President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangangwa has added four more entities to Mutapa Investment Fund, i.e., Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, Reserve Bank o Zimbabwe’s Fidelity Gold Refinery, Export Credit Guarantee Corporation and HomeLink under the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe Act.

Apparently, RBZ governor John Mangudya is taking over as Mutapa Investment Fund Chief Executive Officer after he leaves central bank in April.

In September 2023, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa promulgated a law that made profound changes to the governance of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, whose name has been changed to the Mutapa Investment Fund. But, while Mnangagwa argues that the government is making changes to “give a new lease of life to previously under-performing state-owned enterprises”, the move has caused widespread disquiet.

The law, which Mnangagwa enacted using special Presidential Powers measures, strengthens his ability to appoint senior staff and board members. Using the same special powers, the president has also transferred ownership of 20 state entities in the mining, transport, oil, railways, communications, power and agricultural sectors to the Fund.

Furthermore, he has removed the Fund from the provisions of the country’s Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act. This releases it from lengthy procurement procedures in the buying and selling of assets but also removes any need for transparency in making such transactions.

Speaking at a meeting of business people in the tourist resort town of Victoria Falls on 2 October, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance, George Guvamatanga, clarified that it is only the Fund itself as an investor that is exempted from the procurement laws and not the entities under its management.

He said the government has exempted the Fund because it will have to operate in highly competitive international markets against private equity funds and similar businesses and it will therefore need to be quick, efficient and cost-effective.

The list of companies whose government shares will now fall under Mutapa:

Defold Mine
ZUPCO
Kuvimba
Silo Investments (GMB commercial arm)
National Oil Company of Zimbabwe
Cold Storage Commission
Petrotrade
POSB
Netone Cellular
National Railways of Zimbabwe Holdings and NRZ Ltd
TelOne
Arda Seeds
Zimbabwe Power Company
Powertel
Allied Timbers
Telecel Zimbabwe
Air Zimbabwe
Industrial Development Corporation
Cottco
AFC Limited Registration Number 3339/2021
Hwange Colliery

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