By A Correspondent- Ex-minister Saviour Kasukuwere, barred from running for president, says the Mutapa Sovereign Wealth Fund and a decree by President Mnangagwa exempting nearly 2 dozen companies from public procurement procedures “is a brazen abuse of power” and shows Zanu PF leader “lacks probity”

Below is Kasukuwere’s statement in full:

“30 September 2023 Mnangagwa’s Presidential Decrees Open Door to Massive State Asset Looting The recent renaming of the Sovereign Wealth Fund into the so-called “Mutapa Fund” by presidential decree and the subsequent transfer of select. state enterprises into that fund has shocked many and naturally attracted serious concern regarding the motives behind such a brazen move, especially without the consent of parliament, which is still to convene and is meant to protect the interests of citizens.

Further to that, there is the recent promulgation, again by presidential decree, of a new statutory instrument that seeks to exempt the Mutapa Fund from the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act (Chapter 2223).

There is no debate that public procurement procedures and the disposal of public assets have a profound impact on a nation’s developmental trajectory. Any country that wishes to rnaxirnize benefits from its assets and resources in a responsible manner and is also serious about accountability and transparency, therefore, needs to ensure that it has the appropriate laws, policies, and regulations in place to safeguard such public assets and resources from fraud and abuse.

To protect state resources or assets from abuse, it is critical that there are:

– Comprehensive and binding legal frameworks,
– Effective monitoring and auditing procures to ensure compliance with the regulations,
– Standard terms and conditions of contracts,
– Improved transparency and public availability of rules governing the process.

It is in this spirit that Zimbabwe enact the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets At (Chapter 2223) whose primary purpose is to provide for the control and regulation of procurement and the disposal of public assets to ensure that such procurement and disposal are conducted in a manner that is transparent, fair, honest, cost-effective, and competitive.