The ruling party Zanu PF’s top brass has taken over the Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA)’s mandate of promoting and facilitating both foreign direct investment and local investment sabotaging President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s open for business mantra, the Zim Morning Post has heard..
Investors that want to invest in Zimbabwe are being directed to the party headquarters first to discuss their business interests before they go to ZIA, a trusted source revealed.
“The top brass that was deployed to run Zanu PF daily is the one that has taken over ZIA’s role and is demanding huge kickbacks from investors as facilitation fees.”
Sources said former ministers who were retired from government by Mnangagwa but given permanent jobs at the party headquarters are causing this mayhem.
“Can you imagine the president is saying Zimbabwe is open for business yet there are tycoons at the HQ demanding that every investor sees them first before making any commitment?”
“It’s quite clear these people are killing the investment authority’s mandate and no investor wants to put their money anymore in the country,” said the source.
Facilitation fees are being demanded by the team and once payment is done the investor is taken directly to the permanent secretary of the relevant ministry without going to ZIA.
Last week in Victoria Falls Mnangagwa bemoaned the corruption and bureaucracy in the country which is scaring away investors.
“I am also informed that many investors go back home disappointed, after being moved from office to office, people to people; that should stop.
“We are determined to progressively eliminate bottlenecks, red tape and all forms of corruption within Government bureaucracy,” said Mnangagwa.
The howling by the president is a sign that he is now aware of the underhand dealings that are happening at the party HQ.
The source said Mnangagwa is worried about this activity by his team because it is a direct sabotage to his open for business mantra he has been preaching since taking over from the former president Robert Mugabe.
During Mugabe’s time Zanu PF leaders could openly demand bribes from investors as facilitation tokens.
In 2015 Zimbabwe lost billion dollar investment from Nigerian business mogul Aliko Dangote who failed to invest due to kickbacks that were demanded by former first lady Grace Mugabe’s team.