And Nergel, you should be careful for what you wish for...

And Nergel, you should be careful for what you wish for regarding the Mutapa Investment Fund.

It is nothing but a ZANU-PF looting scheme, led by the corrupt kleptomaniac-in-chief, the great crocodile, Mnangagwa himself, as Bernard Mpofu of Newshawks explains;

Before the name change, the fund was up until late September this year referred to as the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe, a neutral name given the country’s ethnic diversity and complexities as well.. . .

Some critics, on the other hand, raised eyebrows, saying President Mnangagwa could be secretly plotting to establish an entity that would in future benefit his family and ZANU-PF cronies after retirement.Not just that, naming an investment fund after an ethnic group which Mnangagwa identifies with also stirred debate on the country’s growing tribal politics which analysts say has been widely projected ever since Mnangagwa took power in 2017 following a military-assisted intervention.. . .

Nearly 10 years ago, the government launched the country’s first-ever sovereign wealth fund, an initiative meant to benefit future generations even when finite natural resources eventually get depleted.At its launch, the fund was expected to be financed through proceeds of the government’s shareholding in mining assets. Zimbabwe is endowed with over 40 base minerals and several precious stones.. . .

“We have one Munhumutapa (Mnangagwa), we have one leader and it is that leader we give respect. It is that leader we show the entire nation what respect is all about,” Chiwenga said a few years back.“This is Zimbabwe. I thought I should say this, I respect Munhumutapa and no one touches him as long as I live.”. . .

To add to the drama, Mnangagwa used his presidential powers not only to push for the name change but also exempted the MIF from going through public procurement in what his critics say was a subtle of way of evading scrutiny.Outside matters relating to ethnicity, the form and structure of the investment fund also triggered pertinent questions which beg answers.. . .

Former opposition Citizens’ Coalition for Change spokesperson and member of Parliament for Mt Pleasant, Fadzai Mahere, said the new fund was a grand looting scheme.“Historical accounts of the decline and collapse of Mutapa State offer a cautionary tale for Zimbabwe’s sovereign wealth fund, ironically ‘renamed’ the Mutapa Investment Fund by Mr Mnangagwa in an unconstitutional Statutory Instrument on the 19th of September 2023,” Mahere wrote on her blog this week.“No official reasons have been given for the renaming of the Fund. However, the effect of the name change is to make it not readily discernible to a foreign entity that they are dealing with a sovereign wealth fund as opposed to a private investment fund.”Granting Mnangagwa carte blanche powers in appointing the sovereign wealth fund’s board of directors, Mahere argued would also heighten cronyism and nepotism after Zimbabwe’s leader recently appointed close family members, allies and clansmen into his executive.“Although he has to consult the minister (of Finance and Investment Promotion), he is not bound by any of the minister’s recommendations,” she added.“This provision is concerning in light of recent appointments by Mr Mnangagwa to Cabinet and other public posts which have been criticised for breaching sounding corporate governance principles and being underpinned by instances of nepotism. The lack of independence of the fund and limited (if non-existent) checks and balances on an already powerful executive head increase the potential for looting and abuse of state resources.”. . .

Tinashe Murapata, chief executive at investment and advisory firm Leon Africa, says the transfer of perennially loss-making state-owned enterprises to MIF books is a ploy nationalise state assets.“What is happening is nationalisation of commercial assets with direct control and command by the centre,” Murapata says.“Many of these assets were private, had private shareholders, parastatals, ran at arms length and now all directly bundled under the command of Mutapa. “This is nothing new. This happened in Africa in the 1960s where companies were bundled up through nationalisation and a joint venture with a preferred private investor was pursued. It reminded me very much of Tiny Rowland — the preferred private investor and his foray in Africa.”