OPPOSITION parliamentarians have questioned the validity of valuations of the Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF) assets as they cited inconsistencies between the reported US$16 billion valuation and the previously disclosed value of Kuvimba Mining House, a major subsidiary.
In April 2024, reports indicated that Mutapa bought out the private investors for $1.6 billion using a treasury bill — a form of short-term government debt.
According to a Sentry report, the jewel in Mutapa’s crown is Kuvimba, which owns around a dozen gold, lithium, nickel, and platinum mines.
Mbizo legislator Cobarn Madzivanyika expressed concern over the removal of the Auditor-General's oversight of the MIF, which he said raised fears of opacity and potential losses.
He was contributing to debate in Parliament on the Finance Bill.
"Parliament must understand what is happening in Mutapa because those are national resources and all national resources must be available to scrutiny,” Madzivanyika said.
“If you look a few months back, chair, when the government was acquiring 35% shareholding from Kuvimba, that is now wholly under Mutapa, the 35% shareholding was equivalent to US$1,6 billion.
“It means Kuvimba alone, as an entity in Mutapa was supposed to be valued at around US$5 billion.
“If you look at the valuation of US$16 billion, which was given a few weeks back, it is not consistent with the remaining companies under Mutapa."
Dzivaresekwa legislator Edwin Mushoriwa noted the significant financial risks associated with the Fund, given the government's substantial loans to Mutapa and the potential for losses.
“The known information so far is that our broke government has so far loaned Mutapa Fund more than US$2 billion whose financial costs will be carried by taxpayers,” Mushoriwa said.
“Changes to the Sovereign Wealth Fund (now Mutapa) should have come through a stand-alone Bill and allow public scrutiny rather than the current system where amendments are tucked inside Finance Bills."
Mushoriwa said there were potential losses given the huge asset base of Mutapa Fund with several parastatals under it.
Mutapa now owns almost a third of government parastatals such Hwange Colliery Company, National Oil Infrastructure Company of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company, among several others.
The MIF, formerly the Sovereign Wealth Fund, is a Zimbabwean sovereign wealth fund. It was established by an Act of parliament in 2014 called the Sovereign Wealth Fund Act.
In September 2023, it was renamed to MIF through Statutory Instrument 156 of 2023, by President Emmerson Mnangagwa using the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures Act).