These are early signs that the new Finance Minister Tendai Biti is
slowly flexing his muscle amid reports of massive whistle blowing from
bank employees.
Allegations are that Tichafa Matambanadzo was contracted by the central
bank to provide hampers for the BACOSSI program (Basic Commodities
Supply Side
Intervention) but he failed to deliver after taking payment.
Due to his popularity, Mataz had just been re-engaged as a radio presenter to ZBC after a long absence.
The government last year embarked on an abortive programme to distribute groceries to mostly rural communities.
The programme was widely criticized for committing scarce foreign
currency into sourcing for basic commodities from outside the country
for resale at highly reduced prices to less privileged families.
Top government and businesspersons with close links to Zanu PF were
granted licences to supply the goods while a great many of corrupt
officials also benefited ahead of the intended beneficiaries.
The money-spinning programme, also allowed chiefs and headman in rural areas to identify eligible households.
This allowed the traditional leaders to exclude known Movement fro Democratic Change (MDC) supporters.
Tich Mataz is facing allegations of defrauding the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Mataz was detained at Harare Central Police Station on Wednesday and
was still in police custody yesterday evening as the matter had been
referred to the Criminal Investigation Department's fraud section.
Both the police and Mataz's lawyer confirmed the arrest.
According to police spokesman Inspector James Sabau, Mataz who is a
director of a company called Family Choice (Subvented Solutions) is
facing charges of failing to deliver food hampers to RBZ, under the
Bacossi programme, who made an advance payment last year.
Mataz's lawyer, Wellington Thomas Pasipanodya of Manase and Manase,
also confirmed the arrest last night adding that it was a civil matter
and they were trying to clarify the matter with both the RBZ and police.
"No charges have been leveled against Mataz yet but we just want to
sort things out. Mataz was a director with one company Subvented
(Pvt) Limited which was responsible for sourcing Bacossi goods for
the RBZ. They sourced goods from October last year and RBZ was paying
them in Zimbabwean dollars which was quickly hit by inflation and the
money just became valueless," Pasipanodya said.
He argued that the police could not sue Mataz in his personal capacity
but the company Subvented (Pvt) Limited which was responsible for
sourcing the Bacossi goods.
"Mataz was only a director so it is an issue that has to do with the company and not in his personal capacity."
Last year Tich Mataz helped to record a birthday song for Robert Mugabe when he celebrated his 84th birthday.
Tich’s Matambanadzo family is heavily connected to Zanu PF politicians.
Some time last year Tich tried to bring US-based R&B group Dru-hill
to Zimbabwe as part of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority CEO Karokoga
Kaseke’s bullish government sponsored obsession with high profile
American musicians to refelect business-as-usual in the beleaguered
nation. The deal fell through and no explanation was given.
In 2005 Tich’s brother Tendai Matambanadzo, a banker, and Itai Marchi,
a Zanu-PF director of Security, and long-serving Zimbabwe diplomat
Godfrey Dzvairo were given sentences raging between five to six years
in jail, after they were convicted of breaching the Official Secrets
Act.
In 2007, the embattled DJ lied to a South African newspaper Sunday
World that he had landed what he described as a plum job, which was
going to earn him R5 million as Swaziland’s 2010 World Cup consultant.
Tich claimed that he had negotiated the deal with His Majesty King
Mswati III when he had stayed in that country with his Kenyan wife.
"My job will be to basically advise the King and produce programmes for
radio and TV aimed at marketing Swaziland ahead of the 2010 World Cup",
claimed Tich.
However Swaziland Minister of Enterprises and Employment Lutfo Ddlamini
who is the Chairman of the country’s 2010 World Cup went ballistic.
"I want to warn this South African newspaper and that Zimbabwean guy
that we won’t tolerate such defamatory and derogatory comments about
the King.
We have no contract with that boy, perhaps he signed one in his dreams
and I’m very angry at this. How can we sign such a contract with
someone not allowed into South Africa the country’s immigration
authorities?
Tich was deported from South Africa in 2001 over allegations that he used false identity documents.
Earlier in the week Elias Musakwa, a Gospel Singer of the Ngaavongwe
crew was arrested on fraudulent activities at the Reserve Bank where he
is employed as a Divisional Head.
Musakwa is head of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Farm Mechanisation
program and he is a close relative of Central Bank Governor Gideon Gono.
Cops found a 180HP tractor, implements, a Prado and a RAV4 at his two story
12 bed room Mansion in Borrowdale Brooke and a Hammer was found hidden at a relative’s garage.
In the last Parliamentary elections Elias Musakwa represented Zanu PF
in Bikita and lost to MDC candidate. At some point during the elections
the Pastor was caught trying to stuff ballot boxes but foiled by alert
MDC agents.
The disgraced gospel musician-cum-politician confirmed his "Zanu PF
apologist" tag by producing the late Eliot Manyika’s propaganda album
entitled Zimbabwe 2005, which featured "Nora" and "Zanu ndeyeropa".
Musakwa is the director of Ngaavongwe Records and also sits on the
board of the State-controlled Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ),
a position through which he influenced DJs to give his music more
air-play.
When Gono was Chairman of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation he had a hand in Pastor Musakwa’s appointment into the board.
Ngaavongwe Records was formerly known as Gramma Records, the country’s
legendary recording studio which fell into the hands of Musakwa and his
former business partner the late former Airforce Commander Josiah
Tungamirai.
Pastor Musakwa has provided Public Address systems at most Zanu PF rallies in recent years.
Zimbabwe Mail
Post published in: News