Parliament flexes muscles on evasive Made
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 27 October 2011 18:19
Paidamoyo Muzulu
PARLIAMENT has flexed its muscles by slapping Agriculture minister Joseph
Made with contempt of parliament charges for deliberately skirting questions
about the creation of the US$600 million Chisumbanje-based Green Fuels
project through a partnership between the Agricultural Rural Development
Authority (Arda) and Ratings.
Made told the Agriculture Portfolio Committee earlier this year that he
could not adequately explain how Ratings and Macdom were given the green
light to build the ambitious ethanol plant since he was not the Agriculture
minister at the time the deal was concluded.Committee chairman Moses Jiri
indicated that they had started the process of charging Made for contempt
after he displayed “shocking ignorance on crucial issues under the ambit of
his ministry”.
“We are looking at charging Minister Made with contempt of parliament for
professing ignorance to questions about the Arda/Ratings deal,” said Jiri.
“The clerk of parliament is (set) to listen to the audio recording of the
hearing and give us directions,” he said.The committee postponed its public
hearings scheduled for Wednesday and would only resume them after the
conclusion of the contempt charges against Made.
“We moved this week’s meeting to devote our attention to make sure that
people called to give evidence should treat the process with respect. It was
disgusting for a minister to behave in that manner,” Jiri said.
Parliament is also contemplating to charge Justice minister Patrick
Chinamasa with contempt of parliament after he told the Mines Portfolio
Committee that government was in possession of Shabanie and Mashaba Mine
share warrant certificates, but later failed to produce them when asked to
avail the certificates to the committee.
Members of the Agriculture Portfolio Committee were startled by Made’s
stance that the committee should ask former Agriculture minister Rugare
Gumbo why the Arda/Ratings deal did not follow the laid down indigenisation
policy. The policy stipulates that locals should control 51% of all business
operations in the country.Made said Ratings had proposed a 70-30
shareholding ratio in its proposal to the government on the project.
However, parliament was furnished with reports which prove that an
inter-ministerial committee and a Kudenga and Company audit report were
against the deal in its present structure.Made pleaded ignorance on the
existence of the two reports prompting the committee to adjourn the hearing
and consider other ways of obtaining information on the deal.
“The ministry is not aware of that report,” said Made. “Who commissioned it?
I would be happy to receive and read that audit report. I don’t go to the
ministry to read all the documents for the sake of reading the material,” he
said.
Committee member Edward Raradza came to the minister’s defence: “Maybe this
is why we have problems in our ministries because there is no continuity.
Can we give him time to sort out this?”
Ratings and Macdom were given in excess of 10 000 ha of prime land to set up
a sugarcane plantation to feed the ethanol plant in Chisumbanje. The project
is a 20-year Build, Operate and Transfer agreement with Arda receiving an 8%
fee from the project.Green Fuel is the first ethanol production and the
company is now awaiting a licence from the government to start marketing its
product.