Patrick Chinamasa and Afaras Gwaradzimba face Parliamentary Speaker’s rap over Mawere’s Shabanie and Mashaba mines fiasco.

 Under Fire  Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa

The Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy (PCME) has recommended that Speaker of Parliament Hon Lovemore Moyo decide the fate of Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and his SMM appointed administrator Afaras Gwaradzimba after holding that the duo lied under oath before it.

It would be poetic justice if Patrick Chinamasa was to be charged with contempt of Parliament and tried by a Parliamentary select committee preferably chaired by Paul Mangwana who also presided over a similar committee that on 28 October 2004 convicted and sentenced Roy Bennett ( Chimanimani) to an effective one year in prison with labour over an altercation he had with Chinamasa in Parliament.

The 22 member PCME chaired by Edward Chindori-Chininga (Zanu PF Guruve South) held that Minister Chinamasa lied under oath before it and has failed to produce written evidence in support of his oral submission to the effect that SMM was now owned by AMG – 24% and Nickdale Investments Private Limited, a nominee of the government, - 76% despite three written reminders being sent to him by the PCME.

This has left the PCME with no option but to recommend as it has done that;

“5.9  Contempt of Parliament

The Speaker should make a ruling on the actions of Mr Gwaradzimba the Administrator for SMMH and Hon Chinamasa, the Minister of Justice who contravened the provisions of the Privileges, Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act.”

The PCME also held that the SMM ownership wrangle between the government and Mutumwa Mawere had long been decided by a UK Court in favour of Mr Mawere and was serving no purpose but to deny workers jobs and the State revenues that could otherwise be accruing to it from exports of a properly managed SMMH.

The PCME also recommended that legal inconsistencies and or contradictions arising from different interpretations of implications of provisions of The Prevention of Corruption Act and the Reconstruction of State Indebted and Insolvent Company Act (Reconstruction Law) on assets of a de-specified person must be referred back to parliament for clarification and if need be harmonization as well as elimination of loopholes that can be exploited by a vindictive and or irresponsible Minister to selectively punish offending companies through reconstruction orders.

“However, the discretionary application of the Reconstruction Laws by the Minister raises many challenges of confidence and security of ownership to Zimbabwean indigenous business men and women who have benefited or will benefit from government’s implementation of the indigenisation and economic empowerment programme anchored by the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act,” concluded the PCME report.

While it is clear that the PCME was appalled by the selective application of laws by the Minister it nonetheless fell short of recommending the Minister of Justice’s censure for clearly manipulating laws to selectively punish Mr Mawere and direct government to order the return of Mawere’s assets that were improperly impounded and in certain instances unlawfully disposed of by Chinamasa and Gwarazimba.

The Speaker of Parliament must do the right thing and order Chinamasa and Gwarazimba's trial by a Parliamentary select committee to send the message loud and clear that Parliament will not condone impunity by errand Ministers and their surrogates