On 5 May, Youth minister Tinoda Machakaire wrote on social media platform:
“I visited one of our public health institutions this morning to see a relative and left deeply concerned by the conditions I witnessed. What I saw was deeply moving — a clear indication that many of our people are facing serious challenges.
The growing public outcry over our healthcare system is not an exaggeration; it reflects the difficult experiences of many citizens.
As your appointee and one whom you have tasked to speak for the young people of our great nation, I feel a solemn responsibility to speak openly: sometimes, in our desire to present progress, we may unintentionally overlook important realities on the ground.
Your Excellency, you have earned the admiration of this nation for your compassion, humility and tireless dedication to the welfare of ordinary citizens. Under your leadership, many have found renewed hope. It is because of this trust in your care for the people that I respectfully plead with you: please find time from your busy schedule to visit these institutions yourself.
There is no substitute for seeing, listening and understanding firsthand what our citizens are going through.
I also wish to commend those who have had the courage to raise their voices on matters of public interest.
Their advocacy reflects a belief in the kind of leadership you represent—a leadership that listens, acts and puts people first. PRESIDENT EMMERSON MNANGAGWA.”
On the surface, this looked like an innocent message from a concerned minister who was worried about the collapse and increasingly deplorable state of the health sector struggling to survive in the intensive care unit; desperately in need of an emergency operation to rescue it from looming death.
Many ordinary Zimbabweans commended Machakaire for his timely and sharp observations, as well as the courage to urge Mnangagwa to intervene to save the health sector from imminent demise.
To the uninitiated, that was an act of awareness and bravery by a youthful minister full of energy, itching for action and who wanted things to be done differently.
It was a breath of fresh air.
However, to the curious and those with critical minds that was suspicious and needed to be treated with a pinch of salt.
Since when can a Zanu PF minister, a youthful one at that, be so brave and free to criticise the system for destroying the health sector while appealing for the President to intervene, other people asked.
There was a catch to that, some argued.
It was only a matter of time before the proverbial cat came out of the bag.
No sooner had Machakaire made his curious remarks than Mnangagwa started touring hospitals and talking about the need for massive interventions to address the worsening health sector crisis.
What was not known by the media and the public at the time was that Mnangagwa and his business cronies already were discussing and preparing multi-million dollar tenders and contracts – which will eventually scale close to US$1 billion – for their associates to mint money and get cash-rich.
Some of the deals were already sealed.
As it transpired yesterday and was reported by the media, including The NewsHawks, Chivayo has secured a major contract worth more than US$400 million without going to tender for the supply of cancer treatment equipment across hospitals in Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces.
This came as Mnangagwa has been touring Zimbabwe’s dilapidated hospitals mostly buried under the rubble of a collapsed healthcare system.
Mnangagwa on Monday toured Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Sally Mugabe Hospital and the National Pharmaceutical Company (NatPharm) warehouse in Harare.
Last month, the President reached an agreement with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko for the creation of a “comprehensive healthcare system, supplying of medicines and specialised equipment”.
After a visit to Minsk, Belarus, in mid-May, Mnangagwa secured a deal on health support and supplies.
Following official meetings, Lukashenko said:
“We are ready to assist Zimbabwe in creating a comprehensive healthcare system, supplying medicines and specialised equipment to address the issue of healthcare accessibility for children, women, and the entire population of Zimbabwe.
“You have studied our healthcare system. As far as I know, you liked it, and you are ready to build it in Zimbabwe with our help. We are willing to assist you in this.”
By that time Chivayo had already hit the ground running.
He had already signed a new medical supplies agreement through his South African-registered TTM Global Medical Exports (Pty) Limited – which sometimes uses his luxurious DaVinci Hotel and Suites penthouse in Sandton, Johannesburg, as it address – to supply at least 178 pieces of medical cancer treatment equipment over a period of four years, starting in March.
The contract was drafted in February.
Payments started coming in April.
The deal – valued US$437 282 400 over four years – was signed in March between Office of the President and Cabinet represented by the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Martin Rushwaya and TTM Global linked to Chivayo, but represented by its chief executive Rouxne Styger.
Annually, the contract, drafted in February before it was signed the following month, is worth US$109 320 600.
A deposit of US$52.5 million was payable within 14 days of signing of the agreement.
The balance would be paid in monthly instalments of US$9 110 050.
TTM Global, which is hardly seven months old, is a recently South African-registered company, with its principal business address at Via Positano, 62 Mt Fletcher Lane Paulshof, Gauteng 2191, Johannesburg.
It also uses Chivayo’s upmarket penthouse at DaVinci Hotel and Suites, Corner Maude and 5th Street, Sandton, as its address.
The tenderpreneuer, who makes hundreds of millions from state tenders and contracts, which he spends flamboyantly with reckless abandon on a champagne lifestyle amid conspicuous consumption and donations of cars and cash, lives at the penthouse whenever he is in Johannesburg.
The company was registered on 28 November 2024.
It later became clear Machakaire’s remarks about the health sector were a pretext for awarding lucrative tenders to Mnangagwa’s allies.
All this amid a lack of transparency and accountability in the procurement process.
Critics and analysts are gravely concerned about the events surrounding the health sector deals.
Awarding tenders to those with close ties to the President undermines fair competition and lead to suboptimal outcomes.
Lack of transparency in the tendering process facilitates corrupt practices, such as overpricing, bribes and kickbacks.
The other problem is that prioritising projects based on personal political connections rather than need or merit just reinforces patronage and can lead to inefficient use of public resources.
In such publicly funded projects, it is key to ensure transparency, accountability, and fair competition in the procurement process to achieve the best outcomes for the health sector and the public.
