Dear Editor
CORRUPT LAWYERS AND LOOTING OF STATE FUNDS
Corruption in Zimbabwe has been rife since the Mugabe Regime, it has been meticulously executed and has seen a few individuals become rich overnight.
Corruption would not have been this prevalent had the perpetrator not roped in the services and shrewd minds of lawyers.
One such case involves Mrs. Phillipa Phillips and her dodgy involvement in the Zim Airways and Zimbabwe Aviation Leasing Company (zalc) BY CORRUPTION WATCHDOG ZIMBABWE.
In 2017 the Government of Zimbabwe through the Ministry of transport and Air Zimbabwe engaged Mrs. Phillipa Phillips to structure a vehicle that would see the Government of Zimbabwe purchasing 4 Boeing 777 Airplanes from Malaysia.
For all intents and purposes the vehicles were Government institutions for the benefit of the Government of Zimbabwe.
Mrs. Phillips charged legal fees for the said work that she did for the Government however she and her accomplices agreed to illegally give her shares in the companies that she was setting up on behalf of the Government of Zimbabwe in particular she made herself the Majority shareholder of Zim Airways and zalc registered with the registrar of companies as company number 4069/2017.
An attempt to peruse these files at the registrar of companies reveals that upon realizing that the fraud had been exposed, the files have been pulled from the registry and have gone missing.
However, Mrs. Phillips remains the shareholder of the said companies as no further returns have been filed for the companies. The information and legal position given to the then Minister of Transport Honourable Joram Gumbo was that the companies were all owned by the Government of Zimbabwe.
It is then curious to note how Mrs. Phillips ended up claiming ownership of the 4 Boeing 777 Airplanes which had been purchased using government funds when she is neither a civil servant nor a government representative nor a proxy holder of the shares for the government of Zimbabwe.
In 2018 when the Government of Zimbabwe sought to merge all the entities namely Zim Airways, zalc and Air Zimbabwe into one company, failed because, inside sources said the plans went up in smoke after Harare lawyer Phillipa Phillips, who is listed as a ZimAirways director, wrote to the Transport Ministry informing him that the merger would not proceed unless she is paid US$2 million for the shares she held in the corruption-ridden carrier she was the majority shareholder in these government entities meaning that she owned the Four Boeing 777 second-hand planes that had been purchased by Zim Airways on behalf of the Government of Zimbabwe.
A lot of integrity issues arise namely that Phillipa Phillips received property in lieu of legal fees in breach of the Legal Practitioners act that is dishonourable and unethical conduct, secondly if she did work for the government worth US$ 2 000 000.00 the Zimbabwe revenue Authority was prejudiced of their tax and accordingly the same remains due and owing, thirdly this shows that there is lack of integrity in the legal fraternity.
Corruption watch has had sight of a letter of complaint against Phillipa Phillips addressed to the Law Society of Zimbabwe raising the same integrity issues, however they are yet to respond to the complaint.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission similarly has not acted upon this issue since its emergence in 2018 as the letter that Phillips wrote to the Ministry of transport betrays her as she clearly states that she is the proprietor of the said shares and that the proposed government merger will not go through unless she is paid US$ 2 000 000.00. information gathered shows that Phillipa enjoys political protection from sections of the infamous G40 faction which still exists in some sectors of the Government.
A further investigation on the legal practice of Phillipa Phillips shows that she hardly practices any law but has made a career sitting on various boards of companies and parastatals through the blessing of her benefactors where she stirs controversy. Contacted for comment via her email [email protected] Phillipa Phillips refused to comment on the allegations.
We are yet to see any action from the responsible authorities to investigate and come up with their independent findings.
Whistle blowing on corruption has been low because of fears of intimidation and leakages of personal details of the informants to the accused individuals, however corruption remains a scourge in Zimbabwe and must be dealt with at all levels of society.