Chairman of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Lands and Resettlement, Moses Jiri, told The Zimbabwean the committee wanted Gono to appear before Parliament to explain how he allocated farming equipment under the multi-million agricultural mechanisation programme. He is also expected to defend several claims of financial impropriety. Previous attempts to fully probe Gono failed because of fierce opposition from a Zanu (PF) group that benefited from the alleged corrupt activities at RBZ, particularly between 2003 and 2009.
Cabinet ministers, top government officials, parastatal heads, military, police and intelligence top cats reportedly received monetary gifts, cars and farming equipment from Gono under shady arrangements. They are now working flat out to prevent the probe. Jiri said the committee’s efforts were being met with fierce resistance from a coterie of Zanu (PF) fat cats who fear the move will expose their corrupt activities.
“The major challenge is that there are certain individuals within Zanu(PF) who benefited from the fraudulent deals and now they fear that if Gono is probed, they will be exposed. They are trying their best to ensure the issue is swept under the carpet,” said Jiri.
“Because of the delay which is being caused by those who do not want their illegal activities exposed the probe has taken longer than necessary. Also, our work has been hindered by the fact that Parliament has not been sitting regularly and the Committees have also been suspended,” he said.
Zanu-(PF) Member of Parliament for Mhondoro-Ngezi, Bright Matonga who is also part of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Lands and Resettlement dismissed the possibility of another investigation into Gono and RBZ.
Matonga, who controversially acquired a sprawling orange farm in Mashonaland West at the height of the fast track land redistribution programme, is one of the most prominent beneficiaries of Gono’s quasi-fiscal activities.
“It is public knowledge that I benefited from RBZ’s farm mechanization programme and I don’t have any regrets for that”.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Gideon Gono, faces another probe by Parliament despite resistance from a strong clique within Zanu (PF) that reportedly benefited from his monetary and agricultural equipment handouts in the past.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Lands and Resettlement, Moses Jiri, told The Zimbabwean the committee wanted Gono to appear before Parliament to explain how he allocated farming equipment under the multi-million agricultural mechanization programme. He is also expected to defend several claims of financial impropriety. Previous attempts to fully probe Gono failed because of fierce opposition from a Zanu (PF) group that benefited from the alleged corrupt activities at RBZ, particularly between 2003 and 2009.
Cabinet ministers, top government officials, parastatal heads, military, police and intelligence top cats reportedly received monetary gifts, cars and farming equipment from Gono under shady arrangements.
“We will not be probing Gono again because we don’t have the jurisdiction to do so,” Matonga told The Zimbabwean.
Matonga argued that their committee could only investigate activities regarding the previous financial year, and not beyond that period.
“Gono did an excellent job to bust sanctions. Theft happens where there are sanctions. If anyone out there has evidence, let him go to the police,” he added”.
“But this could be difficult since, as Matonga admitted, “the police, army, institutions, everyone got money to survive from Gono”.
Another Zanu (PF) beneficiary of the mechanisation programme, Temba Mliswa, in 2010 described police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri as a very corrupt person.
“Chihuri…is the most corrupt police officer in the country. He is promoting corruption instead of stopping it. President Mugabe must fire Chihuri because as long as he is at the helm of the police, corruption will never stop in Zimbabwe,” said Mliswa, who is named in an active but parked fraud case being handled by the Serious Fraud Section at Ahmed House.
In the case, DR 15/07/10, Mliswa, through his company called Saltlakes, is being accused of having fraudulently acquired $6million from RBZ. Documents at hand show that Mliswa allegedly purchased tobacco from farmers and had it processed through a local firm, but he later misrepresented that the leaf had been spoilt by water and he thus could not repay the money.
In their investigations, the police queried why RBZ was communicating directly with Mliswa when that should have been happening through a bank.
The motion to probe Gono was moved in Parliament in July by Zanu-(PF) Goromonzi North Legislator, Paddy Zhanda, who also proposed a probe into Gono’s personal finances and investments. At the time Gono declined to reveal how the farming equipment and inputs were distributed under the Farm Mechanization Programme when he appeared before the Parliamentary committee. He cited the RBZ Act, which he said did not permit him to disclose client information to third parties. This led to a heated argument and Zhanda stormed out.
A further probe is underway by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission after Gono’s former advisor, Munyaradzi Kereke, produced a dossier outlining graft at RBZ, which makes a raft of allegations against Gono.
These include giving thousands of dollars to a local newspaper; illegally selling gold bullion; theft of RBZ Zimbabwe Stock Exchange listed shares; payment for undelivered equipment; bribery and undercover diamond mining activities.
Gono has accused Kereke of seeking to tarnish his image.
Post published in: News