Maxwell Chingaira
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) last week summoned the top brass at the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development in what could culminate in a full scale investigation of suspected graft among the officials.
This follows the arrest recently of former Mashonaland East provincial mining director Grace Chacha who has since been arraigned before the courts.
Those summoned by ZACC include secretary Onismo Moyo, principal director Charles Tahwa and head of legal Jacqueline Munyonga.
The team was summoned as ZACC is, reportedly, in the process of investigating a case where a Maramba-Pfungwe miner, Trymore Chipwepwe, lost his mine under unclear circumstances.
However, some officials at ministry have since been implicated in this saga which also involves Maramba-Pfungwe legislator Tichawona Karumazondo.
Karumazondo is accused of fraudulently grabbing the mine in question using his political muscle through his brother Norman.
Contacted for comment, Moyo confirmed the ZACC meeting.
“It was just a consultative meeting to explore opportunities for corroboration in devising strategies to thwart corruption in the mining industry,” he said.
But The Anchor has it on good authority that the mines ministry team was grilled by ZACC for almost the whole day over the Chipwepwe matter among other corruption allegations being raised against them.
It is further reported by impeccable sources that the Chipwepwe matter will culminate in arrests in the coming weeks.
ZACC is also reportedly targeting the ministry’s legal department which has been cited by various complainants as the main breeding ground of corruption in the ministry.
“There are efforts right now to cleanse the legal department because the complaints coming out have become too many. Everyone complaining about corruption at the ministry is citing the legal department,” the sources said.
Efforts are currently underway to launch a full scale audit on operations in Ministry of Mines and Mining Development.