A lot had been happening before and after Machakaire’s comments.
On 16 April 2025, Belarus Foreign Affairs minister Maxim Ryzhenkov visisted Zimbabwe and high-level negotiations were held and agreements strengthening the partnership between the two countries were signed.
Fixing of the health sector crisis was discussed.
Ryzhenkov’s meeting with
Mnangagwa was the central political event of the day.
The delegation headed by Belarus Deputy Prime Minister, Viktor Karankevich, discussed the priorities of bilateral cooperation, including the implementation of the third phase of the Zimbabwe’s agricultural mechanisation programme using Belarusian machinery and health issues.
Zimbabwean Foreign Affairs minister Amon Murwira characterised Belarus not only as an ally but also as a strategic partner.
The two parties agreed on the importance of intensifying joint efforts to coordinate new projects ahead of Mnangagwa’s visit to Belarus via Russia.
While Mnangagwa was in Minsk, Belarus and Zimbabwe signed a landmark deal to revamp the country’s healthcare sector, starting with the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare.
The project, witnessed by Mnangagwa and Lukashenko, aims to modernise Zimbabwe’s medical infrastructure, enhance the quality of medical services, and promote partnerships across the health sector, officials said.
The US$300 million deal includes a two-phase plan for pharmaceuticals, focusing initially on acquiring essential medical supplies and later shifting towards local production within Zimbabwe. This move is expected to enhance self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on imports.
The agreement also involves upgrading healthcare facilities, improving equipment, and ensuring access to safe and effective medicines.
At the centre of it were two buccaneering businessmen, Lukashenko’s close ally Alexander Zingman and Mnangagwa’s associate, Kudakwashe Tagwirei.
Although Tagwirei did not go to Minsk, he was presented as an adviser to the President on the health sector deals.
Prior to Mnangagwa’s trip to Minsk – in fact only two days after Machakaire’s comments on 5 May, that is on 7 May – a meeting was held in Harare to deal with “medical challenges facing the country” and to come out with how funds could be raised to cover costs to buy medicines.
The meeting was attended by Finance minister Mthuli Ncube, his permanent secretary George Guvamatanga, Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mushayavanhu, his predecessor John Mangudya, now chief executive of the sovereign wealth fund, Mutapa Investment Fund, and Tagwirei.
Tagwirei denied he had a vested pecuniary interest beyond his purported advisory role.
Besides this, local filmmaking and investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono reports that
Mnangagwa has awarded a Dubai-based company owned by his controversial investment adviser Tempter Paul Tungwarara, Prevail International Group of Companies, whose website was only registered in January 2025, a multi-million-dollar contract to refurbish local hospitals without going to tender.
Chin’ono reports:
“Mnangagwa appointed Tungwarara as his Special Presidential Investment Adviser for the UAE in November 2024.
So what happened next?
Mnangagwa awarded Prevail International a contract to refurbish Zimbabwean hospitals without going to tender, as he always does.
He then lied to Zimbabweans, claiming he made an unplanned visit to Sally Mugabe and Parirenyatwa hospitals. It was a lie because the visits were choreographed.
Just hours after these staged visits, Prevail International was already at work at Parirenyatwa Hospital, paving the way for a hugely secretive and inflated contract.
Prevail International, which has done no commercial work outside Mnangagwa’s regime, has been awarded numerous government contracts, including the Zimbabwe Cyber City project, a project that began before the company was even registered.
It has also received multiple ‘Presidential’ government contracts, including large-scale projects such as boreholes, housing stands for war veterans, solar initiatives, Mt Hampden Presidential Villas, and the State House perimeter wall.
It billed the government of Zimbabwe US$15 million for the State House perimeter wall.
All these contracts were awarded without public tender, without contest, and they share one common denominator; they are all hugely inflated.
Prevail International is also managing the war veterans housing project, involving 50, 000 stands.
It runs the Zimbabwe Youth Presidential Support programme and has a working relationship with Angel of Hope, which is run by Mnangagwa’s wife, Auxilia.
Mnangagwa publicly instructed all government officials to grant Tungwarara ‘all the privileges, facilities, and immunities’ given to diplomats. Tungwarara was also given a diplomatic passport, something Mnangagwa has bestowed on all the criminals working for him.
The South African government is reported by Zimbabwean journalist Maynard Manyowa to have complained about hundreds of Zimbabwean diplomatic passports being used to cross its borders weekly.
The American government has placed Zimbabwe on a watch list and is considering banning Zimbabweans from entering the United States due to the widespread abuse and lack of integrity of its passports.
Prevail International’s so-called headquarters in Zimbabwe is listed on its website as a house in Chisipite, Harare, at 35 Dacombe Road.
In Dubai, it operates from a mixed-use building that contains apartments and studio flats.
The company was also registered in Britain on 28 January 2025, using a three-bedroom house at 12 The Saltings, Greenhithe, Kent, as its address.
Tungwarara has been linked to multiple serious allegations of corruption in Zimbabwe, including fraudulent property scams and unpaid loans.
He allegedly sold a Harare stand he did not own to an Indian investor, Razaa Jishan, for US$1.3 million, collecting additional funds for construction and permits.
When the sale fell apart, he reportedly brought armed men to evict the investor. The complaint was filed with police in July 2023.
In 2019, Tungwarara was accused of borrowing US$350,000 from Jospher Chibisa for State House contracts but repaid only US$64,500. Chibisa’s CID fraud case reportedly disappeared without explanation.”
This means Zimbabwe’s health sector crisis has been turned into a lucrative opportunity to make money for Mnangagwa’s cronies – that is it has now been commercialised, monetised and is running like a money printing machine with about US$1 billion at stake for them.
Newshawks
