VICE-PRESIDENT Phelekezela Mphoko, currently in Russia on a working visit, reportedly took with him his grandson doing Grade Three as part of his 55-member delegation, NewsDay has learnt.
BY BLESSED MHLANGA
High-level sources told NewsDay this week that Mphoko, who State media reported would meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin, had in fact been invited by a trade fair company.
“Mphoko is in Russia at the invitation of that country’s trade fair company and not the government of that country. This idea that he might have a chance to meet up with Putin is a creation of his supporters who would want to present him as having some sort of political gravitas,” NewsDay heard.
“There has not been any communication from the Russians in that regard and the President’s office here (Zimbabwe) has not been briefed on any possible engagement at that level.”
It has also emerged that Mphoko took with him a large entourage including close relatives at the taxpayer’s expense.
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“He took with him no less than 55 people including his grandson, who was dragged out of school just to go on the trip,” another source said on condition they are not identified.
It is understood that Mphoko was in Russia to attend the 21st St Petersburg Economic Forum where he is being accompanied by Mines minister Walter Chidakwa, his counterparts in Finance Patrick Chinamasa and Industry’s Mike Bimha respectively.
Mphoko’s wife Laurinda and Minister in his office Tabetha Kanengoni-Malinga are also part of the delegation.
The VP is a former Zimbabwean envoy to Moscow.
Efforts to get comment from the Russian embassy in Harare were fruitless as with phones going unanswered.
Presidential spokesperson George Charamba could also not be reached for comment yesterday.
Meanwhile, a leader of a faction of the war veterans and Zanu PF Bulawayo provincial secretary for security, George Mlala, has been accused of dropping Mphoko’s name to milk companies in the city, while clandestinely funding the opposition National People’s Party (NPP) led by Joice Mujuru.
The allegations are contained in a letter sent to War Veterans minister Tshinga Dube by the former operations manager of Bulk Commodities t/a as Cash and Carry, Oga Chafausipo Moyo.
In the four-page letter, Moyo alleges Mlala has been siphoning money from the company in exchange for protection. Moyo alleged that Mlala would go to the company, which imports flour and maize for resale, to allegedly collect money on behalf of Zanu PF, which he would convert to his personal use.
The company, owned by Imran Shahzad, has been under investigations by the police, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and Bulawayo City Council (BCC) over allegations of illegally importing expired flour, maize and other commodities. Moyo alleged most of the agencies were bribed off.
BCC allegedly confiscated contaminated flour, but it was allegedly returned after Mlala intervened.
“City health inspectors only monitored the loading of one truck of flour, which was destroyed, but the remaining 10 trucks of mealie meal and flour were not destroyed, but were repackaged and sold because some people were paid protection fees and some Zanu PF party cadres were paid up to $35 000, which was said to be going to be handed over to Mphoko for protection,” read part of the letter.
“The money was given to a man called George, who was driving a white Nissan Hard Body without number plates and was said to be going to the Vice-President.
“As a manager at the company, I suspected that he was using problems at our company to extort money from us. I then did investigations and I discovered that he was from Zanu PF and his surname was Mlala. I learnt recently that they are now funding the Mujuru party.”
But Mlala denied the allegations saying he did not have any links with Shahzad and had never collected money on behalf of Mphoko or funded Mujuru’s party.
“This comes as a shock to me. It’s pure lies, yes I drive a Nissan Hard Body, which was given to me by Zanu PF, but I don’t know of the things you are talking about,” he said.
Dube confirmed receiving the letter, but refused to comment, saying he would hand it over to responsible authorities.
Shahzad said some Zanu PF members had targeted his business, which resulted in party youths demonstrating against his operations last year.
“There are Zanu PF-linked people who borrowed money from me. I gave them money, now they don’t want to pay back so they are now using all sorts of dirty tricks to try and force me to back down from demanding my money,” he said.
Shahzad confirmed that he was investigated over allegations of underhand dealings, but has been cleared because he was law-abiding.
“I have been investigated by everyone, but I am still here still open and doing business. You don’t know the forces working against me,” he said.
Mujuru denied receiving money from Mlala, saying it was a big joke that Zanu PF could fund NPP operations.
“Zanu PF has no capacity to fund a mass-based party like NPP. No amount of besmirching can ever stop the people’s train. Put simply, Satanists and Christians do not attend the same congregation,” Mujuru’s spokesperson Gift Nyandoro said.