Harare Bureau

Government has warned of fraudsters targeting ministers, legislators and senior civil servants enticing them to join a fake agricultural equipment deal which they claim is a partnership with the South African government.

In a statement yesterday, Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr Misheck Sibanda, said there was no such a programme, and even if it existed it was not going to be handled by individuals. 

The scam has since been broadened to target a cross section of the Zimbabwean society.

At the centre of the scum is a purported gift from the Government of South Africa to the people of Zimbabwe, supposedly to help them boost their agricultural productivity.

Dr Sibanda urged people to exercise extreme caution when dealing with such individuals or organisations.

“The Republic of Zimbabwe has an embassy in Pretoria whose telephone landlines are +27 12 3425125,” he said. “The embassy can be a good reference point for verification of some of this information.”

 Dr Sibanda said the conmen phone unsuspecting individuals from South Africa to inform them that they had been allocated tractors, centre pivots and other farm implements.

“The unsuspecting individuals are then requested to play a part in meeting the cost of transporting the items to Zimbabwe,” he said.

“The conmen pretend that they are the Ambassador of the Republic of Zimbabwe to the Republic of South Africa. Initially, the conmen were targeting ministers, deputy ministers, Members of Parliament and senior civil servants. 

“The pattern that is developing is that members of the faith community are now being targeted as well. The amount of money demanded to meet the transport cost is varied. In one audio, the fraudster is heard agreeing to a payment of R8 000 whereas in other circumstances payments of above R20 000 were demanded.” 

Transport payments were supposed to be deposited into a South African Bank. 

Account details of the fraudsters have been kept by the Zimbabwean Embassy in Pretoria for release to the appropriate law enforcement authorities.

Targets are being nudged into the scum through massive propaganda to the effect that if they did not take the offer within a certain period, they would lose it to one of the many supposed beneficiaries in the queue. 

“Citizens are advised that such a programme is non-existent,” said Dr Sibanda. “The other pattern that has emerged is that the fraudsters do not wish to meet their victims.

 “Their preference is that victims are kept at bay and only interface at the point of depositing money in a bank account and wait for the outcome.”