MINES and Mining Development Minister Walter
Chidhakwa has revealed that he was approached by private sector players,
including mining companies, offering him bribes to facilitate deals.
BY
DALPHINE TAGWIREYI
Eight weeks after assuming the powerful position,
the minister revealed that corruption was rife in the sector and, in the short
space of time he had been in office, some corrupt elements had already approached him seeking
to grease his palms.
He would not reveal their identity only preferring
to say: “I can’t tell you what transpired but what I can tell you is that the
private sector approaches many people.
“The issue of corruption should not be viewed only
from the recipient of the bribe, it must also be seen from the perspective of
the giver as they are both corrupt, but I was approached.”
Chidhakwa
said this on the sidelines of a Netherlands embassy-organised roundtable
discussion on natural resources on Wednesday.
When pressed to reveal the identity of the culprits
that had dangled bribes to him, Chidhakwa said he was not at liberty to discuss
with the media what had transpired between him and the “corrupt mining
companies.”
The revelations by Chidhakwa lend credence to
allegations by President Robert Mugabe and civil society organisations that
corruption especially in the awarding of contracts was rife in the mining
sector.
In September, President Mugabe made sensational
claims that former Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) board chairman
Godwills Masimirembwa had demanded a
US$6 million bribe from a Ghanaian investor.
The investor, William Ato Essien, is in a joint
venture with ZMDC and police in Gye Nyame Resources, a diamond producer in
Marange. No action has been taken against Masimirembwa.
Civil society organisation say the awarding of
mining contracts in Marange diamond fields was shrouded in mystery amid fears
that chefs were benefitting from the diamonds.
Former Finance minister Tendai Biti complained that
diamond revenue was not reaching Treasury despite producers selling the gems.
In a pre-budget seminar recently, it was revealed
that out of a targeted US$40 million expected from diamond sales, nothing had
been received as at September 2013.
Chidhakwa said President Mugabe told him he had a
tough task ahead in his new job as Mines minister.
“His Excellency told me that there is a task ahead
to ensure that things are done in a certain manner that requires me to stand
firm and every task has its own uphills and I should also live up to the
expectations of the people of Zimbabwe,” he said.
In a bid to promote transparency, Chidhakwa said the
ministry would engage small-scale miners as part of the initiative so that
their interactions could yield meaningful developments.
“We proposed to them that they should come up with
an umbrella union so that we engage in dialogue with their official
representatives who will then pass on the information to the grassroots, rather
than have different small groups dialoguing with us and yet passing on the same
information,” he said.
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