By A Correspondent — Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has inadvertently lifted the lid on the staggering scale of looting and financial opacity surrounding President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government, revealing that the controversial Trabablas Interchange in Harare cost Zimbabweans a jaw-dropping US$114 million—far beyond the originally stated US$88 million.
Under parliamentary pressure, Ncube was forced to provide a detailed account of how the project, previously known as the Mbudzi Roundabout, ballooned in cost. The new revelations have reinforced allegations of inflated tenders, unapproved expenditures, and deep-rooted corruption within Mnangagwa’s inner circle.
Initially, government reports claimed the interchange was funded by an US$88 million loan from Fossil Mines (Pvt) Ltd—an entity with reported ties to Mnangagwa’s allies—combined with allocations from Zimbabwe’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). The loan, signed on December 6, 2021, carried an interest rate of LIBOR plus 5% per annum under the Public Debt Management Act.
However, MPs from across the aisle, including Descent Bajila (Citizens Coalition for Change), grilled Ncube over unexplained budget escalations and demanded clarity on the project’s true cost. What emerged was an admission that, in addition to the US$88 million, Treasury spent another US$26 million—taken from Zimbabwe’s SDRs—raising the final price tag to US$114 million.
Pressed for details, Ncube offered vague justifications, citing “unforeseen project variations” such as the relocation of affected residents and additional infrastructure components like 12 new bridges. He claimed US$65.5 million went toward core civil works, including storm drainage, road signs, erosion protection, and foundational structures.
Yet MPs were left unconvinced. Prosper Mutseyami (Chikanga) challenged the logic behind the so-called variations, arguing that such major cost escalations should have required fresh parliamentary approval.
More troubling, Mbizo MP Coborn Madzivanyika exposed contradictions in Ncube’s statements. The US$26 million, originally described as a down payment, was now being repositioned as a budget overrun—effectively masking an illegal overspend. Madzivanyika questioned how the Finance Ministry had unilaterally extended itself beyond Parliament’s approved borrowing threshold.
In response, Ncube claimed sweeping powers under the Public Finance Management Act, insisting he did not need to return to Parliament for further authorisation—an assertion critics say signals a dangerous erosion of legislative oversight under Mnangagwa’s watch.
The saga surrounding the Trabablas Interchange—symbolically renamed by critics to reflect the chaos of Zimbabwe’s governance—has become a glaring emblem of elite plunder, shady financing, and the Mnangagwa administration’s disregard for accountability.
As public outrage grows over deteriorating public services, economic stagnation, and runaway inflation, the US$114 million Trabablas project is being seen not as a symbol of progress, but as a monument to state-sanctioned looting.