Source: Consider returning SMM to Mawere, Govt urged | The Herald
Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
Government should seek investors for Shabani Mashaba Mines or return its ownership to Mr Mutumwa Mawere as part of measures to resume operations, parliamentarians in the National Assembly said on Thursday.
The legislators said this while contributing to a motion moved by Zvishavane — Ngezi representative Cde John Holder on the plight of the former workers of the mine.
Buhera South representative Cde Joseph Chinotimba, said Government should consider giving the mine back to Mr Mawere.
“We should return the assets so that he can resuscitate the mine. We should forgive him for whatever he did because as a nation we are a forgiving nation that is why we forgave Ian Smith despite his killing of thousands of Zimbabweans.
“I hope the Vice President (Emmerson Mnangagwa), who is here should take the matter up with Cabinet,” Cde Chinotimba said.
Cde Holder said the mine had collapsed despite Government’s intentions to resuscitate it.
“An indigenous Zimbabwean had purchased this mine now it’s dead, the infrastructure and houses are going down and the workers have not been paid,” Cde Holder said.
“Government gave the mine to the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, but it has no capacity to run that mine. Government should look for serious investors because when it was taken over it (SMM) had debts but they were running and were able to pay off some these debts and contribute to the GDP.
“Since it was put under reconstruction together with its 26 subsidiaries and all of them have been stripped and sold.”
He added resuscitating the mine would not only benefit the residents of Mashava but Zimbabwe as a whole.
“Mutumwa Mawere was born in Gutu and there was no talk of the indigenisation (policy) there.
“We need to resuscitate SMM so that it not only benefits people from Zvishavane and Mashava but Zimbabwe as a whole,” Cde Holder said.
Southerton representative Mr Gift Chimanikire, said the closure of the mine had resulted in an increase in social decadence.
“What is happening at SMM and Mashaba Mine is a tragedy. The social decadence is tragic. The issues of child marriages are common as parents had to marry off their daughters to subsist,” Mr Chimanikire said.
He added that the ZMDC could not run the mine.
“ZMDC has a number of mines but none of them are running profitably,” he said. “What is important is the social welfare of the residents of SMM and Government should review its decision to pack SMM and Mashaba under ZMDC.”
Uzumba legislator Cde Simbaneuta Mudarikwa, said it was necessary to recall former workers and managers to resuscitate operations of the mines.
Government put SMM under reconstruction after it accumulated huge debt but the company has failed to resume operations and has been put under the ZMDC.
COMMENTS
That is so typical of the pathetic mindset of our politicians. Take someone’s investment. Offer no compensation. Wreck it completely. Then offer it back to him so that he can ressurect it with his own funds. And then? Take it off of him again! Sounds like the land reform programme!
It is always a good idea to put competent people in charge of a business. Most especially if it is the business that was stolen from you!
RBZ OFFICIAL REPORT 2004 EXCHANGE CONTROL
MUTUMWA MAWERE.
The whistle blowers on Mawere are white South African high-level business persons in the direct employ of Mutumwa Mawere and not the accused person as stated in the media. The 2 whistle blowers are:-
(1) Veronica Marsh-Smidt -Financial and Managing Director for Mutumwa Mawere.
(2) Buks van Resnsburg Managing Director of Coma Transport of which 51% owned by Mawere.
No one in the entire group controlled by Mawere other than his own Financial and Managing director within the Mawere group could have had access to so much information except Veronica Marsh-Smidt.
Buks van Rensburg had told Dr Gono Governor of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe that they did not want to talk to anyone from Zimbabwe Police but would prefer that they meet with their lawyers in Pretoria and a representative from the Zimbabwe who could represent themselves and Government of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Government agreed to the nominated person recommended by the whistle blowers and accepted to represent the Government of Zimbabwe, to meet with the whistle blowers lawyers, the Financial Intelligence Officer was described by Buks van Rensburg as a man of Integrity and Honest.
At a meeting in late February 2004, at lawyers Herman van Eeddes boardroom offices based at Tacho Park, Pretoria, representing Buks van Rensburg and Veronica Marsh-Smidt, it was these 2 whistle blowers that had handed over a dossier on Mawere’s world wide operations to the ZRP Assistant Commissioner, Mike Gora who took possession of the dossier, In the lawyers opening statement, they said that Mawere bought Schweppes Zimbabwe and Victoria Foods for US$50 million and it was these funds that had been generated from Zimbabwe exports of Asbestos fibre, yet Shabanie Mine could not pay its transport debts to Coma Transport about US$1 million not counting other transporters debts, the meeting was chaired by the FIIE Officer who represented both whistle blowers and Government of Zimbabwe but attached to RBZ.
Based on the information contained in the dossier taken by Assistant Commissioner Mike Gora in the meeting, it was sufficient for Dr Gono and Commissioner General ZRP to recommend to Robert Mugabe the forfeiture of all Mawere’s assets inside Zimbabwe.
Petter International a division of ARL, went to South Africa to do a study on Coma transport and make recommendations to Group C.E.O. Hilary Munyati. subsequently ARL bought 51% of Coma Transport and Van Resnsburg would remain with 49% and would be M.D. for one year.
Some 2 to 3 years later, Shabanie Mine was in a huge debt to Coma Transport and many other transporters, millions of South African Rands was owed to Coma Transport alone and the debt was mounting.
Buks van Rensburg had applied to the High Court in Johannesburg for liquidation of Coma Transport, an action against Mawere as 1st respondent and Shabanie Mine as 2nd Respondent. The liquidation order was granted but Mawere paid the money to settle the debt.
As part of the Intelligence gathering by the whistle blowers, Lilian Ndlovu was a despatch supervisor at A.A. and she had stated that some of the orders of despatched fibre had the same order numbers for more than one order, one of these seen by investigators had 1,000 tons from Shabanie Mine to Durban, so you have 2 orders with same order number from same place to same delivery point, what about Customs at Masvingo, well said Lilian they are poorly paid and we look after them so well and our clearing agent has a depot at Beitbridge and he is an MP in the Government with a portfolio in Public accounts which covers Zimra, very useful information especially when Van Rensburg was compiling information against Mawere and this information from Lilian Ndlovu sparked off a massive investigation by FIIE at RBZ.
In yet another bungling by Tapiwa Matangaidze, Managing Director of Petter International a division of ARL, had agreed to allow Van Rensburg to operate illegally foreign bulk cement trucks with South African registration to move bulk cement from Arcturus cement factory to Turnalls Asbestos Harare, but when payment was due Joe Mhlabi accountant for Tapiwa paid in local currency and Van Rensburg had to buy diesel and sell to South African trucking companies for their trucks when passing through Harare. Another nail in Mawere’s coffin, it is an offence for foreign owned vehicles to pick up loads and set down loads within a different country this rule applies in other countries.
Tapiwa planted a spy in Coma Transport in Krugersdorp but later the accountant realised that working for Coma was better than working for Matangaidze and confessed to Coma that he was there as a spy.
Mawere’s problems are caused by Hilary Munyati who was Mawere’s C.E.O. in Zimbabwe, everything that happened in Zimbabwe had Hilary Munyati’s stamp of approval. Munyati should have been arrested and charged. But after the specification of Mawere Zimbabwe assets, Munyati was offered a high profile position by Dr Gono at RBZ 19th Floor.
Incompetence on Munyati and Matangaidze and Shabanie Mine’s none payment caused Van Rensburg to take whatever action was needed to bring down Mutumwa Mawere.
PAUL SIGAUKE. DIVISION CHIEF EXCHANGE CONTROL