Zesa scam divides government
By Xolisani Ncube, Staff Writer
Monday, 26 March 2012 11:59
HARARE – Sharp divisions have emerged in government over huge Zesa Holdings
debts owed by President Robert Mugabe and his allies in Zanu PF which they
now say have been used by the MDC to prop its electoral chances in future
polls.
A seething Mugabe and his colleagues in Zanu PF last week reportedly
targeted Energy minister Elton Mangoma for “breaching confidentiality”
clauses by “leaking” to the Daily News their ballooning Zesa bills which run
into millions of dollars.
This followed a stinging expose by the Daily News which named Mugabe and
his officials among the top defaulters at a time when the majority of the
poor Zimbabweans were living in darkness following massive disconnections by
Zesa for not paying their bills.
Mugabe and several Zanu PF ministers last Tuesday reportedly confronted
Mangoma over the Zesa bills demanding answers why their debts were published
in the Daily News.
Mangoma however said he was unaware how the bills reached the Daily News. He
told an investment conference in Harare last week that he respected client
confidentiality.
The Daily News was told yesterday that Mangoma now feels unsafe after the
fierce confrontation while senior employees at Zesa are said to be also
living in fear over the published list of VIP defaulters.
The Zanu PF side of government’s anger was reflected on Saturday in the
state media when a top government official writing under the pen name
Nathaniel Manheru claimed that the Zesa scandal was carefully designed by
the MDC to create havoc in Zanu PF.
In a column headlined, Inventing a matching scandal, Manheru partly wrote:
“Out of desperation, MDC-T today pushes its ministers, some of them
previously arraigned before the courts for questionable conduct, pushes them
hard to invent matching scandals to incriminate other players so the ugly
spotlight is shared.
Its thrust is to democratise blame, so judgment is shared. It is a posture
of a party convinced about its own incorrigibility.
“Is it not incredible that a whole accountant is pushed to re-classify a
well documented debt into a screaming scandal? And does so the same weeks
his counterpart, Finance minister Biti, is publishing a debt settlement
strategy for Zimbabwe?”
“Or is he about to name and shame Zimbabwe for the scandal of defaulting on
its debts the same way Zesa clients have? Is owing in business a scandal
mister accountant? Which business does not carry obligations?”
“Clearly here is a man sidestepping professional knowledge to serve a cause,
in the process becoming quite stupid by standards of his profession. I
suppose next week we will read about Sable Chemicals,
itself the biggest single user of power it cannot always pay for in time.”
“More dramatically, Mangoma will name and shame Zesa for the scandal of not
paying its Mozambican counterpart to the tune of well over US$40 million.
The whole thing does not make sense at all.”
Nathaniel Manheru is also believed to be one of Mugabe’s top aides.
But a senior MDC official yesterday dismissed the notion that the Zesa
scandal is being used for political mileage for their party.
“The issue here is simple. They must just simply pay their bills. They all
confirm that they owe Zesa lots of money so what is the problem. Since
independence, they were grabbing things for free and now the ball game has
changed and they are crying,” he said.
The scandal also revealed multiple ownership of farms as most bills emanate
from the grabbed properties.
The conspiracy to bleed state power firm Zesa by not paying bills running
into millions ran through the President’s Office and state institutions to
ministers, the military, MPs and Zanu PF district offices.
A few of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube’s people were
also in the mix with smaller amounts. But the impunity was shocking.
Top ministers — some who claim to hold vast riches — and just about everyone
and state institutions connected to the system amassed huge bills at a time
when Zesa was enforcing a punishing load shedding schedule on the majority
poor due to cash flow problems.
The First Family through their many farms owed Zesa nearly $345 000 as at
December 31, 2011.
Manicaland governor Chris Mushowe led the pack with an astounding bill of
$367 606, 07.
Didymus Mutasa, the minister of State in Mugabe’s office owed State
parastatals a massive $179 590, 31, Saviour Kasukuwere, who as
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment minister is leading Mugabe’s
campaign to “spread wealth to the people”, raked up $100 602,22 in unpaid
Zesa bills as at December 31, 2011.
Sydney Sekeramayi, Marondera-Wedza Zanu PF Senator, who is also State
Security minister and a long time Mugabe loyalist, owed $108 296.
The Daily News yesterday could not get in touch with Mugabe’s spokesperson
George Charamba or Agriculture minister Joseph Made, who acts as the
President’s farm manager to check if the First Family had managed to settle
their bills.
However, sources at Zesa said a number of VIPs named in the scandal were
last week making inquiries on their bills with some making payment plans to
clear their debts.
Zesa on the other hand owes Hydro Cahora Bassa (HCB) $80 million accrued
from imported power from the Mozambique power company and this has resulted
in HCB reducing its supply to Zimbabwe demanding payment.
Mangoma told the Daily News yesterday that he will be travelling to
Mozambique this week to try and negotiate for an increase of power exported
to Zimbabwe by HCB.
“I will be travelling to Mozambique this Thursday to negotiate with
authorities from that country so that we can have an increase in supply,”
said Mangoma.