the powerful Joshi family that used to run ZANU-PF businesses until they fled the country after investigations into alleged irregularities in the operations of the companies. Mnangagwa still maintains very strong connections with the family. The Joshis helped start FBC Bank, which was then known as First Banking Corporation, a bank that for a long time remained a ZANU-PF backyard pool.