Mines ministry directors in $500k luxurious cars scandal

  • Original cost price: US$45,632,00 (each)
  • Date in fleet: September 2016
  • Date sold: August 2018
  • Sale price: $1500,00 (each) (Transfer receipt number 296087)

The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has been hit by a massive luxurious car scandal which sucks in former permanent secretary Munesu Munodawafa and nine top directors.

The Zim Morning Post has it on good authority that the directors acted in connivance with Munodawafa and made irregular purchases of luxurious vehicles for a song.

They bought cars worth $500 000 for the ministry’s use but converted it to personal use and the vehicles were sold at a mere $13 000 to the directors.

These top officials bought luxurious vehicles purportedly for the use of the ministry but within two years they personally bought these vehicles at a  low cost prejudicing the State in the process. Munodawafa was the chief architect in this scam,” revealed our source.

This publication is in possession of a letter authored by Munodawafa to the Public Service Commission seeking approval of selling the vehicles as ‘personal issue vehicles’ to the directors.

This is in complete negation of corporate governance procedure which states that for a vehicle to be disposed it should have reached five years and at least 150 000 km  mileage.

Some of the directors caught in this dragnet include Malcom Mazemo from the Mashonaland Central mining office who bought an Isuzu KB250 Double Cab (Reg number AEF5905, Chasis No. ADMCSCJR2G4786587)  for $1 500 RTGS dollars (US$500 using current black market rates) when the vehicle was purchased for $46 000 United States Dollars in September 2016.

Mazemo bought the vehicle in September 2018.

Other directors are D Makina, Julius Moyo, Munyonga (legal department), P Mugumbate, D Hawadi and Singizi who all bought Mazda BT50 vehicles for a song.

Munodawafa is now with the Ministry of Environment and his mobile phone was not reachable.

He is not new to controversy, in 2014 when he  was still with the ministry of transport he was fingered in a multi-million dollar corruption scandal at Air Zimbabwe alongside his niece, the former Air Zimbabwe general manager (legal) Grace Pfumbidzayi, in an elaborate $11 million aviation  insurance scam which brought the airline to its knees.